Trust Me (Townsend Legacy), page 14
A wry chuckle escapes my lips. “I bet she is.”
Oh well, she’ll get over it. I wasn’t about to leave her alone when she wasn’t a hundred percent yet.
“Thanks,” I tell the nurse as I see her out.
I go down the hall to check on Riley. She’s laying down with her back to the door.
“You didn’t have to make her stay,” she says, her voice low.
“She was compensated well for her time,” I retort.
Riley sucks her teeth and rolls over to face me. “How many times do I have to remind you that it’s not only about money?”
“How many times do I have to tell you that she, like my employees, are paid to do a service and paid well? Which allows them the freedom in other areas of their lives.”
She sucks her teeth again and gives me her back.
“What if she has a family that needed her home today? A son or daughter who had a soccer game or something?”
“Now you’re being ridiculous.” I sit on the edge of the bed, next to her. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m not being ridiculous,” she says, ignoring my question. “Money is great, necessary even, but if people are expected to be at your beck and call to make good money how are they able to enjoy it? Or take care of life outside of work? Take Colin James, for example.”
“Who the hell is that?”
Her eyes roll toward the ceiling. “A junior accountant. Over the past few weeks, he’s put in at least four or five twelve-hour days.”
“And?”
“And,” she mocks, “his wife just had a baby three weeks ago. A sick baby who’s still in the NICU.”
I jut my head back. “How do you know that?”
“Because I talk to your employees. How do you think I came up with the preliminary report for yesterday’s meeting?” She sits up and folds her arms. “Or did you not read it?”
I press her shoulder, making her lay down again. “Calm down. I read it. Let’s not talk about work for now. You’re still on the mend.”
“I’m fine.”
“The nurse said you’re still a little dizzy and really tired.”
Her lips part, and I think she’s going to protest, but instead, she lets out the biggest yawn I’ve seen her take.
I lift an eyebrow.
“Shut up,” she mumbles and rolls over.
“Lunch is here when you wake up.”
She doesn’t say anything as she wiggles into a comfortable position on her side and rests her head against her mountain of pillows. I don’t realize how long I stand here, watching her sleep. Her breathing grows even, and something pulls at the inside of my chest.
I should leave at this point. She’s obviously feeling better. I have a shit ton of work I need to get back to. Hell, I even have a meeting scheduled to make up for a dinner meeting that I missed last night. Yet, my feet remain where they are. Watching her.
I brush a few strands of hair that’ve fallen over her face, and tuck them behind her ear. Riley stirs a little, making the cutest murmuring sound before going quiet again.
That’s when I realize that I don’t want to leave. I’m not just there to watch over one of Townsend’s assets or whatever bullshit line I fed her to keep her in bed. At this moment, I have no desire to do anything that would pull me away from her side.
“Dangerous,” I mutter before running a hand through my hair.
I start to reach for her again, to touch her and make sure she’s real, but her cell phone buzzes.
I lift it from the nightstand and read the name across the screen.
Ladybug.
I frown. What the hell kind of name is that?
As the phone continues to ring in my hand, I look from it to Riley. I can’t bear to wake her up, not when I know she’s not fully recovered.
A sane man would recognize they have no business answering Riley’s phone.
He’s not me.
“Hello?” I answer as I step out of her bedroom, closing the door behind me. “Hello?” I say more insistent when I don’t get a response the first time around.
“You’re not Aunt Riley. Who is this?” A young girl’s voice pushes through the phone line. “Oh my god, is she okay? What happened? Who is this?”
“My name’s Kyle,” I answer.
“Where’s my aunt? Is she hurt?”
“Your aunt’s fine,” I reassure. “She’s resting, so I answered the phone.”
“A-Are you sure?” The quiver in her voice unnerves me slightly.
“Positive. She wasn’t feeling well yesterday and earlier this morning. But she’s better now, just sleeping.”
“Did she have one of those headaches she gets?”
Obviously, this girl knows about her aunt’s condition. I wonder how frequently Riley gets these migraines.
“Yes.”
“Did her medication not work? She always tells me not to worry.”
“Because she’s right. Your aunt’s tough. She ran out of medication, which was why this one was a little bit worse, but she’s better now and has her meds.”
There’s a pause on the other end, and I suspect she’s taking in what I just said.
“What’s your name again?” the girl asks.
“Kyle. And yours is Ladybug?” I take a seat on one of the stools in Riley’s kitchen.
She lets out a small giggle. “Only Aunt Ry calls me that. My name is Eve.”
“Nice to meet you, Eve.”
“How do you know my aunt?”
“We work together.” That’s the truth but Riley is a hell of a lot more than a colleague. She’s quite literally the only woman I’ve shared a bed with on more than one occasion and hadn’t fucked yet. But I doubt her niece needs to know that.
“Thank you for taking care of her.”
I adjust my position on the stool, feeling something warm move through my body at Eve’s words.
“I-I got scared when she didn’t call me yesterday night or this morning. Aunt Riley always calls me on Friday nights.”
The fear in her voice twists my damn stomach in a knot.
