She’d spilled her guts to Derek. And he’d jerked off in the shower thinking of her.

Things were so not normal between them that she honestly didn’t know what to do.

Riley was still sitting at Derek’s kitchen table, her laptop open, staring at a blank screen twenty minutes after he’d left.

What the hell was happening?

She’d told him all about the task force project, and she knew she’d been letting her enthusiasm show. Last night with Peyton it had all been new, but now that she’d had a chance to think it through and do some research, she was feeling excited. She’d even confessed to feeling flattered. Typically, that would be the perfect fodder for Derek to tease her.

But he hadn’t. He’d listened. He’d asked questions. He’d said he thought she’d be great at it.

And then he’d apparently jerked off in the shower thinking about her.

Riley felt her cheeks—and a few other places—get hot. Surely he’d been kidding about that. But why? She’d been asking him about his plans for the day and wondering when she might see him. And then he’d said that. And he definitely hadn’t seemed like he was teasing.

God.

She put her hands to her cheeks. She could not get that out of her head. She’d seen enough of Derek’s body to fill in the blanks for what she hadn’t. And the images of him in the shower, water cascading over his back and chest and abs, his hand wrapped around his cock, stroking himself and thinking of her…Riley squeezed her thighs together and took a shaky breath. She could not sit here, at his kitchen table, and think all of the things she was thinking. Most especially the thought where she offered to help next time.

That was just not what she and Derek were. She was, as he’d said, like a little sister to him. And he was a pain in her ass. And what they’d always had was…nice.

That thought surprised her but as she thought about it, she had to admit that, yeah, it had been nice. It hadn’t always felt that way. In fact, until that very moment, she’d definitely not thought of it as nice. But Derek was predictable. She always knew how he would react to things. Sure, it was with teasing and banter. Yes, it seemed that he had a hard time taking anything seriously. Absolutely it seemed that she couldn’t say anything without him adding his two stupid cents.

But at the same time, it had always been generally good-natured. She knew what it was like to be criticized for real. Her mother did it on a regular basis. So she definitely could tell the difference between that and what Derek did. Derek teased. He tried to make her smile. He didn’t let her take things—including herself— too seriously.

Riley sat up straighter in her chair as she thought back over their interactions and the general vibe between her and Derek over the years.

Yes, that was it. He’d teased her. He’d always been there, seemingly in the way. Seemingly always with something to say, some comment to make. But it had always been lighthearted. And it had very often been in front of her mother. As if reminding her not to get too worked up about things. As if to help her see the situation less seriously.

Had he done that intentionally? Or was that just who he was?

Derek was different from Kyle. Kyle did worry about things like schedules and doing things a certain way, getting things right. Her mother and father were the same. Riley was the one person in her family who didn’t do everything according to the “rules” and, now that she thought about that, Derek was more like her than any of them. He wasn’t really a rebel. He took care of the entire town. And yet, he kept strange hours and just rolled with the punches and did things his way. Because he was always doing things for other people, no one got too worked up about him being exactly on time or how he got things done, but yeah, he’d managed to work it out so that he pretty much did whatever he wanted, when he wanted to do it.

That was really her style as well. She loved working in cyber security because she could set her own hours, work mostly remotely, and did things her way because most people didn’t really understand what she did in the first place.

Derek would get that.

Her mother and brother, not as much.

How had she never realized all of this about Derek before? That they had several key things in common? That his teasing had annoyed her, but it had never felt like criticism? And that even when it annoyed her, it didn’t really. She knew that he was just working to get a rise out of her, and she gave in to that. For some reason.

And now he wanted her to taste test his pizzas. He wanted her opinion on something.

And then there was that jerking-off thing…

Mentally shaking herself, she put her hands back on her keyboard. She was going to work now. All of this was a lot of realization for one day. And she didn’t like the way desire pulsed through her anytime she thought of him just down the hall, his hand on his—

Somehow she managed to work for about ten minutes. But it turned out to be nearly impossible for her to keep her mind on anything but Derek. Of course, sitting in the middle of his kitchen probably had something to do with that. She needed a change of scenery.

