SLEEP JUST WOULDN’T come to Harrison that night. He lay there on his back with his arms spread out from his body and just stared up at the ceiling. Whenever he closed his eyes, he saw Riley’s face, heard her voice. She was hurt, that much he knew, and he of all people could understand how it felt to be damaged by those who were supposed to love you. What he felt for her was so much more than that, though; it was like a tangible thing, and sometimes he felt as though he could actually feel it rushing through him, that chemical attraction that just wouldn’t go away. No matter what she said to him, no matter how many times she turned tail and ran from him, he couldn’t stop thinking about her.

All he wanted was Riley.

“Damnit,” he murmured.

He sighed heavily before he slid out of bed. Within a few minutes, he was dressed and snatching the car keys from the hook next to his door; he was going to see Riley; he needed to see her, and he was done asking questions.

He locked the door behind him and took the elevator down to the parking lot, his mind whirling with thoughts and Riley and how well their dinner had gone before it just... hadn’t.

He was half-distracted while he was driving, too, and he almost forgot where she lived despite that he had picked her up at her apartment many times before. His palms were sweaty when he got out, and counted backwards from twenty in an effort to calm himself. He had never felt this way about anyone before, and while it was confusing and perplexing, there was also an element of excitement and yearning that he couldn’t turn his back on.

After a few buzzes on the intercom, her voice sounded through the speakers:

“Hello?”

“Riley? It’s Harrison, will you let me up?”

There was a very long pause, and Harrison didn’t think that she was going to let him up; figures she would make him find his own way to her. After several seconds, though, he heard the door click and the buzzer sounded. With a quick smile, he grabbed the handle and let himself inside, rubbing his hands against his jeans to get the sweat off them.

When he reached her door, he tapped his knuckles against it and hid his nervous excitement by internally shoving it somewhere deep inside of him; it was the only way he was going to be able to focus when she finally opened the door.

The sound of her footfalls came closer and closer until they paused right next to the door. Time seemed to go on and on before the sound of locks unlatching and unlocking sounded, and within moments the door opened. Harrison started to smile, but when he spotted the expression on Riley’s face, it faded. She looked stressed, anxious, even though she was clearly trying to appear as though everything was fine. Maybe her acting skills would have worked when they’d first met, but they didn’t stand a chance now.

“Riley? What’s wrong? What happened at dinner? Come on, talk to me.”

“No...I don’t have to.”

Harrison felt a surge of frustration as she turned away from him and walked into her bedroom. He frowned, choosing to follow her after he closed the door. She’d invited him up here, so that had to mean that there was at least something still between them.

“Look, I’m not going to give up until you tell me, straight to my face, to get the hell out of your apartment.” When there was no response from her, he strode slowly, cautiously into the bedroom.

She sat there very quietly with her legs curled underneath her and her shoulders pressed into the wall. He’d never seen her in such a state of misery before, and while part of him just wanted to leave her, the rest of him was determined to stay.

“You can talk to me.” He tried again and slowly moved to sit next to her on the bed.

“No...I can’t.”

“Then why did you invite me up here? Come on, Riley, what’s going on? You’ve been all over the place lately, and it’s really starting to give me whiplash. It’s not fair, you need to–”

“I don’t need to do anything, Harrison.”

“Hey...” He gripped her jaw and turned her head so that he could make eye contact with her. “Just tell me, baby. I’m not going to hurt you, and you know by now I’m not going anywhere. That’s just the way it is. So please just...tell me what’s wrong.”

Come on, he thought as he stared at her. Talk to me... tell me something, anything.

She shook her head and looked away from him. Just when tears began to shimmer in her eyes, she grabbed him by the face and kissed him. It was a hard, aggressive kiss that caught him by surprise and made him moan. He’d never get tired of how her mouth tasted or the way that her tongue swept over his in just the way that he liked it. This time, though, he wanted to show Riley that it was okay. He wanted her to know that he wasn’t like Brad, and explaining that in words seemed so inadequate; it was time to try something else.

“Easy,” he murmured into her mouth. “Just breathe, let’s go slow this time...”

She clung desperately to his shoulders, and her mouth continued to take what it wanted, but he was patient with her. Right now, he had to be; he had never seen her as vulnerable as she was now. With time and encouragement from him, her kisses grew less and less frenzied, and within seconds she was letting him push her back into the bed. He crawled over her and let his body stretch across her own. He cupped his hands around her face and he gave her the softest, most gentle kisses that he could muster. Her hips wiggled and strained beneath him, but she wasn’t trying to escape; she was trying to get closer.

The longer their kiss went on, the harder Harrison’s heart pounded. He knew then, as their bodies pressed and writhed together, that he felt things for her that he had, in the past, berated himself for. He wasn’t the kind of man who committed to any woman, but he could not deny how unbelievably attracted he was to Riley. All that mattered was her.

