Rider's Kiss

“So you told her that I’m not your type,” she gritted out. “That I’m a spinster and a nerd.”

He winced. “Men say a lot of dumb things, Vic. I truly didn’t mean it. I was cornered, that’s my only excuse. I swear it.” He left off the part about her being off-limits. Forbidden to him because she was Reena’s innocent friend. That she was ten miles too good for him.

“Fine. I forgive you.” She let out a heavy breath and pointed to the couch. “Since you’re here, you might as well have a seat.”

He grasped at the flimsy thread as if it were a lifeline. “Thanks.” He sat at the far end of the couch and crossed one leg over the other.

Victoria wrung her hands together, as if nervous all of a sudden. “I was about to get a glass of tea. Want some?”

He smiled. “No, but water sounds good.”

“Uh, I’ll be right back.” Victoria turned and fled the room.

Rider inhaled, catching her sweet scent. She always smelled like cupcakes. He wondered if that was because of the catering business or if she was just that tasty. Would he ever find out for himself? Damn, Victoria was turning out to be entirely different from what he’d imagined when he’d thought to come here. She should’ve been slamming the door in his face and screaming obscenities at him, not welcoming him in and offering him cold drinks. He was only too glad she wasn’t. After a few minutes, Rider began to wonder if she was hiding from him. He stood and went in search of her. As he entered the kitchen, Rider ran smack into her.

“Oh!” Victoria shrieked. Unfortunately, she was holding two tall glasses of icy-cold drinks. Half went down the front of her T-shirt, and the other soaked the front of his.

“Holy shit, that’s cold,” he bit out.

“Oh no, I’m so sorry.” Victoria stared at him, owl-eyed. “I didn’t hear you come in.”

“Yeah, I picked right up on that,” Rider said, amused and sopping wet all at the same time. As he turned to get a dishtowel off the counter to wipe off the front of his shirt, Rider looked at Victoria. She stood a few feet from him, her top soaked clear to the skin—and she wasn’t wearing a bra. Ah hell, he never should’ve looked. Rider could see her pink nipples through the wet material. Her breasts were full round globes that would fit his hands perfectly. God, she was perfection. He wanted so badly to just reach out and touch her, to cup her the heavy weight of her tits in the palm of his hands. Rider felt like a total lecher staring at her and getting horny, all while she was fussing over his old, worthless T-shirt.

Finally, he dragged his gaze away from the beauty of her chest and said, “Uh, I think you might want to go change.”

Victoria looked at herself, clearly just now realizing she was soaking wet. “Oh my God!” she shouted as she saw for the first time that she was nearly nude from the waist up. She crossed her arms over her chest to hide the gorgeous swells, but it was too little, too late. Rider had already gotten an eyeful.

She swung around to block his view. “Um, I’ll just go and…yeah.” She sprinted from the room and called over her shoulder, “Make yourself at home. I’ll be right back.”

Unable to help himself, Rider followed her from the room and watched her run down the hall. He leaned against the wall, content to stare at the sway of her hips. Christ, his hands all but itched to massage and knead her shapely ass. Yep, you’ve gotten yourself in some deep shit this time, buddy.

Fifteen minutes later, Rider once again sat on Victoria’s couch, this time with her in the chair across from him. They were drinking from fresh glasses, and Rider was having a hard time pulling his gaze away from her chest. She’d changed into an oversize black sweatshirt, but it didn’t matter. Rider knew the treasures that lay beneath, and he wanted them for himself. She was gorgeous as hell. The moment her shirt had become transparent, Rider’s good intentions had fled. There was no way he could keep his distance now.

“Are you sure you don’t want a towel or something?”

He looked down at his still-wet shirt and chuckled. “Hell, it’s the least I deserved, Vic, really.” Rider looked around at her living room. “You have a very nice house.”

The inside of the white, ranch-style house was warm and inviting, with an array of plants and cozy furniture and lots of country crafts hanging on the walls. The kitchen, with its large oak table and country-blue accents throughout, made Rider feel right at home. However, it all still seemed somehow unfinished, as if she was in the middle of changing it or something.

“Thanks. It’s become sort of a lifelong project at this point,” she explained as if reading his thoughts. “This was my parents’ home. I’ve been busy updating things for the last few years.” Victoria looked around, a wistful look on her face. “Redecorating can be costly, so it’s taking me some time to finish.”

“You say this was your parents’ home?”

She nodded. “Well, as you know, my mom died when I was young.”

He cringed, hating that he’d brought up such a sad memory. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. Dad moved to Florida a few years ago. He left me the house.”

Rider cocked his head to the side at that bit of news. “Away from his only child?”

She bit her lower lip, and he badly wanted to ease away the sting, preferably with his tongue. “I think he hoped that by leaving the house behind, he’d be able to get past losing Mom.” Victoria looked down at her lap. “The truth is, Dad will never get over the loss. It broke him, I think. He shut himself off from everyone who cared about him. It got to the point where he and I have become almost strangers.”

Rider saw the pain that came into her eyes, and he wanted to erase it. He hated to think of her ever being sad. Which brought him to the reason he’d come to see her in the first place. He leaned forward and blurted out, “I’m truly sorry for being such an ass.” Rider took her hand in his and stroked his thumb across her palm in a gesture meant to soothe. “I didn’t mean the callous things I said the other day. Please believe that.”

She looked into his eyes, and he hoped she saw the sincerity in them. “Thank you,” she said in a quiet voice. “So, Reena tells me you’re opening a new branch of your auto business here. How’s that going?”

The quick change of topic let him know he wasn’t forgiven. Not by a long shot. Damn, the woman had pride in spades. He let her dodge him, for now. “Yep, it’s a lot of work, but I think it’ll be worth it.”