But there simply weren’t many options for that in Sapphire Falls. The only place to really work quietly without interruption was the Come Again after hours. If she went home, her mom would pull her into a project, or would want to chat about how long Riley thought Kyle and Hannah would wait before they got married. Everywhere else in town would be overrun with people she’d known her whole life who would want to sit and chat and ask a million questions. Which was exactly why she’d started going to the Come Again in the first place.

She sat back in her chair and yawned.

This getting up early to get Derek up early was starting to wear on her. She could see his couch from where she sat, and she had to admit that it was one of the more comfortable couches she’d ever lain on.

Derek would be out for a while.

She was going to be up late tonight. And she’d kind of enjoyed their morning walk, so she might have to get him up early again tomorrow.

Yeah, she needed a nap.

She closed up her computer and tucked everything back into her bag. Then she pulled her bun down and shook her hair out. She yawned widely as she lay down where she’d spent the night, snuggling into the pillow that smelled like Derek.

She was asleep on his couch again.

Derek stood at the end of the couch, watching Riley for a long moment. She slept like the dead. He hadn’t been quiet when he’d come into the house. In fact, he’d made more noise than he’d really needed to. Her car was still in his drive and he’d assumed she was working. And yeah, he’d wanted to distract her. Just like when they were kids and he’d make up excuses to go into the kitchen where she was studying, or through the living room when she was trying to watch TV. He wanted her attention.

But even stomping his feet on the porch and letting the front screen door slap shut hadn’t awakened her.

He shook his head. Poor thing. She was exhausted from keeping him up late and getting him up early. He started to reach out to tickle her foot, but he paused just before touching her.

His eyes slowly climbed up the length of her leg to the curve of her ass, then up to the strip of skin peeking out where her shirt had ridden up on her waist. And suddenly he had a better idea. Or a more fun idea, anyway.

He’d been thinking about her all day. About how she’d driven him to get himself off in the shower. About how he’d announced that fact to her. About her stunned reaction.

And now she was asleep on the couch. As if she had nothing on her mind at all. Certainly nothing that would cause her to toss and turn instead of sleep.

Yeah, he simply wasn’t wired to let Riley be. Especially when he was worked up over her.

He pivoted and headed for the bathroom, stripping as he went, dropping his clothes on the floor wherever they came off. This was how he lived when he didn’t have a guest. And it was how he’d live if he had a serious girlfriend.

Might as well practice.

In the bathroom, he cranked up the radio that sat on one end of the vanity. He banged cupboards open and shut. He padded through the living room to the kitchen, naked, to retrieve his electric screwdriver from the cupboard by his back door. Then he’d headed back into the bathroom to tighten the screw on the towel rod. Yeah, he could have used a regular screwdriver, but the electric screwdriver was faster and would get the screw nice and tight. And it was a lot louder.

He returned the screwdriver to the cupboard, walking back through the living room as if he owned the joint. Which he did.

A glance at the couch showed that Riley was sleeping through it all.

Or at least she had her eyes shut.

He didn’t stop and study her, but he did see that her breathing wasn’t quite as soft and even as before, and he had a suspicion that she was sneaking a peek.

Exactly as he’d planned.

He grinned and headed back into the bathroom. He showered for the second time, rinsing off the dirt he’d cleaned out of the arched ceiling at the church and the dirt and grease he’d acquired from changing Gladys Jenkins’s tire when he’d seen her pulled over on his way between the church and the community center, where he’d pulled a bunch of chairs out of the storage area in the basement.

And as he showered, he used his hand on his cock only to apply soap. But he definitely thought of Riley and knew that she was now lying on his couch, thinking about him in the shower, and what he’d told her about his earlier shower.

He was whistling along to Brett Young by the time he shut the water off and started toweling off.

But he left the towel in the bathroom.

He walked down the hall to his bedroom, the way he always did. Which took him right past the doorway that opened into the living room.

He didn’t look in, but he heard her.

And what he heard froze him in mid-step.

It was a moan.

And then, “Derek,” said in a husky, needy voice.

He slowly turned. Riley was still on the couch, her eyes were still shut—but her hand was down the front of her shorts.

Derek’s mouth went dry and his cock swelled. He braced his hands on either side of the doorway, his eyes locked on her. She arched her back, wiggled her hips, and did the “Derek” thing again. Then she opened one eye.

