26. River
River
K ai slides me another coffee. Both of us look as bad as each other – dark-eyed, shambolic messes, both of us shirtless and exhausted. I didn’t get any sleep, and I doubt he did either. Dark stubble he normally shaves off is creeping through on his face.
I haven’t seen Jenson at all this morning.
You think she’s watching?
I nod in response to Kai’s question. She might be up there now, watching us with her. Setting down my coffee, I scrub my face with both hands, sending up a silent prayer that she’s alright to whatever deity will spare a thought for a fucked-up man with no morals.
Because I want to do it again.
And I want her awake. Those eyes watching me, her voice filling my eyes as I buck into her.
One night wasn’t enough. Three nights definitely won’t be.
The creak from outside the door makes both of us startle, before it swings open. The coffee in my hand slips, and I swear as scalding liquid spills out, spilling onto my thigh and making me hiss even through my dark blue jeans. “Fucking hell.”
“River?” Briar darts past a gaping Kai, who clearly can’t work out whether to laugh or not as she pokes at my thigh. “Did it burn you?”
“No,” I croak. “I’m good. Just a – a little stiff.”
Kai chokes. Briar pulls back, and I drink her in. She doesn’t look psychologically damaged. “Forget about me. Good morning.”
It’s as though she suddenly realises, flushing lightly. She sinks her teeth into her lower lip before she backs up, glancing between me and Kai. “Hi.”
I watch in confusion as she gives Kai a long, indecipherable look. His eyes widen in what might be panic, especially as Briar walks up to him. His eyes meet mine, and I sign frantically.
What did you do?
I can’t see her expression. Only her back as she lifts up her hands. But whatever she says has the terror leaching from his expression, replaced by something… else.
He holds out his arms, and my mouth falls open as she launches herself into them and wraps her arms around his neck where he sits on the stool. He grips her tightly, burying his face into her neck. It looks as if he’s breathing her in like freaking oxygen.
It feels… private. So much so that I turn to stare at the wall by accident in my confusion, instead of somewhere logical. Have we always had that darker patch?
The delicate cough has me turning. “Did you… how are you feeling? Are you alright?”
I take a step closer now she’s unwrapped herself from a still dazed-looking Kai, inspecting her without bothering to hide it.
Briar leans against the counter, glancing up at me from beneath long lashes. “I’m okay. A little sore.”
My frown has her stopping. “How sore?”
She glances away, but I carefully hold her chin, ducking down to get a proper look at her face. “Briar. Tell me.”
God, it feels too easy to touch her. And I shouldn’t, really, not outside of the agreement.
But she can tell me to back off. The agreement is for when she’s asleep.
She shifts beneath my touch, but she doesn’t pull away. “A bit. But I expected it. It’s okay.”
“No, it’s not.” The words are a rumble as I glance over my shoulder to Kai. “There’s gel in her bathroom.”
Nodding, he slips from the room as Briar’s eyes widen. “There is?”
I can’t help the smirk that tips up the corner of my mouth as I lean in. “There is. It will help. I distinctly remember smoothing it over your pussy last night.”
Her mouth falls open. “River!”
I love her shyness. Fucking adore it, in fact. Leaning in, I murmur in her ear, delighting in the way she shivers against me. “Did you enjoy your home movie?”
Her lips brush my cheek as she turns. “Yes.”
I stay exactly where I am. The question in my mind sneaks out through my fucking mouth. “Did you touch yourself?”
Fucking. Hell . I need to slow down. But I can’t get rid of the thought inside my head, of Briar watching us, her fingers rubbing—
“Yes.” The small admission cuts through my thoughts and pulls an audible groan from my throat. “But—,”
I yank my face back to study hers. “But?”
She swallows, her eyes slipping to Kai as he appears at my side. Kai glances between the two of us as he holds the gel out and I take it. “Our sweet little Briar touched herself this morning, Kai. Did you know that? While she was watching us buried inside her pussy, she was playing with it.”
He stills beside me.
“But she didn’t get to finish.” I tilt my head. “Why not, baby?”
If she was blushing before, she’s a deep shade of scarlet now. “I… I was sore?”
I tap the gel on my hand, considering.
Jenson is going to fucking kill me.
But the agreement is for three nights. Anything else outside of that is for us to decide.
Leaning forward, I tap the counter behind her. “Jump up.”
“What?” Her head nearly spins to look behind her. “What for?”
I hold the gel up, grinning. “It’s not like I haven’t done it before. I wouldn’t be very good at aftercare if I left you in pain. I know what you need.”
And all jokes aside, she’s getting this gel on her one way or another. No fucking way am I allowing her to walk around with a swollen, sore pussy.
Or… a little flicker of satisfaction runs through me. Not completely, anyway.
Her eyes flick from me to the gel.
Play with me, Briar.
She bites down on her lip. “Seems like you should have fixed it the first time then, no?”
Even Kai huffs his amusement, and my smile lights up like I’m a fucking Christmas tree.
Fuck, yes . “Fair point. In that case – why don’t I kiss it better as an apology, and we’ll put the gel on after?”
The look on her face is a combination of shock and sheer, naked longing. I have to cross my arms to stop myself reaching for her. My next words are smug. “Seems to me like I know exactly what you need.”
I lean forward until I’m less than an inch away from her lips. She licks them nervously as I tap the counter again, this time making an audible sound. “Up you get.”
This is more fun than I’ve had in years. Maybe ever.
Another little hint of what sits beneath that shyness peeks out when she raises one eyebrow at me. I’m getting ready to say fuck it and just toss her up when she lifts up her arms in silent request.
“Good girl.” I wrap my arms around her waist and lift her easily, settling her down on the cool island. “Kai?”
