All the Right Places (RILEY O'BRIEN & CO #1) Page 19

  Why am I so nervous?

  Chapter 25

  Amelia was working on Teagan’s redesign project when she heard a knock on the penthouse door. She wasn’t expecting company, but she expected to find Quinn or Teagan on the other side of the door.

  She closed the sketchpad. She’d been drawing for a little over two hours now, and she had several great ideas for some new jeans. She hoped Teagan would be happy.

  She’d focused on the accessories line all day, and she had made a lot of progress. A few of the designs had sparked some ideas for Teagan’s project, so she’d left the workshop to come up to the penthouse a little early.

  Peering through the peephole, she saw Quinn’s tall form magnified within it. She was happy to see him and was about to fling open the door when she remembered that she’d left her sketchpad on the cocktail table.

  “Give me just a second,” she shouted through the door.

  She didn’t hear Quinn’s response because she’d already darted back to the living room to grab her sketchpad. She turned in a circle, trying to figure out the best place to hide it.

  She didn’t want him to find it and discover her designs for the new Rileys. She thought about her bedroom but discarded that idea. Given her appalling lack of control when it came to Quinn, they might end up there.

  She zeroed in on the hall closet and placed the sketchpad on the shelf above the clothes rod. Closing the closet door, she pushed down the guilt that blossomed because of her sneakiness.

  Rushing back to the front door, she jerked it open. They stared at each other for a moment without speaking. Every time she saw him, he looked even better than the last time. And now that she knew what was under his button-down shirt and Rileys, she had a difficult time thinking about anything else.

  “May I come in?”

  She smiled, thinking he wasn’t nearly so polite in bed. “Sure,” she said, opening the door wider.

  He walked in, and she closed the door behind him. She had barely turned around before he backed her against it. He slammed his mouth down on hers, thrusting his tongue into her mouth when she opened to him.

  He tasted delicious, a mix of his own unique spiciness and the yeasty bitterness of beer, and she moaned against his mouth. He fed her several deep kisses before releasing her mouth with a gentle lick across her bottom lip.

  “Sorry. I couldn’t resist your lips.”

  “You think my lips are irresistible,” she tried to tease, but her voice was raspy.

  He nodded, his eyes smoky in the dim lighting. “The rest of you is pretty damn irresistible, too. Especially those red curls between your legs.”

  Blood rushed into her cheeks, and she placed her palms against them to cool her skin. Quinn wasn’t hiding his attraction to her any longer, and the full force of his sexy attention overwhelmed her.

  His gaze roamed over her face, and a slow smile turned up the corners of his lips. “Are you embarrassed, Juice?”

  She made a sound of disgust, pushing past him into the living room. With a deep chuckle, he followed.

  She sat down on the sofa and tucked her bare feet under her, making sure her wrap dress didn’t fall open. She didn’t want to flash him, even though he’d probably love it.

  He dropped down next to her and propped his booted feet on the cocktail table. He crossed his legs at the ankle, the movement drawing her attention to the bulge between his thighs.

  As arousal bloomed at her center, she decided that he wasn’t going to leave the penthouse until both of them enjoyed a couple of orgasms. She was evaluating whether the sofa met her needs when he spoke.

  “I want to talk to you about our trip to Georgia. We’re scheduled to leave day after tomorrow, but I’d like to postpone it until next week.”

  “Okay.” She shrugged. “It’s not a big deal for me to stay here for a few more days.”

  He smiled. “Great. We can fly out next Thursday and tour the facility on Friday. I’ll drop you off in Nashville on the way back to San Francisco.”

  She nodded. “That sounds good.”

  Glancing down, he pulled at a loose thread on the cuff of his shirt. A long piece unraveled, and she grabbed his fingers.

  “Stop that,” she ordered. “You’re going to make the whole seam come undone.”

  He brought his gaze to her, his eyes hot. “I want you to meet my parents.”

  Jerking away from him, she jumped off the sofa. “What?”

  He dropped his feet to the floor and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. He shot her an alert glance.

  “There’s no reason to freak out, Juice. I thought you’d want to get to know my dad since he’s been running the company for the past thirty years, and I thought you’d enjoy meeting my mom since she’s the one who came up with the idea for our special-edition jeans.”

  Amelia immediately felt foolish. Of course, he didn’t want her to meet his parents, like she was his girlfriend or something. He was thinking about business.

  “Oh,” she said weakly. “That’s fine then.”

  She tried to ignore the little pang of disappointment deep inside her, but she couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to have a real place in Quinn’s life. She feared she was little more than a convenient sex partner for him, when he was starting to mean a lot more to her.

  He smiled at her acceptance. “The 49ers are playing your home team here this Sunday. We have a big suite in the new stadium, and I thought it would be a good place for you to spend some time with my parents. The game should be pretty good.”

  Like most Texans, Amelia loved football, and she knew the 49ers were playing the Tennessee Titans. She lived in Nashville, but her home team was definitely not the Titans.

  “My home team is the Dallas Cowboys.” Her tone made it clear she thought he was an idiot.

  He grinned. “Do you like football?”

  She propped her hands on her hips. “I grew up in Texas, Quinn. What do you think?”