Busted. She was faking. Trying to drive him nuts.

Of course she was.

“Well, don’t stop now, Ry,” he said, his voice a little gruffer than he’d intended. “Do what you need to do.”

She jerked her hand from her shorts and let out a short, irritated breath. She swung her legs over the side of the couch and frowned at him. “Really? You’re just going to stand there, buck naked, and watch as if this isn’t the weirdest situation we’ve ever been in?”

He felt his skin begin to burn as her gaze tracked over his body. He had no hang-ups about being naked. He did a lot of manual labor. Staying toned and fit was one perk of that. He lifted his hands and curled his fingers into the top of the doorjamb, leaning in slightly and giving her an unobstructed view of, well, everything.

“That,” he said, nodding toward her and the couch, “would be well worth a few minutes of awkwardness afterward when I remembered who you are.”

“You would forget?” she asked, her eyebrows climbing toward her hair.

“I might get distracted.” He let his eyes wander over her, from the top of her head to her toes. He couldn’t see everything in between clearly, with her sitting hunched over, but he didn’t need to see it to want it.

He wondered if Riley realized that, at this moment, everything was changing.

He wanted her. He wasn’t sure when it had happened exactly. It felt like he should be able to pinpoint a moment. Like when she’d brushed against him at his front door a few days ago. Or sometime when she walked into the Come Again looking hot and sassy and he’d felt a physical reaction. But honestly, it felt like it had come on a lot slower than that. Like it had been happening bit by bit for a long time. A very long time. Like maybe forever.

Derek felt his body harden and heat even more with that thought. He was shocked. He would have expected mixing more emotion and history into everything would cool some of his desire. But it was definitely not working that way.

“I swear, if you call me some other girl’s name, I’ll cut that thing off,” Riley said, coming to her feet.

“This thing?” He couldn’t help but grin at that. “You’ll need a lot of upper body strength to get through something this size.”

She snorted. “God, you’re such an ass.”

“Because I’m driving you crazy with lust?”

She took a deep breath and, much to his surprise, nodded. “Yeah.”

“You could leave.” But he’d go after her if she did. That was just as surprising as the rest of what he was feeling.

She nodded again, slower. “Yeah, I could.” She licked her lips. “But I’m not going to.”

“Thank God,” he said, sincerely.

She crossed the room, coming to stand right in front of him. He kept his hands up on the doorframe, but everything in him strained to reach for her. She met his eyes.

“Did you really do what you said?”

“The shower thing?”

“Yes.”

He thought about his answer. And the fact he was completely naked. And she was standing not six inches away from him. “Before I answer, you need to really think about whether you want the answer,” he told her. “And what you’re going to do with it once you know.”

She pulled her lower lip between her teeth and shocked him by looking vulnerable for a second. “If you were kidding and said that just to mess with me all day, I don’t know if I can be responsible for what I do.”

Holy crap, she was afraid he’d been teasing her. And yet she was still standing here, in front of him, asking for the truth. And admitting that she was going to be upset if he’d lied.

He had been an ass to her in the past. For sure. When he wasn’t sure that she wanted him around. When he wasn’t sure she was paying attention. Now he knew. She did want him. She was absolutely paying attention.

Derek dropped his arms and reached for her in one motion. He cupped her face, pulling her forward. He looked into her eyes in a way he never had before. Intently. Ready to be fully honest. And vulnerable himself. Because she could hear his answer and then laugh and say she was the one who was kidding around.

“I absolutely got myself off thinking about you and your sassy mouth and your sweet ass and…everything else about you,” he said, honestly. Yeah, it had been mostly a physical fantasy in the shower, but he knew deep down that there was no way this could ever be just physical with him and Riley. “And,” he continued when he realized she was holding her breath, “I would really like to do it all for real.”

She sucked in a quick breath, her pupils dilated, and she licked her lips again.

Derek wasn’t sure he’d ever been as turned on in his life. This was crazy. He was used to foreplay, or at least a few hours of flirting at the bar, before getting naked with someone. He and Riley had done none of that.

