19. River
Chapter Nineteen
RIVER
Once I’m clean, I leave the bathroom with my lotion in hand. I don’t feel like standing and applying it. The more pregnant I become, the more tired I am at the end of the day. I stop just outside the bathroom. Teddy is standing in the middle of the room, freshly showered with a towel wrapped low on his waist.
I know we just had sex, but my body heats up again. His damp hair is slicked back out of his face, and the fuller beard makes his eyes brighter. He looks more defined, like he’s lost a little weight but gained muscle. Now that I’m not surprised that he’s here, I can see how tired he looks. My curiosity about where he’s been spikes even more. I need to know he’s okay.
He slowly approaches me, reminding me how sexy his gait has always been to me. The amount of time I’d spent ignoring his hotness as his employee has made my eyes hungry to feast on him every chance I get.
Theodore grabs my hand and leads me to the edge of the bed. He pushes my robe off of me onto the floor.
“Lie down.”
I don’t know what he has planned, but I wouldn’t turn down that invitation on any level right now. He joins me on the bed and takes my lotion. Squeezing some into his hand, he starts at my feet and massages his way up my leg. It’s heaven.
“What are you doing?” I ask as I watch him rub me down.
“Helping you moisturize.”
“You don’t have to-” I start to protest, but he cuts me off with a firm look.
“I want to.”
Theodore’s warm hands are cupping my left leg just north of mid-thigh. I squirm because the strokes of his hands are equally relaxing and sexy. His eyes fall to my bare pussy. I’ve kept some level of hair before but found that waxing it all off just gives me one less thing to worry about during pregnancy. Even with the slightly bigger baby bump, I don’t hide from his gaze.
He moves on to the other leg, but has yet to look away from the same spot. My center throbs like his eyes are talking to it. I’m fully aroused. My nipples bead to the point of pain, and I tingle everywhere he touches. I stop watching him to give my own visual tour. His hard dick tents the towel, making my mouth water.
Sliding my hand down my torso, I use my fingers to spread my lips and give him a better view. Teddy grunts as he tenses his square jaw.
“Damn, River. I only have half of your body moisturized, but my tongue is dying to lubricate your pussy.”
“Do it,” I whisper. I run a finger over my throbbing clit for emphasis. “I’d have to take another shower anyway with the way you’re looking at me.”
He licks his lips so thoroughly, I feel like they’re already on me.
“I thought you wanted to talk,” he reminds me, his voice raspy with desire.
“We will.
“I’ll be the Teddy in your bed,” he teases me with a seductive smile.
“My bed?”
“This is your house.”
“What?”
“Consider it a trinket.”
“A house isn’t a trinket, Theodore!”
“It is when you have my kind of money. What happened to Teddy?”
“I think all three of you are crazy right now.”
“All three?”
“Theodore, Trunk, and Teddy?”
He throws his head back, laughing hard, but doesn’t stop massaging the lotion into my body.
“I’m not crazy. It’s a token of my appreciation. I wanted to show you that, even if we don’t make it, I’ll always take care of you and my child.”
I want to continue the conversation, but his tongue traces a hot trail up my slit and pregnancy brain kicks in, or is it dick fog? Either way, real life is not on the menu. Teddy’s tongue is having a private conversation with my pussy.
Theodore
I got a warmer reception than I was expecting. With my past, I expected yelling and guilt trips, so silence from River felt ominous and much more deafening. I didn’t expect for her ex with a death wish to be yelling at her, but I’ve let him know he’s on my radar.
She stirs next to me, her body warming my side and calming me in ways I haven’t felt since I learned of Helena’s betrayal. Just thinking her name leaves acid in my stomach, but I had to work through that fog of anger.
I didn’t return until I knew I was able to talk to River about everything I learned. If we’re going to have a chance, I cannot live in deception like my last relationship. Our bodies must have been starving for each other because we fucked our way through most of the night.
“Teddy?”
“Yes?”
“A house?”
I smile in the dark. I had a feeling she wasn’t going to stay asleep. I could feel her thinking, even in her dreams.
“Yes, this house is yours. I won’t attempt to take it back, and I’ll cover the expenses.”
“Ted-”
“It’s already done, River. I just want you to worry about finishing your level-three studies and carrying our child. I’ll handle everything else.”
“If this is my house, where is yours?”
She turns so she can see me in the low light. “I still have the penthouse and cabin.” I kiss her hand and pull her close. “I can also stay here until you don’t want me to anymore.”
I’m over the perfect house, perfect family fantasy. This time, I didn’t buy a house with me in mind. I got the best place for my child to grow. River and I still have a lot to figure out. She traces the bottom of my lip with her thumb.
“Do you really think I’d kick you out?”
I kiss her palm and shake my head. “No, but I’ve been off in the past…”
“You may have turned a blind eye to some things, but she’s incredibly duplicitous. Do not blame yourself for that.”
“Part of my job is being perceptive.” I sit up quickly because that sick feeling is back, riding along with the urge to hit something. “And I couldn’t see what was in front of me.”
She sits up and cups my face.
“Love is a crazy thing. You shouldn’t have to use your skills with your wife . She’s supposed to be a safe place for you. It was her failure, not yours.”
River is so sweet that I fear I’ll tarnish all the good inside of her. I come from a long line of darkness that separated me from my family. They were scared that I’d wound up dead, in prison, or as some unfeeling monster. They didn’t start breathing easier until just before I married Helena. I’d thought she was the light that pulled me out of the darkness, but she was keeping me there, just in a different space.
The moment I thought she could do no more harm, she broke what was left of my heart with her lies.
“Yeah, well, she almost sent me to jail.”
River’s eyes grow into giant orbs. “What?”
