“Now, we eat cheesecake to celebrate,” I tell her.
“You don’t want to go out or something?” she says in surprise.
I shake my head, reaching out and finally touching her, taking her hand in mine. “I’d go anywhere with you any fucking time you want, but let’s stay in. I want you all to myself right now, just you and me. Riley and Noah. I have plans for you, though, Sunshine. Tomorrow night.”
It’s not a question. It’s not a demand either. It’s a promise.
“Oh? Is that so?” she sasses back, tilting her head and looking up at me through her lashes.
I pull her in tightly, pressing my body against hers and holding her hand behind her, locked at the small of her back. One nod from me has her melting into me.
“And tonight?” she practically purrs.
I point toward the kitchen with my chin and lift the bag of dog treats in my free hand. “Tonight, we eat cheesecake while Raffy snacks like a king.”
He must’ve heard the magic word ‘snack’ because Raffy lets out a sharp bark from his dog bed in the corner. His ears are perked up and his eyes are locked on me.
The little joke and Raffy’s reaction get her to smile, the last bit of what I needed to feel her sunshine flood into my chest. I’ve got a foothold in the door to Riley’s heart . . . and I’m not going to give up until I have the door all the way open.
But I’ll never, ever hurt her. Not again.
Riley grabs the cheesecake while I break up a trio of the small muffin-flavored biscuits for Raffy, who’s wagging his nub and doing circles on command for me in return for a tiny piece of a treat. “Good boy, Raffy. You’re scarfing those down like no one ever feeds you, but I know you’ve probably had at least two bowls of kibble today.”
"Two? More like three,” Riley mutters.
“Let me fill up your water bowl. Those things might be dry,” I tell Raffy as though he can understand me. Actually, he might. He runs right over to his water bowl and knocks at it with his paw like he’s telling me, ‘It’s right here, and make it snappy.’
I help myself to the sink, and Riley gives me a warm look, holding up the cheesecake and a spoon. I notice she only has one, and I have no problems with that. I set Raffy’s now-filled water bowl down, and we take the cheesecake to the couch, settling in closely with the cheesecake in between us.
“So, how’d you know?” Riley asks as I push the spoon through the first bite of cheesecake and offer it to her.
“Know what?” I ask, and Riley’s answer is delayed as she wraps her lips around the bite of cheesecake. Her eyes close, rolling up and her eyelids fluttering as she moans with a sexy, throaty purr that has my cock surging to full hardness in my pants and my mind thinking of a dozen ways to pull that sound from her again. None of them involve cheesecake.
“Mmm, so good,” she whispers when she opens her eyes. “That I love cheesecake.”
“Who doesn’t love cheesecake? But consider that noted.” I mime scribbling a note in an imaginary notebook, but the truth is, I basically have one in my mind. I want to know everything about Riley Watson, from the mundane to the extraordinary.
“You like cheesecake too?” she guesses.
I shrug, knowing I need to show this side of me as well. “Growing up, it was . . . a special treat, like once a year for birthdays. And even then . . . let’s just say that even if it’s not real, I still have a fond place in my heart for the Jell-O No-Bake variety. Especially the Oreo one.”
“Ooh, fancy,” Riley teases, but when she sees my eyes, she leans in. “Promise me something, Noah.”
“What’s that?” I ask, leaning in until we’re nose to nose. It feels vaguely silly to be this close and not kissing her, but because of that, it makes me smile. Like we’re being intimate without anything sexual. It’s just closeness and comfort with each other.
“Promise me that when the time’s right, you’ll tell me all about those times,” Riley says. “I know a bit from Arielle’s point of view. I want yours.”
“I promise,” I tell her, and as though she’s rewarding me for the risk, she takes the spoon and scoops a chunk of cheesecake, offering it to me. I take the bite, enjoying the sweet, tangy flavor. With my mouth full of heaven, it’s easier to tell her, “That bedtime story . . . it was real. It was true. That’s when everything changed.”
Nobody knows that story. Not the whole thing the way I told it in those messages. My mom knows some, Arielle knows other parts, but Riley . . . knows everything. From my secret shame to my elation to my mother’s sacrifice.
Riley shakes her head. “It didn’t change anything. You were already an amazing person, just a miniature version.” She holds up her finger and thumb an inch apart like I was a tiny leprechaun that found the money. “And your mom was already a hard worker. All of that was already in place. The money was a resource, not a catalyst.”
Fuck, this woman is amazing. I tell her my deepest, darkest shame, and she somehow shines a light on it and makes it seem like I was a golden child. And not in a dismissive way that doesn’t respect what I’ve been through, but rather, in a way that accepts it as formative of who I am. Because she likes me, she likes whatever it took to make me . . . me.
“You were an amazing person back then too,” I tell her, still apologizing for what I said long ago. “And you used your awesomeness to make the world better. For so many. Even me.”
I take the spoon back, and this time, when I feed her the cheesecake, I lean in, kissing her and tasting the creamy sweetness from her own lips. She leans into me too, the cheesecake between us forcing us to become a triangle as our lips and tongues explore each other.
“Mmm . . . that bite was even tastier,” Riley murmurs when our lips part. “How about you try this bite?”
She skips the spoon, plunging two fingers into the cheesecake and holding them up. Before I can take them into my mouth, she rubs her fingers under her jawline. “Hungry?”
Fuck, am I.
I take the container of cheesecake from her, putting it on the small coffee table in front of us, and dive for her.
I pull her to me, my mouth finding the streak of creamy whiteness on her skin and licking her throat to the point of her jaw. Riley moans when I nibble there, and I want to feel that sound vibrate against my chest. I grip her hips, guiding her to climb into my lap. I can feel her heat, and I know she can feel my hardness. I use my hold on her hips to press her tighter against me, and she arches, rubbing herself along my shaft.
The cheesecake is gone from her neck and sucked from her fingers, but her skin is just as sweet, so I continue pressing kisses along her neck and up to her lips. Her mouth tastes like sugar and tart cherries, and I savor every stroke of her tongue against mine.
Riley’s hands go to my shoulders as she finds a rhythm of her own, hips stroking up and down tantalizingly. “Fuck, Riley. That feel good? Use me, Sunshine.”
She lets out a little cry that gets stuck in her throat at my words, and I think she likes a little dirty talk. Who’d have thought Little Miss Happy Skies and Sunbeams would like that? I can’t wait to see what else she likes.
It’s been ages since I dry humped through clothes, but as soon as I consider getting less fabric between us, Raffy starts barking.