Or had they had years of foreplay? It had never felt that way before, but now that the whole how-long-have-I-had-feelings-for-Riley question had occurred to him, he couldn’t shake the idea that maybe they’d been headed in this direction for a long time.

“If we do this, things will be…complicated.”

He thought about that. “I don’t know, Ry. This feels really fucking easy.”

“I’m sure girls are always easy for you when you’re brandishing that.” She gestured in the general vicinity of his cock.

And he laughed. “Thanks. But that’s not what I meant.” He took a breath, and sobered slightly. “Being with you is easy. Telling you that I’ve been thinking about your nipples for three days straight is easy. And telling you that I really like you, and that you make me laugh, and that I think you being a computer hacker for the cops is kick-ass, and admitting that I really want you to like my pizza or it’s going to make me doubt everything, is easy. And none of that is easy with anyone else.”

She was staring at him, and Derek absorbed the moment he’d struck Riley Ames speechless.

But a second later she said, “Well, holy shit, Derek.”

He nodded. That summed this all up pretty perfectly. “Yeah.”

She took a breath. “You know what else I think is going to be easy?”

“What?”

“Having multiple orgasms with you.”

He gave a short laugh, again surprised.

“So show me this Sex God stuff, already.”

That’s all he needed to hear. He lowered his head and kissed her.

Derek Wright was kissing her.

And he was naked.

And he wanted to have sex with her.

Riley’s head was spinning as Derek took her mouth. And he took her mouth. He didn’t go in soft and gentle. With his hands on her face, he pulled her up onto her tiptoes, covered her mouth, and stroked his tongue boldly along her lower lip, demanding entrance.

She gripped his biceps and gladly gave him that entrance. Her whole body was instantly hot and tingly, and she met his strokes with her tongue, suddenly hungry. She arched closer and remembered, happily, that he was already naked. Completely. Gloriously. She had been standing there, talking to him, half teasing and half feeling more vulnerable than she could remember feeling with a guy since maybe high school, and he’d been naked the whole time.

And the guy looked good naked.

But even with six-pack abs and what had to be a good nine inches of Sex God equipment hadn’t kept them from their usual joking. Which felt nice. Right. Comfortable.

And like she had never wanted anyone the way she wanted Derek.

It was as if once she let the thoughts into her head, she couldn’t stop the heat and need from taking over. As soon as she got over how weird it was to kiss him, she was going to enjoy the hell out of this.

And she got over it in about five seconds.

The guy was, at the very least, a Kissing God.

Riley ran her hands up Derek’s arms to his shoulders, then down over his chest. Oh yeah, all the hauling stuff all over town for everyone was a very good thing. For them, of course, but definitely for her right now.

Derek’s hands dropped from her face to her ass, pulling her more firmly up against him. She ran her hands down his rib cage and gripped his waist, also helping get her body closer to his. But there wasn’t quite enough leverage. Or he was too tall. Or something.

She started to pull back to mention all of this, but suddenly Derek turned her, put her up against the wall next to the doorway, and pressed close.

And yeah, that totally worked. Now he was able to press close everywhere. Everywhere. He felt amazing. Hot, hard, and eager. His hands roamed, his mouth was hungry, and Riley felt a dizzying rush at how much he seemed to want her.

She let her hands roam as well. Down to the magnificent ass, then around to the cock she’d been thinking about all day. When she stroked him, Derek jerked his head back, his breath hissing out.

“Ry,” he groaned.

She stroked up and down his length, and he leaned in to put his forehead against hers.

“Did you imagine it like this in the shower?” she asked.

He reached up and circled his hand around hers, squeezing tighter around his cock. “No.”

She let him move her hand up and down, the hard heat of him making her deep muscles clench and her body feel like it was melting. “No?”

“It was your mouth.” His voice was gruff.

And Riley felt a shaft of heat shoot through her. “My mouth, huh?”

He gripped his cock, his hand still around hers. “Yeah. Your sweet, sassy mouth, taking me in, sucking me.”

She took a shaky breath. “Oh.”

He gave a soft chuckle. “It was pretty hot.”

“I can do that.”

He let out a breath. “I bet you can.”

Suddenly, she wanted to do it. She started to dip her knees, but he wouldn’t let her go.

“But you know…I have a better idea.”

