Chapter 21

CHAPTER 21

Eric

My head was pounding, and I was sweltering beneath the sheets. Sheets that didn’t feel like my own thousand thread count Egyptian cotton.

I blinked, my eyes adjusting to the bright light as I shielded myself from it. Once my vision sharpened, I realized I was certainly not at home.

And I was most certainly naked.

Fuck!

Before I could process my surroundings or how I’d ended up in a bed I didn’t know, I heard the door open. I turned to see Riley, standing there in nothing but a white towel—his trim chest on display, the pale skin speckled with sparse, dark hair that swiftly led down his abdomen beneath the towel. Freshly showered dark hair hung in his eyes messily and panic spread within me.

I racked my brain, but I could not remember anything past Cheerleaders. I was drawing a literal blank at the moment.

Oh my God, did we ? —

“You’re up,” Riley said, as he took a slow step toward me.

My heart was running rampant as I tried to piece everything together, and I tried to remember just how badly I’d fucked up.

This is not how this was supposed to happen!

This was not supposed to happen at all!

“I’m so sorry...” I said, running a hand through my hair as shame and guilt built within me.

Riley stood before me, the fresh scent of hotel shampoo and body wash wafting off of him. My stomach flipped as I stared at the sight of him, looming over me, looking like absolute perfection at this hour. My cock twitched in response, and I felt as if I could barely breathe under his gaze.

“I’m not,” he said, his voice soft, even.

His words washed over me, and I couldn’t help but close my eyes, soaking them in.

God, I wished I could remember what happened.

“I don’t... I must have blacked out. I... I don’t remember what happened past Cheerleaders,” I admitted, feeling embarrassed.

I couldn’t remember the last time I legit blacked out. I usually liked to be in control of myself and the situation.

When I opened my eyes, I saw Riley’s furrowed eyebrows as he took a seat beside me on the bed. The bed squeaked a little, and a fresh pounding assaulted my head, and I felt a bit uneasy.

“Is that what’s bothering you?” he asked, his voice barely a whisper.

“I mean, this isn’t my first rodeo, but...” I said, not wanting to sound like a whiny little bitch or something. Lord knew I’d had my share of scenarios just like this, only I was the one being regretted.

Did I regret what happened?

I wasn’t so sure... and that only made my insides twist some more.

I pulled my knees up to my chest beneath the covers.

How had things gotten so complicated?

“How did we even get here?” I asked, running a hand over my face.

“Apparently Drew Axel reserved a block of rooms for us, due to our... festivities going a bit overboard. He texted me just before I jumped in the shower. Checking to make sure we’d gotten in all right.”

I dared to steal a glance at Riley, not wanting to ask but needing to know all the same.

“I, uh, don’t normally do this sort of thing, you know.”

I scoffed, refusing to look at him for the moment. I didn’t want to see regret or pity in his eyes.

“What sort of thing?” I grumbled.

“Take attractive men home. I mean, I know this isn’t home or anything...” he said hurriedly. I glanced at him from beneath my lashes.

“I usually don’t drink so much either... I’m usually the responsible one, you know?” he asked, sighing.

The need, the desire to make him feel better, even when I was struggling for sanity myself was overwhelming.

“Do you remember what happened?” I asked.

Riley’s gaze softened. “Bits and pieces, yes.”

I attempted to soothe his own crisis at the moment, assuring him this wasn’t what I usually did either.

Except, if I was being honest... I did do this sort of thing. Not often, but...

I didn’t usually do it with people I had feelings for.

Did I have feelings for Riley?

I wanted to say no, but the truth was so much more complicated than that.

“I didn’t mean to take advantage, of you I mean, I...” I breathed out a sigh as panic laced me. “I don’t even know if you’re...”

It was a stupid thing to say, to imply that I was panicking about whether or not Riley was clean, and it was even dumber to insist that was what was bothering me when I knew the truth. While I’d hooked up with guys via dating apps a couple times, I never performed with anyone, and I had a record that was spotless. I would have bet a million dollars Mr. Sunday Best was cleaner than a whistle.

Riley’s shoulders fell, his lips pursed as he ran a hand through his hair.

“Oh my God, I didn’t even think...”

