“Ready to go?”

  “Yes, please.”

  “Follow me.”

  Riley steps out from behind the bar and gestures toward the hallway. I pause, having expected the front entrance, but I’m too interested to back out at this point. I follow Riley into the hallway and together we pass the restrooms on either side, walking straight toward the back alleyway exit.

  The alley is dirty, as expected, and narrow. It’d be just wide enough to drive a full truck through if there weren’t two dumpsters stacked side-by-side along the length of it.

  “You parked back here?” I ask.

  Riley answers with a mere chuckle before turning left and walking directly down the concrete stairs connected to the pub.

  I don’t follow, eying it at first with a wrinkled nose as I watch Riley descend toward a door, his fingers fiddling with a set of keys.

  “What’s this?” I ask, not interested in getting murdered tonight.

  “It’s my place,” Riley answers.

  With the door now unlocked, he walks inside, leaving it open for me to follow.

  Okay.

  I’m really curious now.

  3

  TISH

  Noting the lack of railing, I take each step carefully on the way down.

  I expect... exactly what a girl expects when entering a room nestled beneath a bar, but as I poke my head into the open doorway, I find myself pleasantly surprised.

  It’s an apartment. Not too big, but large enough to fit a full-sized mattress and a dresser with three drawers along the far right wall. There’s a kitchenette along the left side; recently renovated by my guess with brand new appliances and a small table big enough for two to eat comfortably. In the opposite corner sits an L-shaped brown couch and a coffee table.

  Very cozy.

  And sitting upon the table is an acoustic guitar.

  I smile instantly. “Do you play?”

  “I play,” Riley answers. “Do you want something to drink?”

  I give him my best flirty eyes. “If you need some liquid courage first, don’t let me stop you,” I tease as I approach the guitar. “May I?”

  “Sure.”

  I sit down on the couch. Setting my handbag on the floor by my feet, I take the moment to look over my new surroundings as he fetches two beers from the refrigerator. “I didn’t even know this place existed down here,” I say as I pick up the guitar and balance it on my knee.

  “It didn’t,” Riley answers. “This was all storage space until Jake had it renovated. He meant to live here himself, but decided to rent it out instead. Or, that’s what he told me, anyway.”

  Riley approaches the couch and offers me a beer. I take it with a nod, sipping once before setting it down and giving the guitar strings a brief strum.

  “It’s nice,” I say, glancing around. “Really nice, actually.”

  “I thought so. Cheap, too.”

  “Noisy, though?”

  “Eh...” He shrugs. “Not too bad.”

  I strum the guitar again. “Awesome.”

  Riley sips his beer, then nods at the guitar. “Do you play?”

  “Oh, no,” I answer, happy to hand it over. “I just sing.”

  He takes the instrument from me, magically producing a pick from his pocket as he rests the guitar over his knee. He strums it twice, the sound far more pleasing to the ear than when I did it, and begins plucking the strings.

  “Can you sing this song?” he asks.

  I nod, instantly recognizing the notes. “Not my favorite track by him, but I can sing it.”

  Riley furrows a brow, his sharp eyes studying me for a brief second before his hand shifts position along the fret, abruptly ending the song. He begins a different song by the same artist.

  “Ah,” I say, grinning. “That’s more like it.”

  “Whenever you’re ready,” he says, playing the intro.

  “You’re supposed to be singing me a song,” I point out.

  “And I will,” he says. “Humor me for a moment while my liquid courage sinks in.”

  I smile. So does he, as I sit up tall and clear my throat. Together, we enter the first verse. I sing softly and he plays even softer, matching my intensity as the chorus approaches.

  As we reach it, Riley parts his lips and I nearly gasp when his voice rises to meet mine. We sing together, our lyrics syncing as he strums, our voices blending in the most perfect way. His, a low and sexy baritone. Mine, a more mezzo-soprano sound. Together, in perfect, breathtaking harmony.

  We play out the rest of the song, Riley ending it with a soft strum that echoes into the silence.

  “Wow,” I say, swallowing hard. “You sing beautifully, Riley.”