“A better idea than a blowjob?” she asked. “Is there such a thing?”

“How about you tell me?”

Then he dipped his knees, sinking to the floor in front of her.

Riley caught her breath. “I don’t know, Sex God. Not sure you’re the one that’s supposed to be kneeling.”

“Give me five minutes and then let me know how you feel about that.”

His fingers went to the waistband of the yoga pants she wore, and he skimmed them and her panties off in one smooth move.

He gave a little growl of appreciation, his eyes hot on the area between her legs as she lifted one foot at a time to kick the clothes out of the way.

“Just as I imagined,” he said, his voice rough. Then he gripped her butt in both hands and leaned in, kissing the area just inside her hip bone.

She was completely unable to pursue the whole topic of him imagining this because his hot mouth on her bare skin swamped her system with sensations. All she could do was grip the top of his head with one hand and flatten the other on the wall behind her to keep herself upright.

Her head fell back, thunking against the wall, her eyes sliding shut as heat and want washed over her.

Derek swirled his tongue around the belly button ring she wore, then kissed across her stomach over the swirling design of the cherry blossoms tattoo that ran hip to hip. He paused every couple of centimeters to give a flower a little flick of his tongue.

“Derek,” she gasped as he drew closer to where she was unbelievably wet and hot. Sure, having a good-looking, naked guy kissing her should make her wet. But this was Derek, and she was realizing as good as he was with his mouth in this situation, she really kind of loved his mouth all around. Yes, even when he was teasing. Certainly when he was charming her grandmother. Absolutely when he was saying things like “I’ll get it taken care of” to someone who needed his help. And when he made her brother or mom laugh and relax. And when he smiled. And when he—

He dipped his head and licked over her clit, and Riley’s thoughts all went to this. This was all she cared about at this moment. Her fingers curled into his hair, and she gasped and arched closer to his tongue without even thinking. She was just feeling, and what she felt was that she wanted more.

“Lift up. Let me get a good taste,” he said huskily, his hand going to her knee and lifting.

Mindlessly, she let him lift her leg and prop her knee over his shoulder. It opened her up, and she had no time to even think about thinking about being self-conscious. Derek dove in like a starving man on chocolate cake. He licked again, his tongue dipping lower this time, then returned to suck on her clit before saying hotly, “You taste fucking amazing, Riley.”

She sagged against the wall, grateful he was holding her as if he was never going to let her go. Sure, his tongue was magic and he knew exactly how to use it. Sure, she was hot and ready for him. But there was something about him talking to her, and using her name, so there was absolutely no way for either of them to forget who they were doing this with, that made her boneless in a very delicious and unexpected way.

“Derek,” she said again, breathless, but wanting his name in the air too.

“Take your shirt off, Ry,” he said, lifting his head and looking up at her.

The heat in his eyes made her reach for the bottom of her tee without any further prompting. He watched her strip it off and reach behind for her bra clasps. Her nipples were so hard they nearly ached as she tossed her bra away.

“The exact shade of pink I pictured,” he told her.

She couldn’t stand it. She cupped her breasts, squeezing slightly, trying to relieve the tingling.

He groaned and ran his hand up her back, urging her forward so he could take one in his mouth. The heat and suction made her inner muscles clench hard, and she suddenly felt achy and empty.

“Derek.” She sounded like she was begging for something. And she was, essentially. She was begging for him.

“I’ve got you, Ry,” he promised darkly. Then he lowered his head between her legs again.

She pushed back against the wall, needing to feel something solid, and closed her eyes again as pleasure poured through her.

His tongue worked on her clit and he slid two fingers into her, giving her some of the pressure she needed. She pressed closer, he sucked and thrust harder, and suddenly she felt the orgasm coming on, fast and sharp.

“Come on, Ry. Give it to me.”

She cried out as the sensations hit, igniting all of her nerve endings.

“That’s my girl.” Derek kept stroking her with his fingers, slower now, as she came down from the heights.

There was something in his tone that made her open her eyes and look down. He was now watching her face…and there was an affection in his expression that suddenly made her feel tears sting her eyes. She blinked rapidly and made herself smile. “So far, so good, Sex God.”