He’s already on it, grabbing his hoodie from the back of his stool and rounding the island as I set my hand on her stomach and nudge her down. Kai bundles his hoodie, using it as a makeshift pillow for her head as she settles back.
Awake, and more than fucking aware of what happens next.
Whichever god listened to me the first time, please keep Jenson wherever he is for at least the next thirty minutes. And thank you to previous iterations of me for whatever the fuck I did in a previous life to deserve this.
“Kai.” My mouth curves. “Hold onto her hands, would you?”
She gasps as his hands wrap around hers. He presses a kiss to her palm, but doesn’t let go.
“My, my.” My fucking mouth is watering. “Are these stockings?”
They are. Sleek black stockings with a fucking glorious dark line up the back. I slide my hands up them. “Spread, baby.”
The moniker falls from my lips almost as naturally as Briar follows my instructions, her legs falling open. Both her and Kai watch as I investigate what she’s wearing under her knee-length, woollen navy dress. “River, I—,”
My head pops up. “Didn’t feel like wearing any underwear today?”
She shakes her head slowly. “Sore, remember?”
“Hmmm.” I investigate, rolling up her dress under it’s over her hips. I lift them easily, dragging the material beneath to leave her completely open to me.
Fuck. She does look sore. “We had a lot of fun with your pussy last night. Maybe too much.”
And the marks on her thighs are definitely from my fucking stubble.
I carefully stroke up her slit, and she makes a tiny little noise. “But you’re all wet, Briar. Did you get yourself worked up, watching us?”
She nods silently as I watch her face, her green eyes focused on mine. “Do you want me to use my mouth on you? And I want to hear you say it. If you’re too sore, we can wait.”
She shakes her head, and I raise my eyebrows in silent admonishment. “No. I want you to use your mouth. Please.”
She doesn’t have to ask me twice.
It takes a second to lift her thighs and hook them over my shoulders, spreading her nice and wide for me. The first touch of my tongue is gentle. Testing. But her cry is music to my ears as I trace the softest circle around her clit. “River!”
“Keep saying my name.” My demand is muffled by my reluctance to put any distance between me and Briar’s sweet little cunt. “Keep talking, Briar.”
She moves beneath me, and I grip hold of the dimples in her hips, sinking my fingers into them. This is… I thought she was perfect last night.
Nothing tops this. She moans and bucks beneath me as I drag my tongue over her, over and over again. She’s so wet that my lower face is fucking covered, and I relish every bit of it as she pushes herself into me. “Fuck, you’re so greedy.”
“River,” she pants. “ More .”
I wrap my lips around her already swollen clit, sucking on it in harsh, unapologetic movements. Her thighs clamp around my head, my hold on her hips tightening until her ass isn’t touching the counter anymore, my face fucking buried in her.
This is exactly how I want to be buried. I could die happy, as long as I had the taste of her pussy in my mouth.
She rocks against me, pleading, repeating the words over and over again. But Kai keeps her steady, and I switch to plunging my tongue inside her, mimicking how my cock moved inside her last night. My hips thrust against the counter in time with my movements, my muffled groans and her cries mixing to create a truly beautiful symphony.
The familiar ache, that building intensity, tingles, and I push my face into her as my hips pump faster.
Fucking hell – I’m going to—
She screams , her back arching as her cunt floods my mouth…and I erupt inside my fucking jeans with a muffled roar.
I think it might be the best damn orgasm I’ve ever had. I feel fucking dizzy as Briar’s cries turn to throaty, pleading sounds. “Please, River – it’s so—,”
I yank my face away immediately. Too sensitive. She was already hurting, you fucking jackass. “Briar?”
Kai gives me an incredulous, what the actual fuck look, their hands still entwined. I stare him out, very aware that only my position at the counter is hiding the fact that I came in my jeans like a teenage boy on his first time. “Briar, baby. Talk to me.”
Her panting breaths fill the room. “Good. I’m… that was… that was good. I think.”
“You think ?” My voice is incredulous. I think that my cock just shrunk three sizes. “You screamed my name loud enough to take out a window.”
I came in my fucking jeans.
Fuck it. Maybe Kai won’t notice. I shuffle around the counter until I can lean over her face. She blinks up at me. “I don’t have that much to compare it to.”
“You’ve never done that before?” My brow furrows. “Ever?”
I’m learning her tells. Her face flushes a deep red, from her forehead all the way down to where her neckline shows a hint of her curved breast. Her eyes skate from mine, darting around the room. “No?”
As I stare at her, a suspicion sneaks into my head.
I push it away. No . There’s no way. No fucking way.
We would have noticed. Jenson – me – alright, maybe not Kai – but we would have known.
Leaving it for a moment, I grab a fresh towel from the floor and gently dab at her. She winces. “It didn’t feel like this when you were touching it.”
The wonders of an impending orgasm .
But she seems so… fucking innocent . I watch her carefully as I reach for the gel.
She moans as I smooth it over her carefully. “It’s cool.”
One side of my mouth lifts. “It’s called cooling gel for a reason. Feels good?”
She makes a plaintive noise. Her eyes are closed. “Much better.”
“It works well,” I say carefully. Praying that I’m wrong. “Especially when you’ve never had sex before. Is it working for you?”
She sighs. It almost sounds like she’s ready to go back to sleep. “Definitely. I feel better now.”
My fingers stop what they’re doing. Kai stiffens, his face lifting and dawning horror creasing his features. He pulls his hands free. What?
And Briar’s whole body locks up. “Wait. River—,”
Just to top it off, a furious voice rings out from behind me. “What the hell is going on?”
Maybe the gods don’t like me after all.