  “Not as well as you do,” he says.

  “No, that was... fuck!”

  He chuckles, looking down. “It was all right.”

  “And you play...” I shake my head. “That was incredible. You’re really talented.”

  “Eh, anyone can cover a song.” He glances at me and smiles. “We sound good together, though.”

  I nod, barely breathing. “Yeah. We do.”

  We lock eyes, softly staring at each other, the space between us riddled with silent, electric tension. It crackles within me, too; a throbbing ache taking hold between my crossed thighs.

  He looks me over, the intent in his gaze more than obvious. “Do you want to play another song?” he asks.

  “Kinda want to make out, actually.”

  “Thank fuck.”

  Riley drops the guitar on the coffee table as I launch toward him on the couch. The instant our mouths touch, a surge of heat curls throughout my core. I straddle him, my knees sinking into the couch as his hands come to rest on my upper thighs.

  Our kiss deepens with touching tongues and tender moans. I run my fingers through his clean, thick hair. He dares to slide his hands beneath my skirt, his warm palms finding their way to my ass.

  “Meow.”

  I startle at the sudden third presence in the room. Perched on the edge of the coffee table next to Riley’s guitar sits a black cat with a bright red collar wrapped around its neck.

  “You have a cat?” I ask.

  “What?” Riley asks, prying his lips from my neck to look. “Oh, yeah. Well, no.”

  “No?”

  “He was here when I moved in,” he says, clearly more interested in squeezing my ass than answering the question. “He kinda just comes and goes. Jake said he keeps the mice away.”

  “Aw,” I say, smiling as the cat simply stares at us. “What a fierce little guard cat. What’s his name?”

  “Jake.”

  “I meant the cat.”

  “Yeah.”

  I screw up my nose. “You named him Jake?”

  “No, Jake did.”

  “Jake named a stray cat after himself?”

  Riley nods. “Yep.”

  I shake my head. “Actually, yeah. That sounds like something he’d do.”

  We chuckle before diving right back into each other. With a curl of his arm, Riley spins us around, planting me softly on my back on the couch and positioning himself between my open thighs. We kiss and touch, becoming less and less the strangers we were just an hour ago. Unable to shake the feeling of being watched, I peek at the black cat out of the corner of my eye.

  He’s still there.

  Still... staring.

  “Can you...” I place a hand on Riley’s chest to stop him. “Make him stop staring at us like that? I feel so judged.”

  Riley glances at him and chuckles. “Jake,” he says, his voice firm. “Get down.”

  The cat does nothing.

  “Go away,” Riley says. “Go hunt. Go play.”

  Still, nothing.

  “Jake,” I say sweetly. “Please go away.”

  The cat hops down off the table and disappears into a shadowed corner.

  “Damn,” Riley says. “That word really is magic.”

  “You work in customer service,” I tease. “You should know that.”

  “I’ll make a note,” he says, eager to steal another kiss.

  I let him have one, gripping his shirt and pulling him closer. With our lower bodies flush together, I roll my hips in a slow grind that sends bolts of heat through my core. I gasp softly; the pleasing kisses made better by the teasing rub between my thighs.

  Riley hums against my lips. “Oh, do that again,” he whispers.

  I grind us together, and he groans.

  “Fuck.” He kisses me harder, deeper. “You feel so good.”

  I drag my fingers down his back, sliding my hands into the back pockets of his jeans. “So do you.”

  He moves with me, pushing his groin against mine as I roll, and we tremble. I ache to feel him already, to feel skin against skin. As I move my hands, slipping my fingers beneath his white T-shirt, he does the same, pushing his hand up my shirt to cup my breast over the bra. My nipples harden from the attention, sending another aching wave of pleasure down my spine.

  We kiss and tease, our bodies tingling, our nerves ignited. When I roll my hips again, I feel the length of his erection pushing hard against his zipper. Riley releases an aching groan, his tongue curled around mine.

  “Riley,” I whisper, my body on fire.

  “Tish,” he replies, the name sounding so very good.

  “How far are we going here?”

  His lips curl against mine. “How far do you want to go?”

