Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
ALEX
His lips tasted like all of my delusional childhood fantasies coming to life.
Intense. Chaotic. Perfect.
Our lips flowed together as though they had been deprived of each other, and were now revived.
The kiss intensified, growing not only in passion but in hunger.
For the first few seconds, I kept waiting for the moment when I woke up from the cruel dream, but as my chest pressed against his, it never came.
River’s hands dropped to my thighs, and he gripped them as he lifted me like a paperweight.
Like clockwork, my legs wrapped tightly around his waist before my back was driven into the wall.
River’s hand found the center of my back and shielded me from the rather harsh collision that he didn’t mean to create.
When his lips retracted from mine, my heart clenched. With one arm holding me up and the other hand caressing my cheek, River’s eyes glistened as they searched mine.
“Alex,” he rasped. “Tell me to stop.”
My lips parted as I stared at him, dumbfounded. I couldn’t fix my lips to tell him that even if I wanted to.
I shook my head, and that was all the confirmation he needed to smash his lips against mine again. His hand squeezed just below my ass cheek as he kissed me ravenously, and my hands roamed the top of his soft hair in a frantic motion.
If I told my seventh-grade self that we’d ever get to this point, he’d laugh until he couldn’t anymore.
River hoisted me up and ground his hips forward, and the action sent a heated pulse straight to my dick.
He moved his waist back, and I lifted when his hips bucked forward and his clothed groin rubbed against mine.
The friction was so intense that I let out a soft grunt into his lips, which earned an ass-squeeze.
He pulled away from the kiss, only to place one on my jawline. As his lips sucked on the area, my hands danced under his shirt, feeling all the crevices as I imagined not too long ago. River’s mouth trailed down to my neck, suctioning certain areas like a vampire.
My pants were ten sizes too small, and the buildup in my cock was so intense that I feared I might come then and there.
After years of pent-up emotions and feelings, and the month of longing stares and explicit wet dreams, my best friend was willingly—eagerly kissing me.
Of course, my body was ready to release after mere humping and eye-fucking.
My childhood friend’s rapid, trembling thrusts never let up, and the only sound to be heard was our shortened breaths. My shaking hands fell to his shoulders and squeezed as I tried to communicate.
“I’m…” I whispered, the tension swirling in my stomach. “Riv, I’m so close.”
“Same,” he mumbled against my neck.
I was so lost in the sensations that not even the possibility of someone finding us like this scared me. The thought of someone hearing us and coming to investigate the noise was irrelevant when I had my legs wrapped around my best friend’s waist as he rubbed our clothed dicks together.
River pulled from my neck and let his gaze fall on me, but my eyes were in a daze on the ceiling. Suddenly, his hand gripped my chin, and he gently guided my face to meet his.
“Alex, look at me,” he ordered, eyes never wavering from mine. “Don’t look away.”
That was all he had to say before I was unraveling in his arms with watery eyes, unable to deviate from his, and a soft whimper that I couldn’t suppress, leaving my lips.
River’s thrusts didn’t let up until he came shortly after that, continuing to support my weight with his firm grip on my ass cheek and his eyes boring into mine.
I had never come from friction alone before, and when I had imagined it, I never imagined it would feel as extraordinary as that did.
My arms tightened around River’s neck as I buried my head into it, forgetting that I was in the arms of the man who didn’t have the decency to admit he knew who I was.
How could I view him as the jerk who hurt me when all I saw was the man I wanted since I knew how to want someone?
A distant scream made my body freeze, suddenly remembering that we were in public and people were only a few feet away, mingling and playing.
Shit–Millie.
Sensing my tension and urgency, River let me down. “I’ve been away from Millie for too long.”
Who knew what kind of mischief Millie had gotten herself into while I was away? Or worse, what if she tried to find me and ended up finding me and River? Shit, shit, shit.
River quickly took off his black hoodie and tossed it to me. “Tie it around your waist.”
I caught it. “What? Why?”
His eyes trailed down to my crotch, and it finally dawned on me. My pants were a wet, sticky mess that no one needed to witness.
Tying it around me, I asked, “What about you?”
“I’ll figure something out. Go.”
