Throttled (Wild Riders #1)(69)

“Well, yeah,” he laughed. “I’m not really good at anything else. I can’t just rely on my good looks to make money.”

“Yeah, I wouldn’t go putting all my eggs in that basket,” I teased. “Your ugly mug cannot pay the rent, my friend.” He chucked a throw pillow at my head. I ducked and caught it before it knocked the lamp off the table.

“Get out of here.” He grinned. “Don’t you have a goodbye dinner and a hot girl waiting for you?”

“I sure do,” I said with a smile as I headed out the door.



*



“Nora?” I called out when I walked into the house she shared with her sister. The lights were dim, candles lit on the coffee and end tables. The smell of something fantastic was coming from the kitchen, but my girl was nowhere to be seen. I walked into the kitchen and found the table set for two. A bottle of wine and fresh flowers in the center of the table. She’d went all out. “Baby, where are you?”

“Right here.”

I turned to find her standing in the doorway and for a split second I think my heart stopped as I looked her over. She was wearing my race jersey and, from what I could tell, nothing else. Her long hair a mess of loose curls around her face, her eyes bright with excitement. Her smile was just as inviting as her bare legs. She nervously drew her foot up against the back of her other leg and bit at her bottom lip as I waltzed over to her.

“This has got to be a dream,” I said, reaching out for her. “In fact, I think I’ve had this one before. Many times.” She playfully pinched my arm as I circled them both around her waist.

“Not a dream,” she said wrinkling her nose as she smiled.

“How am I supposed to make it through dinner with you dressed like this?” I asked as I pressed my lips to her neck.

“The oven is set to keep it warm,” she informed me. “I was thinking we could eat later.”

“Smart and beautiful,” I said, moving my lips to hers. “How’d I get so lucky?”

She shrugged as I hoisted her into my arms and carried her to her bedroom. Her hands tangled in my hair as we kissed. The effort that we were both putting in was making it clear that neither of us were ready to say goodbye. Tomorrow I had to leave and as much as I wanted to cancel the whole thing and stay with her, I knew I couldn’t. She knew I couldn’t.

“I’m going to miss you so much,” I said, laying her down on the bed. I stood to pull my shirt over my head.

“I don’t want to talk about it right now,” she said, reaching out to grab the waistband of my jeans and pulled me towards her.

“Okay,” I conceded. I didn’t want to talk about it either. The reality of the situation was enough. Right now, I wanted to focus on her and how sexy she looked laying there with my shirt on.

Before I could climb on to the bed next to her, she stopped me.

“What’s that?” she asked, pointing at the white bandage I had on the left side of my torso. In my rush to get to her I’d almost forgotten.

“Oh, that?” I said coyly. “Brett and I made a stop on our way home from the hospital today. Tattoo shop,” I said, pulling a piece of the medical tape free to show her what was underneath: NORA

“Reid?” she said breathlessly as she sat up and moved to the edge of the bed to examine it, tears immediately welling up in her eyes. The scrolling font I’d picked out didn’t do her name justice. It was nice, but barely conveyed how amazing I thought she was. “I can’t believe you did this,” she said, leaning in to press her lips against my chest above my new tattoo before replacing the bandage and tape. It was fresh and still needed to be covered for it to heal properly.

“Only girl’s name that has ever really mattered,” I said as moved onto the bed. I could tell that she liked my new ink, but for me it was more than that. Having her name on my skin was my way of feeling like I had her with me all the time. It was my way of showing her how committed I was to her.

“I love it.” She scooted back and we laid down next to each other. I swept the hair from her face and looked at her as she turned to face me. Her blue eyes. Her pink lips. The dimple on her left cheek. I wanted to just lay there and look at her. Memorize every inch of her, like I had many times. I’d need the memories of her face, and of her body, to get me through our time apart.

When I didn’t lean into kiss her, she took it upon herself to cover my mouth with hers. The urgency of her actions as she climbed on top of me made her intentions clear. Placing one leg on each side of my body, she sat up straight and pulled the shirt over her head, revealing what I’d thought to be true. Nothing underneath.

I was right. And, lucky.

When she tossed the jersey aside and pressed her chest against mine, I captured her lips with mine and swept my tongue into her mouth. My hands greedily surfacing over her curves. She giggled as I flipped us over in her bed and I quickly removed my jeans.

The slow, steady way that we made love that night was exactly what we both needed. I savored her. Cherished her. And, she did the same with me.

“You’re the love of my life, Nora Bennett,” I said, as I held her in my arms. She kissed me softly and I felt her lips spread to a smile against mine.

“Guess that means you aren’t going to get sick of me anytime soon then,” she said, pulling from arms and sitting up.