  “How far do you want to go?”

  A deep kiss, full of thought. “We both say it on three.”

  “Okay,” I say in agreement. “One.”

  “Two.”

  “Three.”

  Silence.

  We crack up, our fully clothed bodies entwined on the couch. “Riley,” I whine.

  “Hey, you didn’t answer, either.”

  “I don’t want to go home tonight,” I say, catching my breath as the words spill out of me. Feeling bold beneath him, I nod at my handbag by the table. “I have a condom. In my bag.”

  “I have some, too,” he says.

  “Good.”

  “Good.”

  “Then...” I swallow hard. “We should use one.”

  “Yeah, sure,” he says, also swallowing. “Let’s.”

  “Let’s.”

  He pauses. “Now?”

  I nod. “Oh, yeah.”

  4

  TISH

  Riley reaches toward my handbag on the floor. He hooks his fingers around the strap and yanks it toward us, scooping it up and handing it over to me. As I sift through it in search of that shiny plastic wrapper, Riley peels his shirt off over his head and tosses it aside.

  I pause, taking in the sight of his taut torso, my eyes gently flowing downward along his abs.

  “Goddamn,” I say.

  With the condom successfully in hand, I sit up, dropping my bag to the floor as Riley reaches for my leather jacket. Fumbling together, we shed the rest of my clothes, bra and all, leaving nothing but my hiked up skirt and knee-high boots. As he pulls my panties to my ankles, he slows down, gently parting my legs and positioning himself between them again.

  Riley caresses my thighs. “Do you want me to...?”

  I tremble, already wet and throbbing. “If you want to⁠—”

  “I do,” he says eagerly.

  “Then, yeah.”

  He starts with a kiss on my mouth before descending, his body stretched along the long couch. I watch his head disappear beneath my skirt, the soft tuft of his dirt-blond hair the only thing visible as he⁠—

  I gasp and sigh, the pleasure of his tongue against my clit almost too much already. “Oh, fuck,” I whisper, my back arching off the couch, my thighs softly trembling against his ears. His only response is a deeper kiss, a faster flick of his tongue in just the right place, and I purr like a kitten in heat.

  “Riley,” I sigh, his name tasting so sweet. “Oh, god, don’t stop.”

  He sucks harder at my flesh and my nerves dissolve. I practically crumble beneath him, my toes curling in my boots as he pushes a hand up my body toward my breasts. My nipple beads against the teasing twist of his fingertips. I moan and shudder with throbbing pleasure, wave after wave of desire building in my core.

  “Ri—” I gasp, so damn close. “I’m⁠—”

  He doesn’t stop. Riley laps faster, the firm licks sending me over the edge. I pool into a puddle on his couch, my muscles twitching wildly as climax tears through me. I grip his hair between my thighs, my nails digging in, but he doesn’t seem to mind. It just makes him lick and suck me more and more until I finally push instead of pull.

  “Stop,” I say, gasping, laughing, the sensations too sensitive. “I need a minute. Stop.”

  Laughing, Riley raises his head. He licks his lips and leaves tender kisses against my inner thighs. “You taste so good,” he says.

  Too spent to move or even think, I do nothing but chuckle softly as Riley shifts up onto his knees. Staying between my sprawled out limbs, he unzips his jeans, exposing a bush of hair at the base of his cock, but he doesn’t undress further. Instead, he looks at me, his hands gently touching my knees.

  “Are you sure?” he asks.

  Still trembling with desire, I push up to sit. “Yes,” I answer, my face now inches away from his groin. “I’m very sure.”

  I push his pants down to further expose his cock. It springs free, hard and ready, the tip already sporting a thin layer of pre-cum.

  My tongue salivating for it, I look up into his eyes first. “Do you want me to?” I ask.

  “Fuck yes,” he says, consenting.

  I part my smiling lips, my tongue targeting his tip. I hum softly, his flavor delicious, and he gasps over me, his fingers coming to curl around the base of my neck. Slowly, I suck his cock, carefully judging his reaction, as I doubt either of us wants this night to end too quickly. But Riley shows none of the telltale signs of too much, so I take him deeper into my mouth, my lips stretched wide as I bob my head.

