Chapter 9: Riley

Riley held up his hands. "Not...exactly."

The doors opened again, and the other four members of the team hauled two plastic traveling crates inside while Thomas, Erin's bodyguard, trailed behind them. NexGen had insisted he'd be of service, but the guy was dead weight.

"Grant?" Melody infused a note of sweetness in her voice.

Grant straightened and eyed Melody like he might a snake.

"Come here, please?" she asked.

Grant crossed to the bar and leaned against it.

"He slept with the asset," Melody whispered.

"So?" Grant shrugged. "They're adults."

"It's not appropriate." Melody blinked rapidly.

"Look, you're still new so you haven't been around, but this happens." Grant picked up a cup and drained it.

"We need to discuss this policy, because it isn't okay. How are you okay with this?"

"I trust my guys." Grant glanced at Riley. "We hire the best."

"Erin." Grant nodded at the woman who'd almost snuck up on them. "Have a nice drive?"

"Yeah. Sure." Erin's reply was wooden. Stiff. First she was angry, now she seemed petrified.

"Would you like me to show you your room? Something to eat?" Melody turned, giving Erin her full attention.

"Actually, when can I go home?" Erin glanced over Melody's shoulder at Riley.

"Oh, did Grant explain..." Melody tossed a frantic look Grant's way.

"I get that NexGen wants me to go to Texas, but I want to go to my condo. Here." Erin gestured at the windows at the front of the house.

"Well..." Melody glanced from Erin to Grant and back again.

There was some, strange power struggle between those two, and Riley didn't like getting caught in the middle. He liked it even less with Erin there.

"If you want to go home to get some things we can arrange it, but the company specifically told us to bring you to Texas. For your own safety," Grant said after a moment of Melody spinning her wheels.

"Why?" Erin asked.

"We weren't informed of the particulars." Grant shrugged.

"How about dinner?" Melody smiled and checked her watch. "It should be delivered soon."

"Can I have one of those?" Thomas stopped a few feet away and pointed at the cups of water.

"Sure." Melody handed the man a glass.

Riley tried to not study the man out of the corner of his eye. There was something about the guy he didn't like either. Riley sure as hell wouldn't want Thomas on his team watching his back. No wonder Erin didn't like him around.

"I'm going to head up and take a shower." Riley was ready to stage a retreat however he could. He glanced at Grant. "I'm on first shift, right?"

"Yup."

Riley turned on his heel and grabbed his duffle out of one of the opened cases before fleeing upstairs.

Man, this situation was fucked. The best thing for him to do was avoid Erin, Melody and Grant until this gig was over. He'd do his shifts, drive the lead car, and keep to himself from here on out. By the time this was over, he was going to wish he'd been baling hay instead.

He found the large, second floor bathroom after a few moments of searching behind doors.

Zain had really outdone himself this time. They got to stay in some pretty nice places because, from a security standpoint, they were typically the best places to hold their clients. It was also a big step up from cramped hotel bathrooms and stiff sheets.

Riley set his bag on the vanity and braced his hands on either side of the sink. A shower wasn't strictly necessary, but he needed to breathe. Ever since they'd left Cairo for this op, he'd felt some weird tension. Things weren't right. He had to agree that the way Erin had been captured was suspect. And then there was the matter of his attraction to Erin. That was getting him in enough trouble already.

He'd let his dick do the thinking last night. There was no excuse for how far he'd let things go. What the correct next action on his part was now, he didn't know. He'd have to beg an apology and see if that fixed it.

The bathroom door swung open and a slim, dark-haired figure darted in.

Riley's gut plummeted to the floor.

"I'm sorry," he blurted and turned, hands up.

Erin continued to glare at him. She reached around him to the sink and turned the tap on.

"I'm sorry," he said again. It wasn't the best thing, but it was all he had right now.

"You let me pass out?" Erin's whisper-voice was vicious.

"Uh..." Riley was pretty sure no one had ever let her do much of anything she didn't already want to do.

"You went down on me and then let me pass out?"

"You...were tired..." Riley leaned against the vanity. Was the world spinning the right way? "I'm sorry, I thought you were pissed because of what happened."

"I was a little freaked out when I thought we had sex and I didn't remember it." Erin planted her hands on her hips.

"Can you throw me a bone, please? Why exactly are you mad at me?"

"I sat in that car for hours not knowing what the hell happened last night. You could have popped back in and let me know before we left."

He gaped at her. "How was I supposed to know you didn't know?" Riley had participated in some truly confusing arguments in his life, thanks to some infuriating brothers, but this took the cake, the cake stand and the cake knife.

"You didn't get off at all?" she asked.

"Well, no. I'm not in the habit of having sex with women who have passed out. I'm pretty sure that's frowned on in all cultures."

"You really just...went to sleep?" She squinted up at him.

"It took a little while, but yeah. I was kind of trapped and didn't want to wake you up." It'd seemed like the right thing to do at the time.

