She hadn’t realized he’d risen from his chair until she heard his voice from directly behind her. She turned quickly, almost bumping noses with him. He chuckled and steadied her by placing his hands on her shoulders. “Careful.”
She cleared her throat. “Is there something else you want?”
Tugging her a bit closer, he bent his head until his mouth was only inches from hers. “I think you already know the answer to that.”
She tried to frown intimidatingly. “I don’t want you to do this.”
His too-perceptive gray eyes searched her face. “I was right. You’re a terrible liar.”
She swallowed. “I don’t think this is a good idea.”
“Now you’re being honest. And very sensible.” His lips brushed across hers as lightly as a warm breeze. “I’ve never been known as the sensible type myself.”
It was probably a good thing he was still supporting her, because her knees were going weak—along with her willpower. “Then I suppose it’s up to me to be sensible for both of us,” she whispered.
“Looks like it.” He kissed her again, a little harder this time. She lifted her hands to his chest. She was quite sure she’d intended to push him away. Instead, she seemed to be resting against him.
She really was going to be sensible and put an end to this. In a minute, she promised herself as his lips settled onto hers again.
It had been very difficult for her to stop thinking about those two brief kisses they had shared before. But the memory of those kisses evaporated in the heat of this one. His mouth moved on hers with a hunger that hadn’t been evident before, an eagerness he didn’t even try to disguise.
The kitchen counter dug into her back as he pressed against her. The intensity of the kiss wasn’t the only evidence that he wanted her. A quiver of instinctive response ran through her, and a hollow ache centered somewhere deep inside her. Once again she was reminded of the missing elements in her life—and she suspected that Riley could provide all of them. At least for a while. Until his attention moved on.
That sobering thought—or was it the sad voice of experience?—gave her the strength to pull her mouth from his. “We have to stop this.”
He threaded the fingers of his right hand through her hair, and only then did she realize that he’d somehow released the clip that had been securing her hair at the back of her neck. The fact that he’d done so without her noticing was disturbing.
“I know. Your kids are going to be home soon.”
She almost groaned. The kids. They would be arriving home at any minute—and she hadn’t even thought of that until Riley pointed it out. “Yes, but—”
“You’re thinking that I’m the last guy on earth you need to get involved with. I’m commitment-phobic, unpredictable, irresponsible…am I missing anything?”
“Yes.” She reached up impulsively to rub a smudge of lipstick from his lower lip. “You’re a bad influence on my son. This morning he tried to leave for school wearing shoes with no socks. When I told him to put on his socks, he said, ‘But Riley doesn’t wear them.’”
He appeared to give that a moment’s thought before he asked, “If I start wearing socks, would you consider having a wild, passionate affair with me?”
She tried not to smile. She tried to look stern and disapproving. Instead, she shook her head with a reluctant laugh. “You’re incorrigible.”
“Another of my flaws.”
“Riley—”
“Is this where you give me another lecture about maintaining a professional tenant-landlord relationship?”
“I think that would be a waste of time at this point,” she said in resignation.
His mouth quirked into an appreciative half-smile. “I think you’re right.”
He started to lower his head again. She sidestepped quickly, evading the intended kiss. “But, as you just reminded me, my children will be home very soon, and I need to get ready for them.”
He sighed regretfully and moved to give her some space.
Her hands weren’t quite steady when she reached to gather her hair at her nape again, securing it with the clip he’d placed on the counter. She cleared her throat and tried to speak normally. “I’m making chili and corn bread for dinner, if you’d like to join us.”
“Sounds good. But I have a few things to do first.”
“I’ll have dinner ready at six-thirty. If you can get away by then, you’re welcome to join us.”