  “I think you’re even sexier now than you were thirty seconds ago.” He leaned back and patted the cushion next to him. “Come and sit down.”

  • • •

  Quinn eyed Amelia, trying to ascertain whether she would do what he’d asked or if he would have to drag her onto his lap. Thinking about her balanced on top of him made his cock thicken.

  She still stood with her hands on her hips, and the stance accentuated her curves. It also pulled the bodice of her plum-colored dress tight against her breasts. Saliva pooled in his mouth as he stared at the white skin exposed by the deep V neck of her dress. Her skin was so pale it was almost translucent, and he now knew she had freckles almost everywhere except her round ass.

  He let his gaze roam over her, noting the way her dress wrapped across her body and knotted on the side. He wondered what would happen if he pulled on that tie.

  He lunged forward, tangling his fingers in the tie and pulling it loose. The side of her dress fell open a little bit, but it didn’t loosen completely.

  With a loud gasp, she grabbed her dress. While her hands were busy, he pulled her toward him. They fell backward onto the sofa with her sprawled on top of him.

  The fall had hiked up her dress, and he pushed it higher so he could grip her ass in his hands. Pulling her against him, he groaned when he felt her mound against his cock, scalding even through his jeans.

  He realized he was acting a little bit like an animal, but he couldn’t stop. For some reason, he was more out of control right now than he had been the first time they’d had sex, even though he hadn’t been with anyone for a long time before that. Amelia had stoked a fire in him, and he was throwing gasoline on it.

  Grabbing his shoulders, she struggled to regain her balance. Her long, curly hair fell across his face, tickling his nose and lips, and she threw back her head to get it out of their faces. He surged up
to lick her cleavage.

  “Quinn,” she moaned. “Let me catch my breath.”

  “No. I want you to be breathless,” he said but leaned back against the sofa and let go of her ass.

  She wiggled a bit against his crotch, and his vision blurred. Finally, she got settled and sat up, perching on his lap just like he’d imagined a few minutes ago. He gazed into her face. Her cheeks were the color of cherries, and her eyes were so dark they were almost black.

  “Take off your dress.”

  Without any hesitation, she opened the front of her dress, slipping it from her shoulders and letting it slither to the floor. He moaned when he saw her breasts. A sheer black bra with hot pink piping around the edges covered the plump mounds, and tiny hot pink bows decorated her cleavage.

  “I like your underwear, Juice.”

  He sucked her nipple through the fabric of her bra before he noticed her matching panties. They had a tiny pink bow on the waistband just below her belly button.

  Oh, yeah, I’m going to unwrap her just like a birthday present.

  Leaning forward, he slid his hands inside her panties to fondle her bare ass. He couldn’t get enough of it, and he squeezed gently before trailing his fingers down the crease between her cheeks until he reached the springy hairs covering her pussy.

  He swirled his fingers through the abundant wetness of her body, and she let out a breathy sound that made all the hair on his body stand on end. He brought his knees up so he could support her back.

  “Unbutton my jeans.”

  His voice was barely a growl, and he could feel his control fraying. If he didn’t get inside her soon, he was going to make a mess on this expensive leather sofa.

  Shifting on his lap, she reached between them. Her fingers grazed his cock, and the light touch made him hiss. She froze, staring into his eyes.

  “Do you have a condom? Please say you do because I don’t have any.”

  Shit.

  He leaned his head back against the sofa cushion and squeezed his eyes shut. He didn’t have a condom. He’d brought a couple with him after they had left his house on Sunday, but they’d used them already.

  Opening his eyes, he raised his head. “No. I’m sorry. I don’t.”

  She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. “Where can we get one? Is there someplace nearby?” she asked hopefully.

  It would take him at least twenty minutes to run to the corner store and get back. Plus, he wanted to spend the entire night with her, and he wouldn’t be able to stay overnight in the penthouse. Someone from Riley O’Brien & Co. might get to work early and see him come down from the penthouse wearing the same clothes he’d had on the day before.

  “Let’s just go back to my place. You can spend the night.”

  She shook her head, her coppery ringlets spilling across her shoulders and over her left eye. She swiped the curls away, and the action pushed her breasts into his face.

  Leaning forward, he pulled down one of her bra cups and caught a hard nipple in his mouth. She sank her hands into his hair as he sucked and licked the tip.

  “How would I get to work tomorrow morning?” she gasped.

  He released her nipple with a soft pop. “I’ll drive you.”

  “But someone could see us,” she protested. “They’d wonder why we were together so early in the morning.”

  He groaned in frustration. He didn’t want to hide his relationship with Amelia. He wasn’t ashamed of it. They were both adults, and they weren’t doing anything wrong.

  At the same time, however, he knew she worried about her professional reputation. He could understand her concerns. Some people might think the partnership between Riley O’Brien and Amelia had more to do with sex than her design talent. And he never wanted to do anything that could possibly tarnish Amelia in the eyes of her existing and future clients.

  She shifted again, the movement sending a twinge deep into his testicles. He didn’t want to stop, and there was only one way they could continue.

  He sighed. “I’m clean.”

  “What?” she asked, blinking owlishly.

