Page 17 of Edging Sanity

“High profile?” Rowan asked, impressed. “Anyone I’d know?”

A teasing smile played at the corner of Riley’s mouth. She brought her drink up to her lips before whispering, “Maybe.”

Rowan matched her smile but, again, that little feeling was burrowing into the depths of her mind, screaming that she’d seen Riley before. She just looked so familiar. The recollection felt close, like it was on the tip of her tongue. Warning bells rang through her skull.

“Have you represented anyone at Raven Wood?” she asked, and when Riley frowned, Rowan rushed to explain. “I just mean, you look familiar. Maybe I’ve seen you during a visit or something.”

Riley let out a huffed laugh and relaxed. She placed her hand on Rowan’s forearm. “I can’t discuss my clients, darling,” she said flirtatiously. “And I think I’d remember someone who looked like you.” She winked, swirling her drink before taking another sip, licking the remnants off her lips in a way that had Rowan subconsciously mirroring the action.

“But,” Riley continued, drawing out the word. “You might recognize me from a relatively famous trial I was recently involved with.” Rowan raised an eyebrow, and Riley laughed. “That is all I am going to say about that now. I don’t want to talk about work tonight.”

“Of course,” Rowan muttered. “Sorry to pry.” She watched Riley’s expression, hoping that she hadn’t overstepped.

Riley waved away her concerns. “Don’t worry about it. I get questions like that all the time.”

“Really?”

“Oh yeah. All those cop shows coming out make people glorify the hell out of my job. Everyone thinks it’s like it is on TV, but in reality, it’s nowhere near that. All paperwork and barely any of the fun.” She winked. Rowan nodded, taking the not so subtle hint and shifting the subject away from work.

Their conversation flowed effortlessly—much better than Eliza’s last attempted setup—and the chemistry was sparking. They were all flirtatious banter and charming smiles. Rowan had hardly touched her drink, she’d been so entranced with Riley’s smile, her laugh, her wit. After an hour, Riley excused herself to use the bathroom.

Rowan toyed with her glass on the table while she waited, tipping it and watching the liquid slosh before downing the last remaining dregs that had been sitting for entirely too long. She was staring at the glass when she felt a hand slip into her pocket, lips brushing her ear before she could react.

“I’m ready to go when you are.” Riley’s voice was low, seductive, sending shivers down her spine with the implication. Rowan reached into her pocket, her fingers brushing against lace fabric.

She twisted to look at Riley still pressed up against her shoulder. Riley winked. “There’s just something so hot about my underwear in your pocket, isn’t there?”

The words flashed through Rowan’s mind like an alarm blaring. Delilah had told her that. Word for word. Rowan felt like her brain was short circuiting, like her body was frozen until Riley laughed and whispered, “I’m so wet for you.”

She moved in front of Rowan, taking Rowan’s hand. She slowly inched it under the slit in her dress. The flesh of her thigh was soft to the touch and made Rowan want to dig her nails in. Rowan glanced over her shoulder. They were in a crowded room, in a dark corner, and her hand was inches away from Riley’s bare, unprotected center. She swallowed, her body heating as the ice left from Delilah’s memory thawed into nothing.

Thoughts of Delilah were discarded from her mind as her hand inched up and Riley’s breathing hitched. Riley’s nails dug into Rowan’s wrist, her pupils blown. She bit her lip when Rowan reached her drenched core.

“Do you want to continue here, or go back to my place?” Rowan asked, barely holding herself back while she scanned Riley’s face. She rubbed her thumb along Riley’s inner thigh and kept her hand pressed against her clit, unmoving. Teasing them. Riley hadn’t let go over her wrist, her other hand digging into Rowan’s shoulder as she gripped tightly, her breathing shallow.

“What if I wanted both?”

Silently, while keeping eye contact, Rowan shifted to swipe a finger through her folds, gathering the arousal to rub softly over Riley’s clit. The din of conversation floated around them, covering up the quiet gasp that Riley let slip from her barely parted lips. Heat flooded through Rowan, her own boxers dampening as she pressed in, two fingers sliding effortlessly inside.

Her mouth watered, and her vision tunneled. There was no longer a bar around them. She could see only Riley’s half-lidded desire. No conversation could filter out the breathy gasps and stifled moans. Those noises were solely for Rowan. She curled her fingers and drew out a low moan before Riley crashed their lips together, spreading her legs and practically riding Rowan’s thigh as her hips jerked with need.

Rowan repeated the movement, bringing her thumb to swipe over Riley’s clit while her fingers relentlessly stroked her inner walls. The subsequent moan was louder this time, vibrating against Rowan’s lips and ending in a whine.

“Let’s get the hell out of here,” Riley demanded breathlessly, barely breaking their kiss.

“Yes, ma’am,” Rowan muttered, pulling her soaked fingers out.

She tried to subtly wipe her hand on her pants but Riley stopped her. Grabbing her wrist, Riley brought Rowan’s fingers up to her parted lips and sucked them down.

Rowan was entranced, unable to look away as Riley’s tongue swirled around her fingers, licking every drop of her own arousal in plain sight, for anyone to see. Then she gently bit the tip of Rowan’s finger, smiling as Rowan drew away.

It was past time to get the hell out of there.

CHAPTER

THIRTEEN

Sunday afternoon Rowan was still yawning. Riley had stamina. Her mind could not get the image of Riley stripped down to only her red lace bra and matching thong—which had made her freeze in place when she’d first seen it.