  “Fuck, Tish,” he says. “And I almost called in tonight.”

  I pull him out, nearly choking on my own spit as I laugh. “That would have been a huge mistake,” I joke.

  Riley cups my cheeks, stopping me from continuing. He leans down and crushes his mouth on mine, his kiss warm and soft against my numb lips. Unable to resist it, I kiss him back. My heart squeezes in my chest, and for a moment, I think it might stop completely.

  Riley guides me down onto my back. I pull him down with me, my legs gently curling around him as he positions himself. Feeling his hardness resting against me, I tear open the condom. He gasps softly as I roll it down his shaft with a gentle stroke and angle the tip to rest along my entrance.

  “Do it,” he whispers, our lips touching.

  I guide him blindly inside, the thick tip parting my opening. We both gasp, the feel of each other too good. He fills me with a gentle thrust, my pussy slick and my legs wide. I rest my hands on his back, feeling the muscles of his body tightening and loosening as he moves inside of me.

  Oh...

  Oh, god.

  Unexpected heat curls throughout my belly. Pleasure I expected, but not this. Not this tender warmth, not this rush of feeling in my chest. I cling to him, the comfort of his body blending with the surging passion between us, and I feel tears in my throat.

  I swallow them down, our kisses hot and constant. “Riley,” I whisper.

  He doesn’t answer. He just kisses me harder, his hip grinding into me, his cock so fucking deep. He keeps a steady rhythm, not too fast nor too slow, making me feel him, making me tremble and shake.

  “Tish,” he says, his eyes locking on mine. “I...”

  He closes his mouth as if to stop himself from saying anything else.

  Saying... what?

  What was he going to say?

  Unable to voice it myself, I simply moan in response as he grinds, his body rubbing lightly against my clit with each thrust. Burying his head against my shoulder, Riley fucks me faster, harder, the couch shifting beneath us from the change in movement.

  An even louder moan escapes me, and I wonder if anyone upstairs can hear this. Another wave of pleasure rushes over me, and suddenly I don’t care. Still, I smother my mouth against his shoulder, the tension in me so close to breaking again.

  I gasp as it does, biting down hard on his shoulder. He groans in response, but does nothing to stop the pain. In fact, he seems to like it, as a warm chuckle flows from his lips against my ear.

  Moving swiftly, he hoists me up as he sits down, leaving me precariously balanced on his lap. “Get it, girl,” he says, his hands gripping my hips. “Fuck me back.”

  Eager to please and happy to play, I ride him. Tilting back, I rest my hands on his knees, somehow keeping my balance as my orgasm continues washing over me. Riley’s touch moves up my body, loving my thighs and hips and breasts as pleasure covers his face.

  He grunts, the sound low and guttural. “Oh, yeah, just like that,” he says, his grip tight on my hips once again. “Fuck, you’re gonna make me come so hard.”

  His words urge me on. I fight through the haze, my thighs and core muscles burning for rest. Soon his words fade into grunts, his body on the edge.

  “Tish,” he groans. “Fu— ck...”

  I moan as he comes, happy to slow down. Riley leans back, his chest working hard, the muscles of his body tightening beneath me. I chuckle softly, kissing him, enjoying the spent look in his eyes as he kisses me back.

  “Holy fuck,” he says, his cock still buried deep within me. “That was...”

  “Yeah,” I say, catching my breath. “It was.”

  His arms slowly curl around me, and for a long moment, we stop. Everything stops. There’s just us, our bodies wrapped together in a warm embrace. There’s sweat on our brows and fluids on our skin. There’s warmth in our kiss and gratitude in our eyes. There’s... so much more to come.

  My heart skips twice. I gaze at him, feeling so safe and comfortable in his arms. “Hi,” I say stupidly.

  Riley chuckles. “Hi.”

  I swallow hard, the long moment stretching continuously. Suddenly, I wonder if that was it. If I’m now one long and lingering glance away from overstaying my welcome here.