  “I don’t have any STDs or STIs, or whatever they’re called now. I had a checkup a few months ago, and all the tests came back fine.”

  She considered his words for several moments. “A few months ago? What about your . . . activities since then?”

  “I told you I haven’t been with anyone in a while.”

  She tilted her head. “Quinn, you’re going to have to be a lot more specific before I’m willing to have unprotected sex with you.”

  He sat up, and she wobbled on his lap. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he brought her face close to his.

  “Okay, Juice, I’ll be specific. Before we had sex, the last person I was with was my ex-girlfriend and that was more than a year ago. Actually it’s closer to two years.”

  Her eyes widened in disbelief. “Why?”

  He shrugged uncomfortably. He didn’t want to explain why. He wasn’t even sure he knew.

  “I just . . . wasn’t interested. I was dealing with a lot of stuff.”

  She didn’t respond, and he lifted her off his lap and onto her feet. “Never mind,” he said, scooting forward on the sofa.

  At that point, he didn’t know if he was leaving to buy condoms or just leaving. Either way, he was done with the conversation.

  She pushed him back with the heel of her hand, stepping between his knees. Reaching down, she began to unbutton his shirt, her fingers fast and nimble. She leaned forward and kissed him, swiping her tongue across his lips.

  “I’m clean, too. I had my well woman exam last month, and all the tests were clear.” Her words came out in a rush. “I haven’t been with anyone in more than a year. And I’m also on the Pill, so there are no worries there.”

  She swallowed, her white throat moving sinuously. “I’ve never had sex without a condom,” she admitted. “This is going to be new for me.”

  He instinctively understood what she meant. She was trusting him, and that was new for her.

  A mix of desire and tenderness flooded him, and he pulled her closer so he could kiss her belly button. “I haven’t either, even when I was young and really stupid,” he admitted, tracing his finger over the bow on her panties. “I’ve always been scared shitless of catching a disease or getting a girl pregnant.”

  She laughed softly. “Me, too. I was afraid of getting pregnant and ending up a poor single mother with no hope of making my life better.”

  He rubbed her back, enjoying the feel of her silky skin. Every word she said gave him a much clearer idea of how she’d grown up and how far she’d come.

  As she finished with his buttons, she pushed open his shirt and ran her small hands across his chest and over his stomach. He quivered a little when her nails scraped through the hair trailing toward his jeans.

  “Take off your shirt.”

  He rushed to comply with her request, almost tearing it off in his haste before falling back against the cushions. If she wanted to be in charge right now, he was fine with that.

  Moving her hands past his waistband, she cupped him through his Rileys. He let out a strangled moan.

  “Don’t torture me.”

  She licked her lips. “No, that’s not what I have in mind.”

  She dropped her hands to his button fly, and one by one, she popped open the buttons. Pushing the edges of his fly apart, she slipped her hand inside his jeans and boxer briefs. She wrapped her hand around his cock and squeezed.

  “If we do this . . . if we have sex without a condom, we’re exclusive,” she said quietly. “No sex with anyone else while we’re together.”

  He struggled to catch his breath. He had no problem with her demand. He didn’t want to be with anyone else. He couldn’t even think about anyone else but Amelia. She filled his thoughts, cons
tantly and completely.

  And he sure as hell didn’t want any other man to put his hands on her. Fury coursed through him at the thought of her sharing her luscious body with anyone but him. He wanted her to be his and his alone.

  “I agree.”

  Chapter 26

  Amelia sat back on her heels to appreciate the sight of Quinn lounging on the sofa. She pressed her thighs together, trying to give herself a little relief from the arousal flooding through her.

  She sent a quick prayer of thanks to the heavens that Quinn was half-naked in her apartment. Ready, willing, and able to give her toe-curling pleasure. His blue eyes were dark with desire, his color heightened.

  She trusted that Quinn had told the truth about his lack of a sex life, and she was surprised by herself. She didn’t trust anyone but Ava Grace.

  In fact, she actively distrusted people. Why was Quinn the exception? Why was she different with him? She wasn’t ready to do the soul-searching required to answer that question.

  When he had told her that he hadn’t been with a woman in nearly two years, she’d been dumbstruck. First of all, she couldn’t believe women hadn’t made fools of themselves to get him into their beds. The man was a walking advertisement for sex, and unlike a lot of good-looking guys, he had no trouble delivering.

  In addition to his physical appeal, he was obscenely rich. She imagined gold diggers around the world would love to get their hands on his big bank account, among other big things.

  She wondered what he’d meant when he had said he had been dealing with “stuff.” She knew about his dad’s illness, of course, but she was intensely curious about his ex-girlfriend. Who had dumped whom?

  Had it been a bad breakup? Was that why he hadn’t been interested in sex? She hadn’t asked because she knew it wasn’t the time or the place since she was nearly naked, and he’d been ready to leave.

  Did it mean anything that he’d chosen to get back in the saddle with her? She wanted it to mean something. To be more accurate, she wanted to mean something to Quinn.

  She placed her hands on his thighs. They were rock hard under the worn denim of his jeans, and she squeezed the muscles lightly. She wanted his pants off. Now.