“That’s probably my fault,” I confess. “I made her stay in bed longer than she wanted because she was still in a little bit of pain.”
“Oh,” she says, sounding innocent. “She likes gummy bears after one of her headaches.”
My eyebrows lift.
“Not any brand, though. She only eats Haribo gummy bears. She says anything else is a cheap knockoff.”
A deep chuckle spills from me. I grab a pen from the counter and a piece of paper from a notepad Riley has on the refrigerator and write ‘Haribo gummy bears’ on it.
“Anything else?”
“Um …” She thinks for a moment. “She likes the blue flavor sports drink. The really popular one. She drinks a lot of those after one of her headaches.”
I write down the brand I think she’s talking about.
“And she doesn’t like hot chocolate.”
I frown because I found a couple of boxes of gourmet hot chocolate mix in one of Riley’s cabinets.
“She keeps them at home for me,” Eve explains as if she knows about the boxes in the cabinet. “She says hot chocolate is nothing more than warmed chocolate milk. But she’s wrong. They have very different flavors,” she says in such a serious tone, I don’t refute.
“And her fuzzy slippers are her favorite. Her feet get cold like mine.”
I honestly can’t even believe I’m writing all of this shit down. But I do.
“Kyle, have you seen my—” Riley appears from the hallway.
I stare at her in the long T-shirt she’s wearing that stops at her mid-thigh. Riley has long, shapely legs. I can’t pull my eyes away from them anymore than I could pull myself away from her bedside, not too long ago.
What the hell is going on with me?
“Is that her?”
Eve’s question pulls me out of my musings.
“Yes.”
Riley approaches the kitchen.
“It’s your niece.” I hand her the phone.
My heart kicks up a beat when Riley’s smile expands over her entire face. “Hi, Ladybug.”
I can’t hear Eve’s response, but it makes Riley laugh. My body responds to the deep, sultry sound, even when I know she’s not intending to be sexy.
“Yes, but I’m much better now.” She pauses. “No, I’m not lying. I promise, I am.”
She gives me an exasperated look as if to say can you believe she doesn’t believe me?
Yes, I can believe it. Riley’s the type to push through, even when she’s in pain. Something I’ve learned about her in the past twenty-four hours. She’s also someone who makes people care about her.
The women at the Girls on the Move event gushed about her. While Angie, the director, thanked me for staying and taking questions, about half of the questions weren’t about networking or making an entryway into corporate America. They were about Riley; how she was doing, when she would be back, if she needed anything.
And hearing the love and concern her niece had for her further proves my point.
Then there’s me.
I know my ass should’ve been out of here hours ago. Riley obviously knows how to take care of herself.
Yet, I’m still here, watching her talk with and reassure her niece not to worry about her.
“I’m your guardian, remember?” I hear Riley say, in a tone that reminds me of my mother when she used to tell me not to worry about things.
That’s when it dawns on me that Riley isn’t simply Eve’s aunt. She’s her caretaker, her mother, in a way. The loving tone Riley used with Eve, the affectionate nickname, all point to a deeper bond than an aunt and niece just catching up.
“Why not?”
Riley’s question pulls at my attention.
“That doesn’t seem fair. Do you want me to call the headmistress and ask her what’s going on? You should be allowed to go to the movie, too.”
I sit up, a protective instinct overcoming me.
“Are you sure?” There’s a concerned note in Riley’s voice. “Okay, Ladybug. It’s your call. Clean up your room as your floor leader says and maybe next time you can go.”
Another pause.
I should mind my damn business. But it feels like Riley, and by extension Eve, are my business.
I run a hand through my hair. This is insane.
“All right, I’ll give you a call tomorrow. I promise. I love you.”
My stomach clenches at those final three words. Because I want her to say them to—
Fuck no.
“Thanks for taking that.”
Riley startles me out of that mental spiral.
“I think she might’ve hopped on a plane if you hadn’t answered.” She laughs and takes a seat on the stool across from me.
The T-shirt slips down her shoulder, leaving it bare. My mouth waters.
“Why do you call her Ladybug?” I ask to get my attention off of the many ways I want to fuck her.
She’s probably still not a hundred percent.
“She’s my good luck.” Her smile is wide. “My brighter side,” she adds.
I quirk an eyebrow.
Riley glances down at the dark grey and black swirls in the granite countertop before looking back up at me.
“When I decided to take custody of her from my brother, I knew I had to make some big changes in my life. And I did. It was all for the better. If it weren’t for her, I don’t know who I would be.”
I snort as a memory resurfaces.
“What?” Riley asks.
“You sound like my dad.”
“I sound like the Aaron Townsend? How?”
I chuckle at the impressed tone of voice. “He once said something like that to me about my sister and I, and my mom, of course. He told me he doesn’t know where he’d be in life if he hadn’t found out about us and made my mother marry him.”
Riley blinks. “Excuse me, did you just say your dad made your mother marry him?”
“More like blackmailed her into it.” I shrug.
She continues to gawk at me.
“It worked out. They happily went on to have three more kids.”
“You’re one of five, right?” She asks.
