23. Theodore
Chapter Twenty-Three
THEODORE
“Oh, God. Yes, Teddy. Right there. Sooo good.”
A chuckle escapes as my fingers dig into her hip. “Usually, I produce these praises by doing something else,” I tease her as I continue to massage her hip and thigh.
River turns her head to smile up at me. “Teddy, with the way my sciatic nerve has been acting up today, you are doing the Lord’s work.” Her eyes roll when I get to another tight spot. “Fuck, yeah.”
I can’t contain the smile that stretches across my face. She’s so damn cute. Immediately, I know I’d do anything to preserve the person she is today. No one is perfect, and I know we’ll bump heads, but she’s such a good person it hurts. Which is why I’m adding another stop on my business trip. I’m going to visit one of our dessert wine vendors, which is about an hour-and-a-half drive away from Atlanta. It’s been a few days since our video chat and she’s concerned that her parents don’t like me, so I called her dad and asked if they wanted to meet while I was in town.
River knows about the trip, but not about the meeting. I've already assured her that I'll be back for my birthday and left it at that. I don’t want to worry her prematurely, but sometimes men have to look each other in the eyes for certain conversations. He’s concerned about his daughter, and I’d think less of him if he wasn’t.
As long as Andrea and I are breathing, no harm will come to River or our child. The quicker her parents are at ease with me, the quicker I can have both sides get together for all of our son’s events.
I’m not worried about my parents. They’ll think anyone other than Helena is an upgrade. It’s amazing how my love for her made me so blind to how those around me felt about her. My mom popped open a $800 bottle of champagne when I announced my divorce.
River straddles me and changes my focus back to her. The little tank top dress she’s wearing makes her belly more pronounced. I get a rush of pride and joy every time I see it. She pecks me on the lips.
“Thank you, baby. You’re so good to me.”
Fuck, I almost bought her a yacht. Her compliments and praises warm me in ways I didn’t know I needed. My brain has been all over the place when it comes to River. She’s mine, and I’d kill any man who'd try to take her away, but the outcome of my fucked-up marriage gives me pause.
I hesitate to make things official when they damn near already are; it’s written in everything. We live together and have a baby on the way, yet I’m still locking away parts of myself. I know what she wants to hear, and there are things I want to tell her, but my brain keeps the words at bay.
I continue to claim her in the ways I can. My hands cup her cheeks as I pull her into a deeper kiss. River moans into my mouth as my tongue tastes her. The nails of her left hand dig into my bicep as the right hand grabs my hardening dick through my pants.
“Damn, Teddy. I don’t know if it’s you or my hormones, but I can’t seem to stay off of your dick.”
The almost innocent way she says something dirty makes me chuckle. I lift my hips enough to roll my pants down until my dick pops out.
I gesture to her barely-there underwear. “Well, pull that bullshit aside and claim what’s yours.”
We groan when our bodies collide. She feels like heaven. Her sweet scent and soft sighs take me to another plane of existence. River is an experience. It’s more than sex. It feels like our souls connect each time we make love. It can’t be this easy, can it? The idea that I’m willing to try again with another so soon after having the love I gave mocked and abused for years is unreal. I tug at the top of her tank until one of her full breasts pops out and suck her sweet nipple into my mouth.
River’s fingers snake their way into my hair, and she pulls it as her head falls back. Her body shakes with her release as she moans my name. With her pussy bearing down, squeezing my dick so thoroughly, I almost come.
“So fucking good, Teddy. It was worth undoing my massage.”
Laughing, I fall back on the bed and roll us to the side so we’re facing each other. Watching her face as she comes is one of my favorite parts. I roll my hips a little since I’m still inside of her.
“That’s how I like to hear my name.”
Sliding my hand down, I resume massaging her hip and thigh as I deliver gentle thrusts. It all feels so different with her.
“Ah, the best of both worlds,” she sighs. Glossy brown eyes find me again. “It’s hard to believe you’re real.”
I run kisses along her throat. “I was thinking the same about you.”