Soft, gentle. Never in a hurry. He gradually unbuttoned her shirt until he could push it open to reveal her bare breasts; clearly, she had been getting ready for bed. He wrapped his lips around a nipple and sucked, and he didn’t stop until he heard her moan in pleasure. He gripped the other one and massaged it, the pad of his thumb dragging back and forth across her other perk nipple. She was like a doll in his arms, her body melting into his own.

The sound of zippers being pulled down, the gentle pop of buttons being undone, the soft huff of their breaths, the noise their bodies made when they rubbed together – these were the only things Harrison heard, and combined with the smell of her, the taste, the way that she looked with her hair down around her shoulders took away every breath that he had.

“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered into her ear, his mouth travelling along the length of her neck to her shoulder.

The smile she gave him made his heart stop, and he growled his satisfaction, teeth closing around her collarbone to gently squeeze. He released her, only to run his tongue along the spot he had bitten; he did this over and over again, all the way from one side of her collarbone to the other. Riley squeezed his hand each time she felt his tongue, and it wasn’t long before her hands were tugging at his pants. He didn’t stop her from pulling them down, his own hands pushing the blouse away from her shoulders and completely off her body. With a smooth caress, he splayed his hands over her belly and touched her everywhere that he could reach, rubbing her from her breasts to her ribs and down to her hips. His mouth followed everywhere that his hands touched, and her hands eventually dove into his hair and clung to it while she whispered his name in earnest.

He murmured her name in return and rolled her onto her belly, always gentle, always soft. He wrapped his arms around her and closed each hand around her breasts to squeeze and knead. She pulled herself to her knees and pushed her back into him, her rear pushing against his hips. Breath caught in his throat as he pushed his own pants down, thumbs dragging boxers at the same time; he couldn’t get out of his clothes fast enough.

This time, when he eased his throbbing shaft into her, he did it slowly, caressing her with it even as he felt her eager walls all around him. He went for her clit as his fingers attacked that tender bundle of nerves; he stroked her again and again, even as he began to thrust from behind at the same time. She draped herself against him, both arms reaching up to wrap around the back of his neck, her back arching in the most beautiful way he’d ever seen.

Soon, only the slap of their bodies could be heard within the room, along with the moans and gasps and pants of their broken breaths. Harrison had never felt her so compliant, so relaxed, and when she widened her stance, she took him in deeper and deeper until he could feel his balls straining against her at the end of each thrust. He was starting to lose control, and his body felt like it was ready to burst into flames. Heat pooled in his belly and swept in every direction as he turned her head just enough so that he could capture her lips. Their kiss was heavy and deep, but not aggressive, and his whole being pulsated with ecstasy each time their tongues entwined. She slid one of her hands down from his hair and cupped his face; it rested there as though it had always belonged, and he felt his heart slam hard against his chest at the notion that a single touch could entice such unbearable desire.

His control was ebbing away from him, and soon each time their bodies collided, it was with more force and more speed. He was falling out of his rhythm the closer he got to release, and when she cried out into his mouth with her own orgasm, his body shuddered with unadulterated need.

A second orgasm gripped Riley, and she screamed; her feminine walls clenched and gripped and clutched him almost to the point of pain, undulating and throbbing. His entire body felt tight, and the t-shirt still across his back was all but intolerable. Sweat made it stick to his skin, and heat rolled from it in waves.

“Riley...” her name felt as good on his lips as her tongue did. He kissed her up the side of her neck to her ear before he pulled her down next to him, his arms hugging her tightly to keep her back flush against his chest.

“That wasn’t supposed to happen...” she murmured.

“What are you going to do about it?” he challenged.

She was silent after that, and he smiled, pressing kisses along the backs of her shoulders. “You don’t have to tell me, Riley...but I’d really like it if you did.”

There was still nothing from her for a long time, and Harrison was sure that she was going to either leave him there alone or say absolutely nothing. Leave it to her, though, to surprise him:

“All I can tell you, Harrison, is that...I really like you.”

He blinked several times in surprise, and he could almost feel the heat from her blush. As much as he was unwilling to admit it to her, he really liked her, too, and hell...if she could push through her fear of telling him, then couldn’t he?

“The feeling is mutual, Riley. I know there’s more going on, but thank you for at least telling me that much.”

She tilted her head back to look at him, her expression serious. “It’s just hard sometimes... knowing who to trust. I mean... you’ve met Brad. I’m sure you’ve had a few ‘lemons’ in your life, too.”

“More than my fair share.” Harrison felt a small pang of guilt, but at least it wasn’t a lie. Had he had his fair share of lemons? Absolutely he had, though none of them had even gotten close to turning into a relationship; Riley was, hands down, in a league all her own. “But if I’m going to be honest with myself, and you...I think you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”

“Okay, you need to stop right now.” Riley laughed.

“I’m serious... you are.”

“Not even your charm can make that true... but thank you?” After a moment, she added, “can we just lay here for a while, until we fall asleep?”

“Yes... of course.” He gave her a small smile she couldn’t see and nuzzled his mouth against the back of her head. He took in a deep breath of her scent and squeezed her even tighter. As he drifted off to sleep, all he could think about was Riley nestled in his arms.