Golden Lies - Barbara Freethy [124]
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Paige woke up disoriented. The bed didn't feel quite right,and there was something weighing her down. Blinking, she realized there was a strong male arm, flung heavily over her stomach. As she stirred, Riley's hold on her grew tighter, as if he didn't want to let her go, even in sleep. The events of the past few hours came flooding back into her mind. Making love to Riley had been better than she had imagined. He was a generous lover, inventive, adventurous, demanding, making her stretch, reach, be more than she thought she could be. And she'd tried to give him back what she suspected he needed, genuine caring, unconditional love.
Love. The word took her breath away. They hadn't used the word, but she didn't have to say it to know she felt it. She'd been falling in love with him since that first awkward tea party at the store. And she'd tumbled further and further each day. When would it end? When would she stop falling? When would it feel like every other relationship?
The cynical man in her bed would probably predict that possibility happening today or tomorrow or the next day. But she knew deep down it wasn't going to happen. She hadn't gone into this with blinders on. She knew what kind of man Riley was. He was terrified of commitment. He could risk his life on a battlefield but not his heart on a woman. But she also knew that he could love with loyalty and devotion; she'd seen that with his grandparents.
She wouldn't try to change him; she would just wait him out. Eventually he would realize what she already knew, that feelings like this didn't come around more than once in a lifetime. For the first time in her life that she'd made love to a man without all the trappings of romance, dinner, dancing, music, candlelight, flowers, candy. They hadn't needed any of those things, only each other. She put her hand on his arm and smiled to herself. Even if she didn't have tomorrow, she would not regret tonight.
A wave of light flashed through the window and she heard the sound of a car pulling into the garage. "Oh, my God, my mother is home," she said, shooting up in alarm.
"Paige?" Riley muttered in a sleepy voice.
"They're home. My mother and grandfather are home."
"Huh?"
"Jeez, you don't wake up very fast, do you?" She put her hands on his face. "Focus. My mother and grandfather are home. We have to get out of here without anyone seeing us."
His gaze sharpened. "Got it. You don't want Mom to see me."
"See us," she corrected. "Especially not naked here in my old bedroom."
"Right."
Paige scrambled out of bed, tossing clothes at Riley as she tried to find her own. "What time is it?"
Riley looked at his watch. "Ten forty-five."
"I can't believe we slept so long."
"Well, you wore me out." He smiled. "You're not going to turn into a pumpkin, are you?"
"Ha-ha." She walked over to the door and turned off the light, not wanting her mother to see the light when she came down the hall. "She must still be downstairs. What do you think we should do?"
"We could have sex again until she goes to sleep."
She rolled her eyes. "We already used up my stash."
"Are you sure you didn't hide anything in another book, maybe The Little Princess or how about The Scarlet Letter?"
"You're quite the funny man tonight, aren't you?"
He offered her an unrepentant grin. "I like you flustered."
"You just like me."
"Maybe a little."
"More than a little." She saw him stiffen and added, "Don't worry, this isn't the tell me you love me and want to be with me forever moment."
"It's not?" he asked, unable to hide the note of relief in his voice.
She laughed. "You scare so easily." She stopped abruptly at the sound of footsteps on the stairs. They slowed down by her door, and Paige had the sudden thought that maybe her door was usually left open, not closed. Holding her breath, she hoped her mother wouldn't take this moment to notice the anomaly, although her mother was certainly one to notice just such things. The footsteps moved on, and she let out her breath.
She wondered if her mother would check