Chapter 10
River
I’m having the best dream ever when I feel something on my leg. I moan and shift a little, but it’s still there.
I pry my eyes open and glance down, right before I scream. I leap up and stand against the headboard, screaming.
“What the fuck?” Royal yells as he sits up and looks at me.
“There was something on me! A fucking rat!” I yell. Royal looks around, but I must have scared it off when I screamed. My heart is beating rapidly in my chest.
“Told you this isn’t the life for you,” he says before lying back down. When I don’t see the rat anymore, I drop back down onto the bed and lie on my back. I’m trying to catch my breath when Royal speaks again.
“What were you dreaming about?” he asks.
“What do you mean? Why do you think I was dreaming?”
“You were moaning.” Embarrassment hits me hard. I cover my face so he can’t see just how red it is, but then I feel his hand grab my wrist and pull it away. “Tell me.”
“No.”
“Come on. I want to know,” Royal asks once more.
“It’s personal.”
“Tell me,” he demands. I suck in a breath and just tell him.
“There was a guy, he was touching me.”
“Touching you where?” he asks.
“His hand was on my stomach,” I tell him, and that’s when he moves. His hand comes to rest on my stomach, and I suck in another ragged breath.
“Then what?”
“He … he slid his hand into the top of my shorts,” I tell him. His hand slides down into the top of my shorts just like in my dream.
“Keep talking, River.”
“He kept going. Then his fingers slowly slid inside me.” The words barely leave my lips when his hand sinks further into my shorts, his fingers finding me wet. Royal slips his fingers inside me, and I gasp.
“Tell me more,” he demands. I don’t know if I can. I don’t know if I should, but the way his fingers feel inside me is the reason I do.
“He … he got his fingers nice and wet then pulled them free, toying with my clit.” Royal does just that.
He works his fingers in and out of me slowly until his fingers are soaked before pulling them free and finding my clit.
At first, he’s easy, circling it slow. Then he speeds up, and I find myself rocking into his touch.
“Oh fuck,” I whisper.
“What happened next?” he asks.
“Royal,” I whisper his name, and a growl leaves his throat.
“What happened next, River?”
“Oh my God.”
“River,” he warns.
“I … I … I came for him,” I admit.
“Then do it. Come for me,” Royal tells me. His fingers press a little harder and move a little faster until it happens. My core clenches, and I let go, releasing.
“Royal!” I cry out his name as his finger keeps working my clit. Finally, he slows down, dipping his fingers back inside me. I’m gasping for air, trying to wrap my head around what just happened.
Royal pulls his hand free from my shorts and brings his fingers to his mouth. I watch him slip them inside and lick them clean.
“Was that how it went in your dream?” he asks me, his eyes dancing with lust.
I nod my head slowly as he watches me. Just as I’m about to say something else, the door opens, and Jeremy walks in. Royal doesn’t look away from me even as Jeremy talks to him. He just answers, keeping his eyes locked with mine.
“We’ve been held up in here for days. Don’t you want to go out?” I hear Jeremy ask Royal. Only now does he pull his eyes from mine.
“Where do you want to go?”
“There’s a party over on the south end tonight. Thought we could drop in,” he says.
“Fine with me,” Royal tells him. He sits up and stretches as I look at him. His muscles cord tightly as he shifts before he leaps off the bed and starts doing push-ups. I’ve watched him for days after the fight. He always works out, at least twice a day.
“What about you? You up for a little party?” Jeremy asks me. I look over at him and nod my head.
“I’ve never been to a real party,” I tell him.
“Wasn’t that a party at your house the other night?” Jeremy asks.
“Yeah, but that was different. That was to entertain people.”
“You’ve never just partied before?” he asks as I shake my head. A smile tugs across his face as he looks at me. “Then you’re about to have a great time.”
“I don’t know about that.”
“You will,” Royal chimes in now. I glance over and see him licking his lips, and fuck does it look so good.
“I’m not good at that stuff,” I admit.
“It’s a party, River. Nothing to be good at.
Just let go and have fun,” Jeremy adds. I nod my head, and we all go about getting showered and dressed.
My mind keeps reeling with what Royal did to me.
The thought of him touching me again crosses my mind more than once while I’m getting ready.
I look at myself in the mirror with only a little eyeliner on and wonder if I look good enough to go.
My father always made sure my mother had me looking perfect as far as makeup and clothing went.
I walk out of the bathroom when Royal walks over to me and grabs the hem of my t-shirt. He tears the bottom off, making it a cut-off shirt that’s shorter than anything I’ve ever worn before.
“What the hell was that for?” I snap.
“You want to fit in or stick out?”
“Fit in, I guess,” I tell him.
“Well, now you do.” I watch him tug a shirt over his head before shoving his stuff into his pocket. The two of them head for the door with me right behind them. We walk a little way down the block before we stop at a bus stop.
Jeremy and Royal talk amongst themselves as I stand awkwardly. I fiddle with my hands when Royal grabs one in his.
