Read Online The Heart of Texas by R. J. Scott - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: R. J. Scott
Tags: Romance
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away with lust and maybe try'n keep it in my pants."
"I…" was all Riley managed, shaking his head vehemently. He was scarlet with embarrassment, and Jack counted it as a win.
Jack shut the bathroom door behind him before Riley could come up with a coherent answer, smirking at the look in Riley's eyes and at the horrified open-mouthed denial on his lips. Then his smile faded. There was something else in his husband's eyes, and Jack wondered if Riley wasn't quite so conventional in his sexual tastes as he'd thought. There had been heat there, right alongside the confusion.
Well hell , he thought, examining which dials he needed to turn in Riley's frankly awesome walk-in shower. This is gonna be a long year. I may as well have some fun. For a split second, he wondered if it would backfire on him, then shrugged it away. No. As far as he was concerned, Riley-baiting was the new national sport.
* * * *
Riley stared at the bathroom door for a good minute or so, willing his flush away. He wasn't sure what had just happened, but it left him feeling too hot in his own skin. Finally Riley gave himself a mental kick in the ass and dove into the other bathroom for a fast shower. By the time Jack finished in the en suite, Riley was in bed and under the sheet, pretending to be asleep. It was the coward's way out, he acknowledged, feeling the dip in his bed as Jack climbed in.
He wasn't sure Jack slept, and as it was, Riley guessed he himself had only had an hour at the most. He'd watched the bedside clock move from minute to minute, hour to hour, hearing Jack's even breathing in the darkness of the room. His head was spinning with images of Jack's momma, her quiet grace and her easy acceptance of what Jack had done, despite the concern in blue eyes so like her son's. Then there was Josh and the argument he'd overheard between the two brothers. He had assumed Josh would demand and rant and state exactly what Jack could or couldn't do, the same as Jeff would do to Riley. It had shocked him when Josh pulled Jack in for a hug, called him kid , affection falling from his lips as easy as the shouting only thirty seconds before.
He thought back to the way Beth had questioned him, all spit and fire as she stood between him and her brother, so slight a stiff wind would probably blow her over. Are you your daddy's boy? Her question was like a stab in the heart, because, at the end of the day, yes, he was. He was just like his dad, and one day blood would tell. He had looked into Beth's eyes and lied. Faced with this pregnant girl with such a huge battle in front of her, it made him feel lower than a snake. And if Jack ever found out that Riley had put money in place for Beth's care even before he'd said yes? Shit, he was a dead man then, as his proud husband was likely to kill him. Another secret he needed to keep, another worry niggling inside his head.
And now, as the alarm clock moved round to 6:30 am and Riley moved to slide out of the bed, he wished for more sleep to deal with what he knew he had to face. Silently he padded to the window. The day was new and fresh, the sprinklers on the manicured lawn bordered by white fencing helping to make it so. There were several vehicles parked around the circular walled fountain, among them his black SUV, the only one pointing away from the house and down the avenue approach.
"Riley?" Jack's voice was tired, thick with sleep and Texas drawl. "S'time?"
Riley turned to face his husband of less than twenty-four hours, watching him as he rolled on his back and stretched warm limbs against ruby red sheets. He was yawning and rubbing a hand along his stubble-rough jaw.
"Early," he replied, causing Jack to groan into the soft pillows as he pushed at the restricting covers and bent one leg at the knee.
"So how is today panning out?" Jack asked, the words who do we have to fool? unspoken .
Riley grimaced as he watched out of the window. His dad and Jeff were climbing into one of the limos close to
"I…" was all Riley managed, shaking his head vehemently. He was scarlet with embarrassment, and Jack counted it as a win.
Jack shut the bathroom door behind him before Riley could come up with a coherent answer, smirking at the look in Riley's eyes and at the horrified open-mouthed denial on his lips. Then his smile faded. There was something else in his husband's eyes, and Jack wondered if Riley wasn't quite so conventional in his sexual tastes as he'd thought. There had been heat there, right alongside the confusion.
Well hell , he thought, examining which dials he needed to turn in Riley's frankly awesome walk-in shower. This is gonna be a long year. I may as well have some fun. For a split second, he wondered if it would backfire on him, then shrugged it away. No. As far as he was concerned, Riley-baiting was the new national sport.
* * * *
Riley stared at the bathroom door for a good minute or so, willing his flush away. He wasn't sure what had just happened, but it left him feeling too hot in his own skin. Finally Riley gave himself a mental kick in the ass and dove into the other bathroom for a fast shower. By the time Jack finished in the en suite, Riley was in bed and under the sheet, pretending to be asleep. It was the coward's way out, he acknowledged, feeling the dip in his bed as Jack climbed in.
He wasn't sure Jack slept, and as it was, Riley guessed he himself had only had an hour at the most. He'd watched the bedside clock move from minute to minute, hour to hour, hearing Jack's even breathing in the darkness of the room. His head was spinning with images of Jack's momma, her quiet grace and her easy acceptance of what Jack had done, despite the concern in blue eyes so like her son's. Then there was Josh and the argument he'd overheard between the two brothers. He had assumed Josh would demand and rant and state exactly what Jack could or couldn't do, the same as Jeff would do to Riley. It had shocked him when Josh pulled Jack in for a hug, called him kid , affection falling from his lips as easy as the shouting only thirty seconds before.
He thought back to the way Beth had questioned him, all spit and fire as she stood between him and her brother, so slight a stiff wind would probably blow her over. Are you your daddy's boy? Her question was like a stab in the heart, because, at the end of the day, yes, he was. He was just like his dad, and one day blood would tell. He had looked into Beth's eyes and lied. Faced with this pregnant girl with such a huge battle in front of her, it made him feel lower than a snake. And if Jack ever found out that Riley had put money in place for Beth's care even before he'd said yes? Shit, he was a dead man then, as his proud husband was likely to kill him. Another secret he needed to keep, another worry niggling inside his head.
And now, as the alarm clock moved round to 6:30 am and Riley moved to slide out of the bed, he wished for more sleep to deal with what he knew he had to face. Silently he padded to the window. The day was new and fresh, the sprinklers on the manicured lawn bordered by white fencing helping to make it so. There were several vehicles parked around the circular walled fountain, among them his black SUV, the only one pointing away from the house and down the avenue approach.
"Riley?" Jack's voice was tired, thick with sleep and Texas drawl. "S'time?"
Riley turned to face his husband of less than twenty-four hours, watching him as he rolled on his back and stretched warm limbs against ruby red sheets. He was yawning and rubbing a hand along his stubble-rough jaw.
"Early," he replied, causing Jack to groan into the soft pillows as he pushed at the restricting covers and bent one leg at the knee.
"So how is today panning out?" Jack asked, the words who do we have to fool? unspoken .
Riley grimaced as he watched out of the window. His dad and Jeff were climbing into one of the limos close to
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