Still slightly dazed, I hurried around the corner without looking. I barely halted in time to prevent colliding with the couple walking past the restrooms hand-in-hand. I sputtered a slew of apologies, and I think I frightened them because the woman gently asked if I needed help.
I rubbed my cheeks with my palms as I ran up to the swings, expecting to see Millie peacefully swinging. Instead, she was knee-deep in the sand surrounding it and playing in it like it was snow.
The sight really killed the ecstasy still vibrating within me.
My fingers gripped my scalp as I stared down at Millie, dumbfounded. “Why?
The girl peered up at me, the sand falling through her fingers as she shrugged. “Why, what?”
“You have sand all over you,” I exasperated, tension rising in my muscles. “I disappeared for two seconds.”
Her lips pulled into a frown—a genuine one this time. “Sorry.”
I pulled her out of the sand and tried to dust her off as best I could so we could head home. The sky was a mix of purple and orange as the sun made its exit. I’d been out here longer than I intended and had done nothing productive in the time. I sighed, dreading the long night ahead of me.
My breath hitched at the sound of my stranger. “Damn, did you come from the beach?”
Standing next to me was a shirtless River with his hands on his hips and his shirt tied dysfunctionally around his waist. He stood so close that his elbow brushed against my arm, like it wasn’t an option for there to be a distance between us.
“Did you finish your game?” my niece asked. “Who won?”
River parted his lips to speak, but I cut him short. “Neither of us won today, because we’ve got to go. It’s way later than I thought.”
I bent down and unzipped Millie’s backpack to make sure she wasn’t missing anything. I had learned my lesson about trusting the child to keep all of her things together.
“Nice, so I win.”
I paused, eyes trailing up River slowly. “No. We can pick up later.”
He shook his head with a ‘gotcha’ look. “If you leave, that means you forfeit, which means I win. If you want a rematch later, then I’m down, but I won this one.”
He can’t be serious. “I had one point left, so I would have won anyway.”
River shrugged, his smirk playful. “I don’t make the rules.”
No, actually. He did make the rules, but there was too much in store for the night ahead of me to argue like toddlers about a ridiculous basketball game.
I accepted my defeat. “Fine. What’s your wish?”
Mills tugged on River’s arm and then shook it with all her force. “Wish for Alex to buy me pizza for dinner.”
He rolled his lips together, and his eyes stared into the sky as he thought. Ten seconds later, he shook his head. “I’m going to save my wish for future use, but I will buy the kid a pizza.”
My brows knit. “You can’t do that.”
“Buy Millie pizza?”
I stared at him dully. “Not use your wish.”
“We never said when I had to use the wish.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket, and I could see the local pizza place logo flash on his screen. “What’s the harm? It just means you don’t have to do anything right now.”
What was he playing at? What was the point of holding his stupid wish for later?
River was a confusing man, so the possibilities couldn’t help but run through my mind.
I mean, he showed absolutely no interest in me when we were kids—during the seventh grade, all he could do was talk about the girl he had a crush on.
Absolutely no signs of him liking boys whatsoever.
Now? I had a permanent memory of his body against mine, his lips moving with hunger, and the mesmerizing glint in his eyes that threatened my body to come all over again.
So, sue me for over-analyzing his reasons for dangling a wish above my head.
“Whatever, fine.” I handed Millie her backpack before slinging mine over my shoulder.
River adjusted the shirt he’d stretched around himself to discreetly cover his crotch. “Your pepperoni pizza will be ready in fifteen minutes.”
“Yes!” she all but screeched. “You’re the best!”
“I sure am. Bye.” River walked backward as he waved. Then, more gently, he said, “See you later, Alex.”
“See you,” I mumbled.
What the hell had I gotten myself into?
I love my parents.
That wasn’t sarcasm; I loved Mom and Dad with every bone in my body. Growing up, they provided me with love, affection, and resources to ensure a successful future for me. Maybe it was them making up for how they felt they had failed with Annabelle. Still, I couldn’t imagine life without those two.
But, fuck, did they get on my nerves.
Sad to say, but my sister was the disappointment child.
Her rebellious ways caused my parents to focus all their attention on me, especially after she got pregnant with Millie.
They had a hand in every aspect of my life since the day I came out of Mom’s womb, determined to morph me into the perfect child that they had always dreamed of.