“Calm down,” he urges before going back to his conversation. I don’t know how he knows I’m on edge, but he does. When the bus pulls up, we climb on, Royal still holding my hand as we board. We sit down with Jeremy behind us, but Royal pulls my hand into his lap, still wrapped up in his.
Neither of us talks as we ride the bus across town, and maybe that’s for the best.
When the bus comes to a stop, Royal stands, dropping my hand as I follow behind the guys once more.
As soon as we hit the sidewalk, you can hear the bass from the music.
The closer we get, the more I can see. People are outside smoking and talking, and everyone seems to know the guys as we approach.
They all stop them to talk as I stand back and let them.
When they head inside, I don’t follow. I don’t know what the hell I’m doing here. I’ve never done this. I turn and head for the sidewalk when an arm wraps around my waist, and I’m tugged back into a hard body.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Royal’s voice is dark and sends a chill down my spine.
“I shouldn’t be here.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t know what I’m doing. I’m out of my element here,” I tell him. His face is so close to my neck that I can feel his warm breath dancing over my flesh, and a shiver rolls through.
“We haven’t even started partying yet,” he says, his lips slowly caressing my neck. My lips part, and a shuddering breath leaves me.
“I …”
“There’s nothing to say, River. Come on,” he demands, gripping my wrist and tugging me along with him. More people stop him as we walk inside, and something is thrust into my hand. I look down to see a joint between my fingers. Something else I’ve never done.
“It’s safe,” Royal tells me. I bring it to my lips, trying to fit in and inhale.
I cough, nearly choking as he watches me intently.
Then he nods my head for me to do it again before he takes it and brings it to his lips.
I watch him smoke it like a professional before passing it off to someone else.
Royal drags me through the mess of people before he passes me a drink. I take large gulps, knowing I can handle my liquor. Royal chuckles and passes me another cup I gladly take.
Before I knew what was happening, I had smoked more and drank more. Royal and Jeremy have disappeared, leaving me alone.
I stand in the corner when a man approaches me.
“You’re new,” he says as he smiles at me.
“Yeah. Never been before,” I tell him.
“I’m Marc.”
“River,” I tell him, not sure if I was supposed to give him my real name or not. The guys never said anything about it.
“You smoke, River?” he asks, holding up another joint.
I nod, and he passes it to me, allowing me to take it into my lungs.
I’m high, tipsy, and actually having a good time.
Marc invites me to dance, and I don’t see the harm in it.
I follow him to the middle of the room and begin to move.
His hands land on my hips as the beat thumps through my chest.
“You’re a good dancer,” he says over the music. I smile and keep going when I feel hands wrap around me once more. I’m jerked back and slam into a hard body once more when I feel Royal’s lips caressing my ear.
“You having fun?” he asks.
“A ton,” I tell him before he pulls away and shoves me back into Marc’s arms. Marc catches me as I spin around to look at Royal.
His eyes burn through me as he watches Marc’s hands roam over my body.
One of his hands cups my breast while the other slips across my stomach.
I swallow hard, but I can’t pull my eyes away from Royals.
Marc says something in my ear, but I’m too lost in Royal even to comprehend what he’s saying.
“What is it?” Royal asks when I don’t pull my eyes away from him.
I lick my lips, the high and alcohol making me feel more alive than I’ve ever felt.
I step out of Marc’s grasp and straight into Royal.
I reach up and wrap my arms around his neck, and his hands come to rest on my hips.
Then we both start dancing. I wasn’t sure if Royal could dance, but his body moves perfectly against mine.
“You’re going to be trouble, aren’t you?” I ask him.
“I’m the best fucking kind of trouble,” he retorts as he watches me intently.
The music keeps playing, and we keep dancing until both of us are sweating.
His hand stays on the skin of my back, where he ripped my shirt, until another girl walks up to us.
She slips in between us and takes my spot, but Royal doesn’t say a word.
He shakes his head when she talks to him, and I step back.
“They’ve been together off and on for a while,” Marc says in my ear. I turn to face him, and he grabs me and pulls me into him. My body collides with his, and then his hands are back on my waist. We start dancing once more, and I find myself lost in his touch, imagining it was Royal.
He leans down and presses his lips to mine, and I let him kiss me. It doesn’t feel like Royal, but it does feel good enough to keep going.
He keeps kissing me as he pulls my body closer to his. I gasp for air as his lips slowly move down my neck. I’m lost in his touch, his kiss.
He keeps going even as he walks us toward the stairs and then lifts me to carry me up. I wrap my legs around his waist, and we keep going at each other until we get into a room.
“Take your clothes off,” he tells me as he sets me on my feet.
My head is spinning as I stand, unsure what to do.
I was a good time girl, but do I want to sleep with this guy?
I shake my head, trying to think it over as the door is kicked open.
A seething Royal storms in and grabs Marc, spinning him around and punching him in the face.
Marc stumbles back and hits the wall before coming back after him.
I stumble back, confused as they beat the shit out of each other.
Just as I’m about to look for help, Jeremy comes in.
“Fuck me,” he grumbles as he calls for some other guys and rushes over. A few more guys rush in and help, but when they pull them apart, it’s Royal who stares me down.