“I’m clean,” I blurted out, quickly hurrying through my confession if only to put it out in the open if it would help soothe Riley’s nerves a fraction.

Hell, maybe it will even soothe my own.

“I mean, in case you, uh, were worried,” I said, like an idiot.

“I mean, we probably should have had this discussion before we...” I watched as his cheeks reddened.

“Fucked?” I asked hesitantly, the question hanging in the air.

My heart raced as I bit my lip, waiting for his confirmation.

“Actually, all I remember is you, um, on your knees...” he said, quickly recovering with, “And then I remember returning the favor, and then... I think we fell asleep because I had some weird dreams. We didn’t, um, fuck,” he said, and despite the redness in his cheeks, I couldn’t deny the word on his tongue made my cock twitch.

A part of me was relieved, but also disappointed. Though there was no doubt in the world I wanted to drive the fine specimen next to me into next Tuesday with my cock, and I certainly wanted him to punish me with his.

I couldn’t deny my attraction to Riley, but I also wanted to remember what he felt like, intimately. Images filled my brain of what felt like a far away memory... His lips ravaging my own, his tongue wrapped around my cock, him telling me...

I want you.

The words reverberated in my brain as hazy memory tried to surge forth. Of hands and heat, of hard cocks, and those three, little words spoken drunkenly, without thought or consequence. Spoken in truth.

I want you.

I wanted Riley Evans, but I knew I needed to tell him the truth.

I couldn’t lie to him anymore. I wanted him to want me for me.

Not the me that everyone else got— XxPrinceAyricxX, the charismatic performer, Eric the eternal bachelor who knew how to have a good time. I wanted Riley to want me for the lost, childish idiot I was who couldn’t breathe when he was in the same room.

My heart beat steadily in my chest as I squeezed my knees tight.

This was it, this was the downfall, I could feel it. I’d flown too close to the sun.

“I know you probably won’t believe me, but I don’t normally do this sort of thing either,” I said, feeling on the spot.

Riley squinted his eyes before brushing some hair out of my eyes. The touch was gentle, and I hated how much I liked it.

I’d been in plenty of scenarios the morning after, both being the one to leave, and the one being left, and usually that was the end of things where I was concerned. But as I stared at Riley in that hotel bedroom, a part of me didn’t want this to end.

A part of me wanted to believe that in the mistakes I had made, I could salvage a pure truth.

And that truth was that I was falling in love with Professor Riley Evans.

“Why wouldn’t I believe you?” he asked curiously.

The words caused a lump to form in my throat.

“Because, Riley I?—”

But they’d never be spoken. They were lost the moment Riley swiftly caressed my jaw and planted the softest kiss I’d ever felt on my lips.

Riley kissed me like I meant something. Like I was truly everything to him, just the way I was.

And God forbid, I wanted to drown in that kiss.

I always dreamed a man would kiss me like that, but no one ever did. Not until that moment.

I kissed him back, not wanting the moment to end.

The vibrant spark between us.

“Shhh... it’s okay,” he whispered against my lips, brushing his thumb across my jaw.

“Riley...” I whined. Like a total bitch.

Riley’s bitch.

Riley pulled me closer, and I fell into him like rain falls to the ground.

The impact, the feel of his warm, smooth chest against my own, his fingers in my hair... It all made me feel lightheaded.

I parted my lips, and he didn’t miss a beat as we both fell back against the bed, my cock brushing against the damp, white towel separating us.

Riley slid his tongue in my mouth as his lips traveled over my jaw, down my neck, causing fresh fire to bloom in my blood. My head was pounding, my cock aching as his fingertips grazed my skin.

“Tell me...” he breathed as he draped his hand across my hip.

I allowed my hands to travel over his chest, down his abdomen, resting on the knot where he’d tied the towel closed, absentmindedly brushing my thumb over the bunched fabric.

Riley looked at me and in his eyes I could see he was scared too, though what he had to be scared of was beyond me.

“Tell me to stop,” he whispered, letting his forehead fall gently to rest against mine. “Every time I’m near you, all I want to do is touch you...” he breathed, his voice thick with emotion and lust.

And something else I didn’t dare acknowledge because I knew I would be doomed, if I did.

“And I know that makes me sound like a total creeper, but?—”

I kissed him in return, my own demons clawing at me.