He grinned and stretched to his feet. Slowly. Rubbing his body along hers as he straightened. Then he cupped her face again and kissed her. It was deep and hot like before, but he moved slower this time, as if drinking her in.

“Bedroom,” he said simply, lifting his head after what felt like an hour.

Her body was still humming with the aftereffects of her orgasm, and she wasn’t sure she could make her legs go even the ten feet it would take to get to his bedroom. “Here,” she told him.

“Condoms are in the bedroom.”

“I’m on the pill right here.”

He paused and stared down at her. “You’re okay without a condom?”

“Do I have a reason to worry?”

He shook his head. “I’m clean.”

She knew he got around, but she also believed he was responsible about it, and she trusted him if he said he was good to go. “Me too.”

Without another word, he put his big hands on her ass and lifted her. She wrapped her arms and legs around him, feeling his cock nudging at her entrance.

“You ready?” He gave her a grin that would have gotten her ready if she wasn’t, just by itself.

She nodded. “So, so ready.”

And he moved his hips, sinking deep, nice and slow. She felt her breath catch in her chest, and her toes actually curled. When he was as deep as he could get and she felt every glorious inch, he paused. His jaw was tight as he asked, “You okay?”

She realized she’d been holding her breath as she laughed. “Yeah, Big Guy, I’m okay. You’re very impressive, but I can handle it.”

His eyes flashed and the corner of his mouth curled. “You think so?”

A surge of what she could only label as happiness went through her. Okay, they were having sex. But this was still Derek. This wasn’t going to change anything. “I’d love for you to try to get me to the point where I can’t,” she told him.

His grin grew, but his eyes darkened. “Well, what kind of god would I be if I didn’t perform some miracles?”

Riley squeezed her muscles around him and curled her fingers into his shoulders. “Miracles huh?”

“Yeah, like making Riley Ames say, ‘I was wrong and you were right, Derek.’”

She laughed. “That would be a miracle.”

“Well, hang on, sweetheart. Here we go.” He gripped her ass and pulled out, slowly, the friction so, so good.

Then he thrust, deep and hard. Riley felt it everywhere. The bottoms of her feet even tingled, and she let out a heartfelt moan.

And then he picked up the pace. He thrust and withdrew in deep, steady strokes that were fast and hard and hit absolutely every single spot that she needed him and a few she hadn’t ever felt before. She hung on, for sure. She really felt like she was doing very little to help the whole scenario out. But she couldn’t feel bad about it. She just wanted to feel. She just wanted…Derek. All of him. His body, his humor, their history, and, for sure, that half-hot, half-affectionate look he’d been giving her.

She felt the orgasm building from down deep, a sensation she could never reproduce herself. She tightened her arms and legs around him, feeling the crest coming closer quickly.

“Oh, not quite yet, darlin’.” Suddenly Derek pulled back.

“Wha— What?” she demanded as the delicious pace went from perfect to nothing.

He let her go, her feet swinging to the floor.

“Der—”

But before she could even get his name out, he spun her to face the wall. “Hands up, sweetheart.”

She’d barely braced her hands on the wall before he gripped her hips and thrust, filling her again from behind and hitting a spot that made her cry out.

“That’s right. That’s fucking right,” he said gruffly. “Let me hear it.”

Nothing had ever felt like this. Ever.

And this was Derek.

And that somehow made it even better.

His thrusts were deep and sure, and the way he held her hips kept her exactly where he wanted her. Exactly where she wanted to be.

He said dirty things, he touched her all over—like a freakin’ Sex God— and she was quickly climbing toward another orgasm.

She’d known those would be easy with him.

“Come for me. God, I need to feel it, Ry.”

Well, if he insisted. She reached back and gripped his ass, holding him tight as she went over the edge, calling his name.

He was right there with her. “Fuck, Ry. Yes! Fuck.”

She knew she might have bruises on her hips where he was hanging on. And she hoped she would. Because she wasn’t going to believe this happened when it was over.

Derek kept moving even as the ripples of pleasure faded. Finally, he braced his hand on the wall over her head, leaning into her, putting his mouth against her ear.

“Riley.”

That was all he said.

That was all he needed to say.

She covered his hand on her hip and squeezed. “Derek.”