“Not literally. I’m sure Andrea and I would have covered it up.” She gulps, but doesn’t speak. She just waits for me to explain. I sigh hard, because although I’ve compartmentalized my anger, it still hurts. My wound is very much raw. “She wasn’t barren, River.” She gives me sad eyes, but I continue.
“When you told me you were going shopping, I was outside of her house, walking in to serve her divorce papers. She refused to sign. We were about to argue because she was talking about taking me to court for more money because thirty million was unacceptable.”
The shock on her face reflects her lack of knowledge of my net worth. I can’t dwell on how cute she is because I’m getting to the part that hurts the most.
“Andrea called me. Asked me to meet him at his house. He gave me a file to review. Three years ago, she got her tubes tied when they refused to take her uterus. She never planned to give me a family.”
She covers her mouth, but her tears flow freely. River’s crying for me. Someone crying for me is something I’m not used to seeing. I reach out to wipe her tears, but she wraps her arms around me and pulls my head to her chest, rubbing my hair like the world is a dangerous place and she wants to protect me from it. Her concern somehow triggers the tears that have been elusive to me since I found out.
A hot tear trails down my cheek. I don’t move out of her embrace. Instead, I start confessing like she’s my priest.
“I was so hurt and angry. I went there to kill her. I would have snapped her neck. I know people talk about the thin line between love and hate, but I disagree. Those two should never meet for the same person. I stood there in front of God and everyone and promised to love her for the rest of my life. She made me a fucking liar. I allowed her to make me a liar.”
I hate that the stoic yet calm person I was working to present to River is instead exposed and vulnerable, but I feel like this is something I didn’t realize I needed. Is this how real support feels?
“To be fair, the vows say till death do us part . It doesn’t specify whose death, how they died, or why…” she whispers into my hair.
Laughter breaks through my sadness. Now, that’s real support. Fuck, Andrea would have tried to marry her for that. My thoughts bring me full circle to a weird conversation I had with him recently.
Sitting up, I steal a quick kiss. “You’re amazing, you know that?” I don’t need a lot of light to know she’s blushing. “I’m going to change the subject for a moment. What did you say to Andrea?”
“About what?”
“The baby.”
Her face scrunches up as she thinks. She snaps when she remembers. “He informed me that he was the godfather. I told him to let our child fight their own battles. He disagreed, and I told him that I wasn’t going to allow him to steamroll me and make decisions in our child’s life. He needs to get his own.”
I laugh and shake my head. It’s sexy that she stood up for herself, but she doesn’t understand the lunacy she’s set into motion.
“What’s so funny?”
“He took you literally and has plucked some unsuspecting woman out of her life until she’s pregnant with his child.”
River falls back and groans. “I got some woman kidnapped!”
“Not kidnapped. I’d say, ‘heavily persuaded’ to stay at his house.”
She huffs and stares at me hard since I speak his language. “You have to help her, Teddy.”
I raise my hands. “I told him it’s not the best way to start a family, but Tesio logic isn’t like everyone else's.” He won’t hurt her. I lie down next to her and pull her close. “Get this. She’s black. He said it was part of the criteria so our kids can match.”
“Oh, God. I may kill him myself,” she grumbles in the pillow.
Her declaration sends me into a fit of laughter until I fear that I won’t be able to catch my breath. It may be infectious because she joins me.
“I’m serious,” she giggles. “That poor woman.”
“I know it sounds crazy, but Andrea's impulsive acts always work out somehow. Maybe his brain moves faster than everyone else’s.”
“I hope so for her sake. We have to visit and make sure she’s okay, Teddy.”
I kiss her forehead and cup her chin so she can look me in the eyes. “Say it again.”
She searches her head for what she said. “We?”
My smile deepens. “I love the sound of it. I can’t promise it won’t be an uphill battle, but I will be here for you, River.”
She smiles as her hand finds my cheek. “Okay,” she accepts. “But you don’t have to spend a lot of money to keep me around, Mr. Kelly.”
I drop kisses on her belly for the baby before my mind goes south. She knows she can turn me on by using my last name. It's something exclusive to her. I don't know if it's because she used to work for me, or if it's that I simply find everything she does arousing.
“I know. I just like giving you things. You appreciate them. Whatever change you need to make it perfect, we'll do it.”
River looks at me while gnawing on her bottom lip. She has something to say but isn't sure how to say it. I learned that about her early in her employment. I always knew when she had a problem.
“Just tell me whatever's on your mind,” I prompt her gently.
She runs her hand over her belly. “You've already given me the best gift.”
River has no idea how much her words warm some of the coldness inside of me. If my emotions weren't shattered, I would have fallen for her just off that statement alone.
“No, thank you.” We shift to our sides, I grab her leg and rest it on my hip, prepared to fuck her again. “What do you want me to give you?”
It's not a sexual innuendo; I'm curious to find what she'd want.
Her lips part to speak, but she closes them again. I nuzzle her neck while she thinks as the head of my cock finds the heat it's seeking.
River squirms from the contact, as I enjoy the sweet sigh that escapes her.
“Answer me, River.”
My head stays at her entrance, not fully penetrating her.
“I can't ask, Teddy.”
“Why?”
Her left arm hooks behind my neck and her soft lips peck mine.
“You have to choose to give it on your own.” I nip her lip but look her in the eyes because I'm puzzled. River's right hand slides up my torso and stops on my chest. My heart beats harder like it's trying to greet her. “Besides, it's not ready yet.”
The realization is both terrifying and arousing. Pushing forward, I feed her my dick, making us both moan. I'm touched, and that doesn't happen often, but I don't verbally respond. It's not a conversation I'm anywhere near having. Luckily, she already knows that.