Never Standing Still (The Never Duet #1)(33)

I tried not to let my inner pout show, but I was letting the pout fly free in my mind. I hadn’t seen a whole lot of him while he’d been in town, but it was more than enough to give me a taste of what it would be like to have him around all the time. I couldn’t help but feel I was going to miss him, which was something I would need to get accustomed. So many new feelings came with Riot.

So, instead of pouting, I swung my legs off him, stood up, and offered him my hands to help him up. With a smile, he took my hands and hoisted himself upward, bringing himself to tower over me again, but he only let go of one of my hands, still holding the other. This time, he laced his fingers through mine and I couldn’t help the blush or the smile that came over my face. I was like a teenager, butterflies and all.

“You’re sweet when you smile,” he said, brushing a thumb over my now-pink cheek.

“I don’t remember smiling more than I have in the last twenty four hours.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” he said, slowly bending down to place a quick, chaste kiss on my lips. I didn’t bother responding because every word I thought to say sounded remarkably like gibberish as all my circuits were going haywire.

He walked to the door, pausing with his hand on the doorknob, looking back at me.

“I had a really great time with your brother tonight. He’s pretty awesome.”

I nodded, afraid if I opened my mouth the lump forming in my throat would fall right out.

“I’m hoping you’ll want to continue what we’ve got going here, Kalli. I know I’m headed back to California, but I really hope we can talk and get to know each other better.” He bent at the knees, bringing his face level with mine, and I couldn’t help but smile at him for it. “I want to know everything about you,” he whispered.

“I’d like that,” I whispered.

“Great,” he said, a smile shining across his face, lighting him up. “Can I kiss you goodbye?”

“I’d be a little upset if you didn’t,” I confessed.

His hand, which was still holding mine, wrapped around to my back, pressing our hands just above the curve of my ass, pulling me into him, and our lips met as if they were drawn to each other. He kissed me hard and deep, my hand finding his hair, and his tongue sliding over my bottom lip before he pulled back and walked away without another word.





Chapter Ten


I Want to Be The One

The next morning I woke up to a text message waiting for me from Riot.

**Hitting the road. The last two days were incredible. San Francisco seems very far away at the moment.**

I smiled at his words, but knew the distance would do me some good. After he left the night before, I had tried to evaluate the situation with a rational mind, tried to think of the obstacles in our way, the problems we would encounter. I didn’t want to go into it with rose-colored glasses; I wanted to be realistic. I had to be. I wasn’t some single twenty-year-old girl with her first real boyfriend. I was a thirty-year-old woman, with a job, and—for all intents and purposes—a child. I had responsibilities that I needed to maintain. I couldn’t let some butterflies in my stomach derail my life.

But as the smile spread across my face, all my reasons to rein myself in flew out the window and my fingers began furiously responding.

**Drive safely. San Francisco is pretty far, but it’s a short plane ride.**

I had no idea why I sent him that. I wouldn’t be getting on a plane to see him any time soon. Instead of overanalyzing, I flung my covers off and headed toward the bathroom, wanting to start my day to keep my brain occupied.



And that’s how the next six weeks of my life went. Riot and I texted and talked constantly. Even if he had very little time, he called me every night. I found myself, at the end of the day, looking forward to his calls, longing to hear his voice, to tell him how my day had gone. If I was at home, he’d Skype me and talk with Marcus. They’d have manly conversations about superheroes and videogames, while Nancy and I rolled our eyes at each other.

All the talking let us get to know one another, without the pressure of his sexy face and irresistible body. Although, there were a few times the conversations drifted toward the sexy.

**Send me a picture. I miss you.**

I’d sent him selfies a few times since we’d been talking. I’d never dared to send him anything racy, but something about the way he asked made me confident that he wanted to see something besides my smile. I got out of my bed, stripped out of my frumpy pajamas, and put on a black lace lingerie set I’d bought a while back, but had no real reason to wear until then. I lay in my bed, bent one knee up, and positioned my phone right above my head, aiming downward. I snapped the pic, then turned it quickly to check the outcome.

I gave myself a satisfied shrug, surprised the first try had turned out acceptable.

The picture was faceless, but caught my entire body from the chest down. I fiddled around with a few filters until I found the most flattering effect, then sent him the file, biting my thumbnail while I waited for a response.

When my phone finally pinged with an incoming text, I couldn’t get to it fast enough.

**Fucking hell, Kal. You can’t send a man a picture like that when he’s eight hundred miles away!**

I wore a ridiculously huge smile.

**Sorry. You asked for a picture.**