Everything But (26 page)

She shook her head.  “That’s not so weird.  I think most people hate hearing their own recorded voices.  We never sound the same recorded as we sound to ourselves.”

“Yeah…well, I sound like a fucking idiot.”

She shook her head. 
“No way.
  You sound…”  She took a deep breath, deciding to let it pass.

“Come on.  Finish it.”

She looked back up from her plate.  “You sound sexy.”

He grinned.  “Thanks.  Not to me, but thanks.”

She swallowed, ready to change the subject.  At least they were talking again and it wasn’t strained.  “There’s cheesecake for dessert, by the way.”

“
You fucking
kidding me?”

“No…amaretto
…
”  Oh, shit.  “Oh…can you eat that, even if…?”

“Yeah.
  Besides, I told you I was
gonna
drink that wine later anyway.”

She really hoped he wouldn’t, but she didn’t want to press the issue, especially since he was acting more normal again.  They ate in a silence for a few moments and then Erin said, “I know you used to write all the lyrics for Spawn.  Are you still doing that in your new band?”

He nodded.  “Yeah, but I’m also writing some of the music too.”

She smiled.  “That’s impressive.  That why it sounds so different?”

He shrugged.  “That’s part of it.  Johnny used to write all the music for Spawn.”

“Johnny…J. C.?”

“Yeah.”

She took another bite of chicken.  So far, so good, but in the back of her mind, she was worried about the wine.  Maybe she could try distracting him a little later.

Chapter Twenty-six

OKAY, SO RILEY
was coming on a little
too
strong in the asshole role, so he dialed it back a bit.  But he got pissed at himself for that too because that had been the whole point.  If Erin just wanted a little romp with a rock star, he could give her a taste of the whole gamut.  He could treat her like
trash,
make her feel like a whore if that’s what she really wanted.

The problem was he liked her way too much.  Every time he started to turn on the heat and act like a dick, the hurt in her eyes made him pull back.  He felt guilty.

And then, goddamn.  She just had to bring up the new music, didn’t she?  She had to tell him she
liked
his new stuff. 
That made him feel
great.  He’d been so worried about what Spawn fans would think, especially because so many of them embraced Johnny’s new project and much of the buzz in the fan community was that Riley had no talent.  So he’d been worrying himself sick wondering what fan reaction would be.  He knew Erin was a serious fan, so having her assure him his new stuff was not only viable but
good
did loads for his confidence.

He wondered if he’d be able to pull it off.  She might not care about him, might think this was all just a little jaunt in the park, but he just couldn’t stop falling for her more and more.

“Are you ready for dessert?” she asked, pulling him out of his thoughts.

He looked up from his empty plate.  Yeah, he was, but he didn’t know that she meant the dessert he was thinking about.  And he really
was
thinking about the goddamned bottle of wine too.  That had been a fucking stupid move.  But he was at war with himself.  He hadn’t wanted a drink this badly for a couple of years and, even though he’d been considering it, he hadn’t even
seriously thought of
giving in until he’d actually bought some.  But, for now, he was going to chill.

Erin got up from the table and opened the refrigerator, leaning over to see in.  He had a
nice
view of her
sweet
ass.  Jesus.  He wanted to take her right there.  But he’d behave himself…for now.  He’d already freaked her out enough
by being a rat bastard
.  She fetched a round pan
of cheesecake out of the fridge along with
two bottles of the soda he’d brought over
earlier in the week
.  Then she walked over to the counter and got two small plates out of the cabinet.  Riley finally asked, “Do you need any help?”

“No,
I got it.  T
hanks.”  His eyes moved to one of the two tall white candles on the table, the flame flickering gently, swaying to a quiet tune only it felt.  It certainly didn’t match
what was
coming from the speakers in Erin’s living room,
songs from
the middle of
Korn’s
Follow the Leader
disc.  He smiled.  Erin really
was
a
metalhead
.  It wasn’t just a show because she’d wanted to dally with the bad boy on the other side of the tracks.

Ah, yes, more of the conflicting thoughts and emotions. 
Wouldn’t want it to be easy to be a raging asshole.
  Or…what was it she’d called him a few days ago? 
An
incorrigible ass
?
  Yeah…he was
gonna
be that tonight.  He had to power through his
guilty
feelings and
make
her hate him.  If he saw a look of hate in her eyes, it would be easy to walk away.  Right now, it just hurt.

It was hard, though, because she was sweet and gorgeous.  He glanced around the kitchen, realizing she’d put a lot of work into this meal.  He had no idea how long she’d worked on it, but she’d done a lot.  And then…she was in that simple, plain-Jane dress, but it hugged her curves and made him think all kinds of dirty thoughts.

She turned around, smiling, and set in fro
nt of him a slice of cheesecake, a fork,
and an opened bottle of cream soda.  He couldn’t help but smile back, and she looked like she had some secret.  He liked that but he also felt a little wary, and he knew why.  He was feeling guilty about all the thoughts he’d had over the last twenty-four hours and he was projecting them on her.  Still…  “So what’s wrong with it?”

Erin had turned back to the counter and was walking back with a
nother soda
.  “What?  What do you mean?”

God, he was a fucking asshole. 
Look at the pain in those green eyes
, asshole. 
You
did that.
 
“Oh, nothing.”
  He took a swig of his soda and avoided looking at her.