I nod. “And a shitload of cousins from my uncles and aunts. My point is, my father says that one decision ended up making him a better man. Because it forced him to grow into a more selfless person.”
She shakes her head. “I don’t see how that’s possible. How could your mother even forgive him after that?”
“Love is strange,” I grunt. “Or so I hear.” Not that I’ve ever felt that shit. A silence falls between us, and I find myself staring into Riley’s eyes. Her eyelids grow heavy, and for a moment I think it’s because she’s still tired from recovering from her migraine.
However, when my gaze drops to the counter, I realize that my hand is covering her wrist. My thumb makes tiny circles, stroking the vein there. I can feel her heartbeat speed up from my touch.
When our eyes collide again, I recognize the altered breathing, increased heart rate, and the slight flush in her cheeks for what they are.
“Are you hungry?” I ask as my attention drops to her lips.
A small groan escapes my throat when Riley licks her bottom lip. I’m not even sure she’s aware of what she’s doing. I don’t move my hand from her arm because it feels unconscionable to break our physical connection.
“Yes.” Her voice is a whisper.
“For food?”
The slight shake of her head is all I need to rise so fast from my stool that the damn thing falls over. Not even the crashing sound as it hits the stone tiles of the floor stops me. One second I was sitting across the kitchen island from Riley, and the next, I have my hands cupping her face, my body barreling in between her legs, forcing her thighs to make room for me, and her back pressed against the counter.
“How does your head feel?” My voice is brusque.
Her forehead wrinkles in confusion.
“Are you still in pain?”
She swallows, and then a deceptive smile crosses her lips. My dick bulges, pressing against the zipper of my pants.
“My head is fine. The dizziness is gone. But if you don’t fuck me soon, I will be in a different kind of pain.”
Fuck.
My lips crash down on hers, claiming what is mine. This kiss is even better than the one in Miami and the kisses we shared in that closet in the hotel room. Instincts take over and I do my level best to taste every part of her mouth, to devour her.
Too soon, though, kissing is not enough. I pull back as I entwine my fingers in her hair, gripping it tightly. I tilt her head at an angle that leaves her nowhere to look but in my eyes.
“Riley, know this. Once I fuck you, that’s it. You’re mine. I don’t share, and I don’t let anyone touch what belongs to me.”
“I belong to me,” she insists.
My hand tightens in her hair.
“Once my dick makes you scream my name, that statement is no longer true.” I don’t even know where these words are coming from. I’ve never claimed a woman in my life. This one, however, is mine. I can feel it down to my soul.
“Kyle, I’m not—”
I cut that bullshit off with another kiss, once again possessing her. Showing her without words that, yeah, she might be her own person, but she’s mine.
“Don’t let that pretty mouth of yours get you into trouble, Riley,” I say against her lips.
She lets out a moan, and I can tell she’s on the edge.
“Do you want me to fuck you, Riley?”
“Yes,” she whimpers.
“Then say it,” I command.
Her hands clutch at my shoulders almost desperately. “Say what?”
“That you’re mine.”
She swallows, hesitating.
“Say it.”
“Kyle.”
My name on her tongue with that sexy, desperate tone causes all of the blood in my body to rush to my cock. It painfully presses again my pants, begging for me to fuck her right then and there.
But I’m a man of control, if nothing else.
I can wait until she gives me the words. I want her surrender.
“Tell me, Riley.” My hand fists in her hair even tighter.
“Yours,” she whimpers. “I’m yours, Kyle.”
CHAPTER 18
Riley
I’m yours, Kyle.
I had no idea three simple words could mean so much. As soon as the phrase pushes through my lips, Kyle is everywhere. He’s kissing me, his hand in my hair massaging my scalp, while his other hand runs up and down my thigh.
And he steps in closer to the stool, forcing my legs even wider to make room for his bulky frame. A tremor runs through my body at the feel of his very large dick pressing against my core. The seam of my panties becomes soaked with evidence of my need.
I gasp in surprise when Kyle suddenly pulls back and swiftly lifts me off of the stool. All of this is done in one fluid motion. He carries me to the bedroom.
“As much as I want to fuck you on that countertop, I want our first time to be in a bed. I want to see what you look like with your hair spread on the pillows, calling my name as my dick claims you for the first time.”
We’re really going to have to discuss him claiming me and making me his. I’m not a damn possession. But that conversation will have to wait because as soon as my back hits the mattress, Kyle is right there again. He strips the baggy T-shirt off of me, leaving me in just a pair of light pink, cotton panties.
Kyle sits back on his knees between my legs and stares down at me. He looks as if he’s committing my body to memory. A glint hits his eyes when he pauses at my breasts. His large hands cover them, squeezing my nipples.
I arch my back into the warmth of his hands.
“Tell me what you like, Riley,” he orders. His fingers pluck my nipples.
“That. Do more of that,” I urge.
I intake a sharp inhale when he pinches them a little harder. My pussy becomes so hot and wet, I wonder if I’ve melted the fabric of my panties. Kyle moves a hand from my breast down to trail along my thigh, running along the seam of my panty. He inserts one long finger and I moan, my eyelids falling shut.