River’s nails trail my back and side as I make love to her. We seem to get lost in each other often lately but not just physically. The more I learn about her, the more I want to be near her.
“You're unreal.” She kisses me. “And mine.”
Her eyes bulge like she didn’t mean to say the last part. It’s okay. I like knowing what she’s thinking. I don’t want her to feel like she can’t tell me what’s on her mind. I trace her lips with my tongue and deliver deeper strokes to discourage her from trying to retract her words. I am hers; I just need to get comfortable with falling again.
River
I miss him already. I feared my declaration last night would have scared him off, but he gave me two more orgasms and held me in his arms for the rest of the night. I know I’m irrevocably in love with him, but I’ll give him time. He doesn’t have to say anything for me to know he cares about me.
He kissed me at least five times before he left for his trip like he didn’t want to leave, but his schedule caught up with us. I’m getting stir crazy in the house by myself, although it’s only been half a day since he left. Andrea is sending one of his men to take me shopping since he's preparing for his wedding. He and Teddy are very protective of me, even though the Surly situation was cleared. I appreciate it. It gives me other things to worry about, like having Teddy’s party ready for his birthday.
I lock the door and stand outside as I watch the black car pull up. I do my best to keep my smile in place when Luciano gets out of the car. I don’t like him. He’s never done anything to me personally, but his vibe is just off to me. He has a sense of humor that I cannot get behind.
“After you, bar girl,” he says as he opens the door.
There it is again. It’s like he’s being condescending, but I can’t quite justify the feeling.
“Thank you, and call me River, please.”
He just stands there like I didn’t speak and waits for me to get in the car. Once I’m in the back seat, I stare at my phone, debating if I should tell Andrea that Luciano makes me uncomfortable, but I don’t want to get him killed. I’ve mentioned it before and have been dealing with Luca since, so a second mention could be dire. I guess Luca has the day off. Do mob guys get the day off?
“Where are we going, princess?”
“Just call me River, please.” I try to repeat it as nicely as possible, but he’s getting on my nerves. With a sigh, I open the door. “Never mind. I don’t feel like going anymore.”
He’s out of the car and in front of me before I take two steps away from the car. I try to move around him, but he stops me.
“I’m sorry. I’m having a bad day.”
I want to believe him, but this isn’t our first encounter. He always comes off as…sleazy.
“It’s fine. I’ll just go back inside.”
“No. I can take you. He’ll kill me if I fuck up again.”
His plea gives me pause. It sounds like something Andrea would do.
“I’ll text him that I don’t feel well, then.”
“Please, River. Just let me take you where you need to go.”
I look at him more thoroughly than I did earlier. His hair isn’t as neat as usual. He is paler than I remember. Maybe he is sick. Deciding it’ll be easier to get this over with, I get back in the back seat with a sigh.
We’re silent as he drives me into the city. I toy with the bracelet Teddy gave me as I debate bothering him on his trip. It's only a day trip so I'm sure his schedule is packed. I’m going out to arrange things for his birthday party, but he doesn’t need to know that. After minutes of weighing the pros and cons, I opt to tell them since it’s what Teddy would want me to do.
I open the group chat and start typing just as he passes the mall.
“I wanted to go to the mall first,” I say as I stare at the back of his head.
“Oh, sorry,” he responds, his dark eyes not looking apologetic. “I’ll turn around.”
Me: I don’t want to go anywhere with Luciano again. He makes me uncomfortable. He’s acting weird today.
Once my text is sent, I notice that he passed up several opportunities to turn around. I curse myself because I should have followed my first instinct and stayed home. My mild discomfort morphs into full-blown fear. I accidentally delete the message I already sent, but my hands are shaking too much to send another. The car is slowing down in front of a place I’ve never been.
I try to hit dial, not caring who else answers, over trying to preserve Luciano’s life. A clicking noise gets my attention. A gun is inches from my face as Luciano sneers at me.
“Hang it up, bitch.”
I press end after the first ring, but see the text that must have come in just before I tried to call.
Andrea: Do you mean Luca? I got rid of Luciano weeks ago.