Before he could grab
the
fork, she picked it up and sliced off a tiny bite from
the cheesecake on the small plate between them
.  She held
the fork
out to him.  God…could he trust her? 
Was she wanting
to get him back for being such a jerk tonight?  It would be so easy.

But he
did
trust her.  He couldn’t help it.  He leaned forward and let her
slide the fork in his mouth as
he closed his lips over it.  Then she placed her other hand on his inner thigh.  Fuck…he couldn’t
stop
himself
from feeling comfortable
.  He liked dessert already, and he wouldn’t be able to concentrate on his plan with the heat of her hand radiating through his jeans.

He also couldn’t help the small, sly smile turning up his lips.  She asked, “What do you think?”

He swallowed the bite. 
“About the cheesecake?”

Oh, God, that seductive look in her eyes.  She had a plan.  “Sure.”

“It’s, uh, smooth and sweet.”  What the fuck?  Chill your shit, Riley.  He was losing his cool.  He was acting like he was fourteen.  Of course, he was
kinda
feeling like that too.
  He felt her hand sliding up his thigh, ever so slowly, as his jeans tightened.  Yeah,
right,
his jeans tightened.  No, his cock was expanding and it couldn’t fit in there anymore.  He closed his eyes.  He was going to enjoy the sensation and whatever
other
exquisite torture she had in mind for him.

She
slid
her hand back toward his knee.  Oh
, fuck…don’t
stop now.  But
he knew it was all just part of it.  He opened his eyes and looked at her.  She had a devilish gr
in on her face and said, “Now my turn
.”

Yeah…he’d gladly put both his hands on her thighs, but she had
the
fork in her hand and snapped her wrist at him, then slid
the
plate closer to him.  He grinned and scooped up just a sliver.  He saw her hands move to her neck and she unbuttoned the top of her dress.  He was distracted and paused until she furrowed one brow and looked at the fork in his hand.

As though he were an errant slave, he blinked and moved the fork toward her mouth, but he was painfully aware that she kept unbuttoning the dress.
  Once he had the fork in her mouth, she clamped her teeth down on it, her lips curled in a snarl.  She had a twinkle in her eye.

And who the fuck was Riley kidding when he thought he could treat her like trash?  She was too cute and too funny and…way too sexy.  She stirred something deep within him.
  He wanted to say something but he was afraid of breaking the mood.  He slid the fork out of her mouth and just watched as she moved down the front of her dress, one button at a
time, ignoring the beat of
Korn’s
“Seed” playing in the room, taking her sweet-ass agonizing time.  He could barely take his eyes off her fingers, couldn’t even clamp his mouth shut, but he scooped up another bite on the fork and brought it to her mouth.  Her smile was wide and she opened her lips again.  Once she had the cheesecake in her mouth, she bit her bottom lip and looked at him through half-closed eyes.  He wondered what she was thinking.

She reached over and took the fork from him.  But instead of scooping up another bite for him, she set the utensil down on the table and scooted her chair closer to his.  She got so close, her legs fit in between his
, but she didn’t get too close
.  She was so close
, though, that
he could feel the warmth radiating off her.

He could hear her breathing.  Her breath wasn’t smooth and silent, and he knew that meant she was getting a little worked up.  Still, he kept his distance, because he didn’t know what she had planned.  Then she brought her hands up to her breasts.  At first, he thought she was going to cup them, and just that thought made his pants feel tight again.  Instead, though, she moved her fingers underneath the fabric and pulled the sides apart.

Holy fucking shit.

She had some kind of lacy red lingerie underneath
her goddamn
dress.
  The sleeves of her dress were hanging off her shoulders now so he could only see a little of the lingerie but
shit
.  But what drove him absolutely out of his mind was when she grabbed his hand and pressed the palm against her breast.  He felt the rigid nipple against his hand and she let out a heavy breath, closing her eyes and leaning forward.

Jesus Christ.  He knew one thing.  There was no way he could walk away from this.

Chapter Twenty-seven

THE LOOK IN
Riley’s eyes was classic.  The moment
Erin
put his hand on her breast, his pupils got so wide they nearly ate up his entire eyeball.  And she’d noticed
how he was bulging against
his pants
too
.  He was as hard as stone.  There was no ignoring it.
  She’d managed to seduce him and, she hoped, taken his mind off the stupid bottle he’d brought.

But, damn it, she hadn’t wanted to care.  She’d already been feeling such strong emotions when it came to Riley and it was impossible to turn them off.  She was worried about him
too,
worried
that he might decide to throw away three years of sobriety for a cheap bottle of wine.  But she was also upset with him—he was acting like an asshole off and on, and it didn’t make any sense.  She hadn’t said anything to set him off, at least nothing she could f
igure.

And whatever resolve she had tried to muster
to resist him
dissolved in his presence.
  Just sitting next to him through dinner had
made
every last nerve stand at attention, begging for his touch.  Oh, yeah, like she hadn’t planned everything out.  She couldn’t even pretend
with herself
…the
red with black trim bustier/ panty set was premeditated and she’d felt hot all through dinner knowing it was under her boring dress.

She hadn’t had a plan, though, but it had hit her when she’d decided to move them on to dessert.  And it had worked. 
And how.
  Just having his eyes on her,
with
his body almost paralyzed while she unbuttoned the dress had aroused her in ways she couldn’t even describe.  By the time she was done with the last button at the waist, all her muscles were tense and alive and her panties were wet.