"Oh, God." Erin buried her face in her hands. "I cannot believe I did that."

"It's okay."

"It's okay?" Erin gaped at him. "That's bad fling etiquette. Both people should get off."

Fling. Ouch. But appropriate. It wasn't like he was looking to get hitched or pretend he could do a long-distance relationship. He was an out of sight, out of mind boyfriend with girls who lived in his same city. He'd only disappoint someone that lived halfway around the world.

"It's fine." He was relieved she didn't want to kick his ass.

"It's embarrassing." Erin hung her head.

"It's really okay. You needed to unwind enough to sleep."

"Well, thanks. I guess. I owe you." She dropped her hands to her side, the frown gone, and in its place, that crooked little smile.

"I'll just mark that one on my tab and add it to my winning streak." He mimicked pulling something out of his pocket and swiped a strike on it.

"You better not wait too long to spend that."

"I don't think there's room for an expiration date." He squinted at the imaginary tally.

Erin laughed, all that tension releasing. Her shoulders dropped from around her ears and her smile reminded him all over again why he'd thrown caution to the wind last night. She grasped his hand, threading their fingers together and tugged. He swayed toward her, caught in the gravitational pull of those beautiful dark eyes of hers. Her gaze dropped to his mouth, and he swallowed.

Shit.

She was pursuing him, not the other way around.

That thought surprised him to the point he just stood there, unable to move.

Her soft lips pressed against his. All his neatly packed away memories from last night came raging back. The blood rushed to his groin and before he was consciously aware of his actions, he had a fistful of Erin's hair wrapped around his free hand. Her breath caught, and she whimpered, the soft sound nearly drowned out by the tap.

He forced her head back and kissed her throat. He felt her whimper against his mouth more than he heard it. She grasped a handful of his shirt, her teeth nipping his lips.

At one look, he'd known she was a woman that would challenge a man. He liked that, her confidence and how they kissed. She knew what she wanted. This wasn't the best time though. The rest of the team would come looking for a shower or some downtime soon.

Erin palmed his erection, her fingers stroking his hard-on through the fabric of his pants.

"Fuck," he groaned.

"I don't think there's time for that," she whispered.

Riley couldn't form a coherent reply. She was going to get him in trouble and he wasn't going to give a damn. He tightened his grip on her hair and kissed her mouth.

What he wouldn't give for a weekend, a hotel and her.

He let go of Erin and sucked down a breath.

"Sh." She laid her finger across his lips for a moment.

The twinkle in her eye wasn't to be trusted. That was mischief staring right back at him.

She grabbed his belt buckle and released the catch with what seemed like a flick of her fingers.

"Erin." He grabbed her wrist, but the other escaped him. Besides, it wasn't like he traveled with a stash of condoms. Fooling around was only going to leave him frustrated, and not in a good way.

She got the tab of his pants open and slid her fingers into his boxers.

"Kiss me," she whispered.

He bent his head and pressed his lips to hers briefly.

"This isn't going to work," he said.

"Sure it is. Kiss me, pull my hair a little, and I'll do the rest." She wrapped her hand around his cock.

There was no stopping her, not that he wanted to.

She stroked his flesh. His pants slid down, giving her more room to work.

He gathered her hair into a tail and wrapped it around his hand. She sighed at the first tug and leaned into him, tightening her hold on his erection.

Riley pivoted, trapping her between the vanity and him. He flexed his hips, driving into her grasp.

This was going to be what he thought about whenever he closed his eyes for the next year. Erin's teasing smile, the way her hair felt against his palm, how good her hands felt on him. He thrust, and she twisted her hand around him.

Outside, footsteps trailed by, but Erin didn't seem to care.

"Fuck, what I wouldn't give for a condom right now," he whispered.

"You're telling me." She grabbed his other hand and placed it against her breast.

Scratch the weekend idea. He'd want a week.

Riley groaned and rocked into her hold. His vision blurred. Damn, what was it about her? These moments of pleasure went by far too fast. There was no stopping it, no matter how much he wanted to savor this.

Erin wrapped her arm around his shoulders. She kissed his face and neck, her hand on his cock never losing its rhythm.

"Erin-" His throat closed up around the other words.

He wished they were alone, that his team wasn't on the other side of that door, because the things he wanted to do to her would be loud and long.

The skin at the base of his spine tingled so much it almost burned. He rocked forward, his whole body tensing up as the orgasm rolled up through him.

God damn. He hadn't had a damn handie in ages, but that was hot.

Erin kissed his lips, the heat still simmering in her touch.

A sharp knock at the door startled both of them into wide eyed silence.

"Damn it, Riley," Grant grumbled. "Stop hogging the bathroom. Dinner's here."

Erin buried her face against Riley's shoulder and he pressed his mouth to the top of her head to smother his chuckle in her hair.

Score one for not getting caught.