Touch by Touch (Riggins Brothers #4) - Kaylee Ryan Page 0,27
I’ve had a man’s hands on me, and this isn’t just any man. This is Conrad Riggins, and if I wasn’t willing to admit it before, I have no choice now.
I’m falling for him.
Reaching for the hem of the shirt I’m wearing, I’m ready to tear it from my body so I can feel his skin against mine. However, before I get that far, my cell phone starts to ring. Conrad slows our kiss and eventually stopping altogether as he rests his forehead against mine.
“We don’t have to answer that,” he tells me as he labors to catch his breath. The ringing stops, and he grins. “They read my mind.” He moves in for another kiss, only for my phone to ring again. He sighs, presses a chaste kiss to my lips, and steps out of my hold to retrieve my phone from the island. “Your mom,” he says, handing me the phone.
With shaking hands, I accept the call, placing the phone to my ear. “Hey, Mom.”
“Aspen, how are you holding up?”
“Fine. We’re snowed in, but Conrad is hopeful that the snowplows will get us dug out today. It finally stopped snowing.”
“That’s what your sister just told me. Your dad and I are on our way to Nashville now. Is there anything that you need us to do at the bakery or bring with us?”
“I’m sure everything is fine, Mom.”
“Your sister is there, and she’s nervous about leaving the new staff, but I’ve assured her that between the two of you, they’re trained and ready.”
“They are. You know Aurora, she’s a worrier.”
Conrad steps between my legs and assists me with wrapping them back around his waist. I give him a questioning look, and he just grins at me. His eyes find mine, and he smirks before moving in and pressing a kiss just under my ear that’s not listening to my mother.
“Aspen, can you hear me?” Mom asks, pulling me away from Conrad and back to the conversation.
“Yes. Sorry, we’re baking cookies, and I got distracted.” It’s not a complete lie.
“Oh, that sounds fun. I’m glad Conrad is there with you. I wasn’t thrilled about you being up there in that cabin all alone.”
If she could only see us now. “Mom, I’m an adult and am perfectly capable of taking care of myself.”
“I can take care of you,” Conrad whispers low enough for only me to hear. My body quivers from his words.
“I know you can. I just worry. That’s my job as your mother. Just wait. One day when you have children, you’ll understand.”
“I know. I love you for it, but I promise you I’m fine. We’re fine.”
“Yes, you are,” Conrad says, his voice low and husky in my ear.
“Well, I’ll let you get back to what you were doing. Love you, Aspen.”
“Love you too, Mom. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Ending the call, I drop my phone to the counter and sigh as Conrad continues to kiss on my neck.
His hands slide back up my shirt, and I’m ready for whatever he’s willing to give when this time it’s his phone that interrupts us. “Fuck,” he mumbles.
“I think the universe is working against us here.” I chuckle.
“Me too, babe.” He kisses me sweetly, then steps away to answer his phone. This time he doesn’t come back. Instead, he sits at the island and talks to what sounds like one of his brothers.
Composing myself, I hop off the counter and take my seat next to him, and start again on decorating the remaining cookies. When Conrad finishes his call, he helps me with the last remaining few, and together we clean up the mess that we made.
Neither one of us mention the kisses, and that’s okay. We’re better off to pretend it never happened. Our siblings are getting married, and if this… whatever it was didn’t work out, that would wreck the dynamics of both of our worlds. It doesn’t matter how much I crave his touch. It’s not something I can have.
Chapter 10
Conrad
“I’m impressed.”
I turn to see Aspen walk into the kitchen and perch on a stool at the island. “Woman, did you doubt me?” I ask her.
“No.” She shakes her head. “However, I wasn’t sure what to expect either. That looks great.” She points to where I’m standing at the stove, slicing the homemade pizza I made us for dinner.
“Don’t get too excited. It’s just cheese and hamburger. I didn’t see anything else to use as toppings.”