Ilaria shakes her head and looks up at his hooded stare with a firm one of her own. “You have a better chance of fucking Rihanna than getting your dick inside me.”
Riley laughs and ducks his head down low, pressing a kiss to her cheek. “It was worth a try,” he says before making his way out of the pool, dripping everywhere. He stops by my side and reaches down, hauling the towel out from under my ass in one easy swipe.
“Hey!” I whine just as a set of large warm hands press down over my shoulders, gently squeezing and making my stomach swirl with anticipation.
“If you’re done striking out,” Tanner says to Riley over my head, “we have shit to do.”
“Striking out?” Riley laughs. “Man, that was just the warmup. You know how it is with these chicks, you have to warm them up first. Trust me, I’ll have them eating out of my hand by the end of the night.”
With that, Riley turns and looks back at Ilaria, catching her horrified stare before winking at her, his intentions for the night perfectly clear. “See ya ’round, babe,” he murmurs before striding back through the bi-fold doors and leaving a trail of water behind him.
“Oh, hell no,” Ilaria gasps, her eyes wide with fear. “I changed my mind. We’re not going to the party.”
Tanner laughs. “Whether you’re at the party or not,” he says. “You and I both know Riley will still find his way between your legs. He’ll wear you down and you won’t be able to resist him. Just accept it, it’s written in concrete. You’ll be his newest obsession, but that’s not really the worst thing, is it? At least he’s not frothing at the mouth over Bri anymore.”
I scoff. Clearly Tanner is blind. It hasn’t even been twenty-four hours since the last time Riley hit on me, but the more it happens, the more I realize that Riley simply can’t help it. He’s harmless. He likes to make girls smile, and the easiest way to do that is to make them feel like the most gorgeous and desired woman in the room. Not going to lie, Riley has a gift for it. He’ll make someone very happy one day, though something tells me when that happens, he’ll be a force to be reckoned with. There won’t be any games. He’ll claim what he wants and won’t ever look back.
The girls laugh at Ilaria’s pain, but I’m far too distracted as Tanner leans down, his warm lips hovering just millimeters from mine as his dark, hooded eyes roam over my face. “I’m out,” he tells me, his fingers moving to my face and brushing my unruly hair behind my ear. I’m captured in the moment and lean in, needing his lips on mine, but I don’t dare close the gap. After all, there’s nothing Tanner wants more than to break me, and I’m not about to let that happen, my desperation be damned. I have a video stored safely on my phone to tide me over until I finally give in and accept that Tanner Morgan is my future … until then, these games will keep me more than entertained.
A grin pulls at the corner of my lips. “Then what are you waiting for?” I ask. “You’re not going to break me. I thought I already told you just how high my tolerance level was for horny assholes like you.”
“Uh huh,” he grumbles, his gaze dipping down my bikini-clad body. “We’ll see about that.”
I press my thighs together, softly panting. He’s got me right where he wants me, and he knows it. I’m all talk. The fucker isn’t even trying, but something tells me the moment he gets me alone and decides the games are over, I’ll give right into him.
“I don’t think you have any idea who you’re messing with, Tanner Morgan,” I say, my words certainly not reflecting the desperation I feel inside.
Tanner winks and I melt.
I fucking melt.
Goddamn it.
“Wear that lacy black thong tonight,” he murmurs, his voice lowering and sending an electric current right through to my core. “I wanna rip it off with my teeth.”
Holy Mcfluggalugging. Yes, sir.
I suck in a breath, my heart racing, and I curl my hands into fists at my side, determined not to reach out and grab him. “I believe you were leaving,” I murmur, my voice breaking and certainly not sounding as unaffected as I intended.
Tanner grins, his soft laugh speaking right to my soul. Without another word, he pulls away from me and leaves the way he came, giving me a chance to finally breathe.
I sink down into my sun lounger, my head right where my ass is supposed to be as my wide gaze stares at the cloudless blue sky. “Fuck me,” I breathe, completely ruined by the man I once vowed to despise.