His leg practically vibrated under her hand. “No, but maybe it’s like this because you’re fighting it.”
“Maybe. But what if I use it and crave more? What if I become addicted? After I filter Tanda’s, that’s it. When someone who doesn’t naturally have capacity is given access to power, using it drains them. They can’t just tap a source and keep using it unless they get more from another goddess. That’s how leeches are made.”
She thought about her great-grandfather, about the possibility that he drained her great-grandmother so much that she couldn’t pass the legacy on to her daughters. Maybe she and Marley had interpreted that all wrong. Maybe they hadn’t known what would happen when Henrietta bestowed power on Earl, and she’d willingly given him whatever he needed. It was possible she’d been too ashamed to explain to her daughters what had happened, and deflected blame on the Society.
Would Riley be willing to make that sacrifice for Sam, if it was the only way to keep him sane and healthy? The answer came quickly enough to disturb her, but understanding her family a little better gave her strength.
She swiveled to sit next to him and looped her arm through his. “I know you’re afraid, but I think you need to try. Something small. It might settle down all that excess energy.” She dug into her pocket and pulled out a long, slender screw. “Move this.”
Sam rolled his eyes. “Riley.”
“Come on.” She bounced her hand at him. “See if you can knock it off my palm.”
Sam swept his hand up under hers, a light smack that sent the screw bouncing in the air.
“Hey!” She half-laughed, but on its way down it changed trajectory and shot sideways, clattering across the floor.
Riley gaped at it, then at Sam. “You did it!”
Sam gasped and blinked hard. Shock slowly turned to elation. “I controlled it.”
Riley leaned and snatched up the screw. Sam took it in both hands and tested its strength with his thumbs. Then his brow puckered with concentration. A few seconds later, it curved under pressure. He formed a loop and held it out to Riley.
“There, now you can wear it as a ring.”
She didn’t want to. She rubbed her thumb over the palm of her hand, where the car had burned her a couple of hours ago. Sam still wore a proud, lighter expression, and Riley couldn’t take that away from him. She held out her thumb and let Sam slip the unwieldy “jewelry” over it before settling down next to him, against the wall.
Casually, Sam threaded his fingers through hers and looked out over the water. The sun had finished setting, and it was difficult to see much along the beach.
“How do you feel now?” Riley asked softly, though she hardly needed to. Sam was more relaxed, the jitters gone, with just the one small burst of power.
“Better.” He closed his eyes again and reached his free hand out to the ocean. “I can feel it. The tide, the current. Even tiny points of living energy, like you did in the restaurant.” He flinched slightly in Riley’s direction. With his eyes still closed, he turned more fully toward her. “Yeah. I can…” He caressed her cheek. His lips curved, and he murmured, “Beautiful.”
Riley’s cheeks warmed. She cleared her throat. “Uh, how about the queasiness? Gone?”
When Sam opened his eyes, they were nearly opaque in the growing darkness. “Yeah. All the pain where it was slicing into me is gone, too. That didn’t fade much on its own, but now it all seems to be…” He frowned. “Equalizing, I guess.”
“Good.” Riley pulled her feet under her and stood. “Let’s stop here, then. Quit while the quitting’s good.” She tugged Sam’s hand and helped him to his feet. “We should go inside. I wonder—oof.”
Sam pulled her against his chest. “Thank you, Riley. I’d never get through this without you.” He bent his head and kissed her, much like he had the other night. With tender gratitude.
Riley wanted so much more from him, but she didn’t want to trigger the desperate lust he’d had that night and send him running again. He wrapped his hands around her waist, and she let herself snuggle closer. She pressed one hand to his chest, curved the other around his neck. Her lips parted and he accepted the invitation, sliding in gently, but with a little more hunger.
Then he gave a low moan, and the desire Riley had kept banked relit. She arched and rubbed against him, sucking his tongue deeper.
Sam groaned. His hands went to her back and held her tightly while he lowered them to the floor. Riley wriggled on the hard surface, and Sam broke the kiss with a gasp.
“You’re killing me, Riley.”
She immediately stilled. “I’m sorry.”
“No, I am. I didn’t mean like—I meant in a normal, God-I’ve-got-to-have-you kind of way.” He smiled against her mouth. “If that’s any better.”
“It’s perfect.” She kissed him again, letting her hands map every muscle. His shoulders were so broad. Someone looking down at them wouldn’t even know she was here.
Sam swept his hand down her side and under the hem of her shirt. His skin against hers was electric, and when his palm settled on her hip, the fire flared even higher. She arched again, wanting him to touch every inch of her, but he moved so slowly. He could span half her torso with that hand, but instead kept it on her waist, gradually spreading his fingers across her ribcage. Riley’s heart pounded, and she ached for him.
“Sam,” she whispered, arching her neck so he could nuzzle her.
“Mmmhmm.” He sucked a little on her neck. She gasped and rose up, and he went with the move and slid his hand up to cup her breast. Riley had to bite back a cry of pleasure.
Sam hung his head. His breath panted against her collarbone. “We should stop. Someone could see.” His voice was thick and urgent.
“No.” Riley didn’t want to, and wouldn’t no matter the circumstances. “No one’s around. I want you, Sam.” She reached down and touched him through his jeans, and oh, God, he was so freaking hard. She went completely wet and shuddered, cupping her fingers around him.
“Jesus.” Sam shoved her shirt up and her bra down so he could cover her nipple with his mouth. He tongued it, and this time Riley couldn’t hold back the cry. She thrust her hands into his hair and rocked under his body, her brain and vision blurring. Sam flicked open her jeans and pushed his hand inside. His long, strong fingers glided over her swollen clit and into her. She had to clamp down to keep from coming right then, and Sam cursed into her shoulder.
“Sam, please. I want—” And then his fingers moved inside her, even confined by her jeans, and she went off, a quick, blinding orgasm that was a shower of golden light.
…
Sam had some faint belief, buried under the mindless need to devour Riley, that giving her pleasure was going to keep him from melting down. His own lust was under control. Barely. But the hard edge from the other night was gone. He wanted to keep the focus on her…and this time, he didn’t have to question whether or not she really wanted it. Her hands yanked at his buckle, and she wrapped one leg up around his hip. Her pelvis lifted against him, the smallest pressure making him throb.
Then her hand was on his cock, skin to skin, and Sam’s brain completely fuzzed. His breath hissed out between his teeth, the only sound he could hear. He held himself up off Riley, fine sand on the deck grinding into his palms, his entire body taut while she stroked and squeezed.
“Uhn. Stop. I’m gonna—” She froze just in time. Sam cursed again and reached for his back pocket with one hand before his brain recovered enough to realize there was nothing there. “Shit. I don’t have anything.”
“I do.” It had grown too dark to see, but Sam heard the crinkle of a familiar packet, then a tearing noise, and a couple of seconds later, he shuddered as she slid the condom over him.