I knew I should have told him to stop. I should have ended things right there, and walked away.

But when Riley Evans kissed me, when he touched me... it felt like everything was perfect for once.

He made me happy .

And I didn’t want that feeling to go away, so I said, “I don’t want you to stop.”

Riley kissed me wistfully, rolling me over so that I was on my back, my cock standing up straight with his own admission of excitement a tenting of the white of the towel.

As Riley leaned over me, his towel shifted, revealing his hip lines. The light of morning lit him up like a halo, as he pressed himself against me.

“I never want you to stop,” I breathed desperately, imploring his gaze with mine.

Alarm bells sounded off all throughout my body, my brain.

Danger, Eric!

But I’d never felt so strongly about anyone in my life, and so I didn’t know how to do anything else at the moment, except be the man Riley Evans wanted.

The man he wanted to kiss, to touch.

I wanted to be his.

Riley kissed me once more as he settled his fingers in my hair.

I slid my hands down his sides resting them on his hips.

The towel bunched in my grasp, and within seconds, I felt his hand covering mine.

“Tell me what you want,” he purred, his voice full of tenderness as he slid his other hand down my chest. My cock throbbed as I arched my back off the bed, needing to feel his skin on mine.

My head was still pounding, pain mixing with pleasure.

Riley traced his fingertips lightly along my shaft, his touch electric as he mapped each swollen vein.

“Is this what you want?” he asked sweetly, running them up and down my dick.

I found it hard to focus, to breathe, due to the overwhelming feelings culminating in me. His lips pressed against my neck, right over my throbbing pulse, his tongue on my skin felt sweet and warm.

The moan that escaped me was unavoidable.

I wrapped my arms around him, seeking grounding as I pulled him closer. I thrust my engorged cock against his touch, needing more.

“Yes,” I breathed, lost in his warmth.

Riley kissed me, his tongue caressing mine as he wrapped his hand around my cock, his palm warm and soft like velvet.

“Is this what Daddy wants?” he purred, his lips turning into a smile against mine as he slowly pumped me, brushing his thumb over my slit and through my sticky precum.

God, yes. I want this.

I want him... this man who makes me unable to think or see straight.

This man who drives me crazy.

“Yes,” I cried out as my hands settled on his hips once more, which I noticed were now bare. I opened my eyes for a moment to see him above me, naked, his thick, beautiful cock also weeping with delight.

I let my hand slide lazily over his hip, cupping his ass as I looked up into his eyes.

Riley touched me with a reverence I’d never known. Like he truly felt my body was a gift.

Like nothing mattered but this .

Us.

Riley smirked as he withdrew his hand, sliding down and replacing it with his warm mouth. In one swift motion, he took me into the back of his throat, moaning and groaning as he labored his tongue around my engorged cock.

“Fuck...” I hissed as I fought against his hold. The desire to flip him and be on top, with my cock shoved down his throat was a natural reaction. I didn’t like to be anyone’s bottom.

Riley traced his fingers along my thighs until his hands were beneath my ass cheeks and he was gently lifting me off the bed. The edge of his thumb brushed against my entrance, teasing me, taunting me, and in his grip I was putty.

Resistance was futile, and the second he pressed the edge of his finger against my sensitive entrance, I cried out his name like a prayer.

And in some ways, perhaps that’s what Riley was to me.

A prayer, a wish.

A chance to live happily ever after.

When my faculties returned, I turned to him, reaching for his cock.

Riley only smiled, shaking his head. “That’s not necessary,” he said softly, and he climbed off the bed.

Panic laced through me once again, that I’d done something wrong. Though Riley turned to look at me as he picked up his clothes, his gaze soft and inviting.

“But... I need to take care of you,” I whined.

God, the things this man does to me, it’s like I don’t even know myself!

Riley slid his underwear on, my sight trained on him. He slid his briefs up over his cock, which looked to be softening.

“You already did,” he said with a blush. “I’m, uh, going to find some breakfast,” he said as he pulled on his shirt.

I watched him like a black and white movie; intently and with bated breath.

A part of me knew he wouldn’t leave me, but anxiety and memory told me I’d been in this scenario too many times before to believe it would be different.

“Okay,” I said shakily, watching him leave.

I hoped I was wrong.