21. Charlotte
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Charlotte
We spent the next hour packing for the journey.
River’s cabin truly was well-appointed. He had everything he needed at his fingertips. After a quick shower, he tugged on a pair of dark green tactical pants and a stretchy tee that hugged his muscles. Then tied the laces on his pair of dusty, well-worn hiking boots. Meanwhile, I was still picking through the clothes Hodge had so generously given me. Unfortunately, he hadn’t been planning for a camping trip.
I settled for a pair of jean shorts and a T-shirt. I paired those with my combat boots. My boots were more fashionable than tactical, but they were better for hiking than the slip-ons I’d gotten from Hodge’s sister. Not ideal, but it would have to do.
We ate a quick lunch. River loaded up the 4Runner with hiking backpacks. I grabbed a couple of days’ worth of MREs from his supplies. While I tossed those into my pack, I saw River laying out his weapons. The same handgun he’d used at the fundraiser, which he’d cleaned after we arrived. Plus a rifle. Knives. Ammo. A lot of ammo.
The last time I had gone camping, which had admittedly been years ago, I hadn’t brought an arsenal with me. But I also hadn’t been traveling with River Kwon.
“How much weaponry do you need?” I asked. “Jud might be armed, but he’s not exactly Rambo.”
He opened the chamber to his handgun. “I’m not going anywhere without the ability to protect you to the fullest extent. I’d prefer to bring more, but I don’t have much combat gear. We’re better equipped at Last Refuge.”
“Got a bow and arrow in your supplies? If we’re going in armed, that’s my weapon of choice.”
Now he looked up and smiled. “Sadly no. It’s possible we won’t be needing any of this.”
“Right. Contingencies. But is this really about protecting me? Or is this your prep work for murdering my ex-boyfriend?”
River just laughed.
And I was kidding. Mostly .
A few minutes later, he declared us ready to go. Then we were driving along the dirt road, heading toward Silver Mountain.
As I had expected, we planned to drive most of the distance using forest access roads. The police were searching for us so we still had to stay out of sight, but we didn’t expect that we’d run into any traffic going this way. This was wilderness. Uninhabited for miles around.
Before long, the path climbed. By distance, it wasn’t far. But the unpaved road was pitted with potholes, rarely maintained, and we bounced in our seats as River drove onward. Around curves and through dense forest.
I tapped my fingers on the passenger-side door. River held out his hand, and I grabbed it, squeezing as I held on tight.
It was late afternoon when we pulled off the road and unloaded our packs from the trunk. Then covered the 4 Runner with branches just in case anyone wandered by. We still had about ten miles to hike, around Silver Mountain and down the other side to my parents’ place. We’d find a spot to camp for the night somewhere along the way.
River checked over his gear, then tightened the straps on his pack. “We’ll be hiking through woods and up steep slopes. No trails. You’re up for that, right?”
“I wouldn’t have insisted on coming if I wasn’t.”
He winked. “Just checking, Charlie-baby.”
“ River ,” I grumbled. “Can you not? I’m tense enough as it is.”
“This was your idea.”
“Yes, thank you for reminding me.” I was one hundred percent committed to this mission. But it was a risk. I hadn’t forgotten that for a moment. If we found Jud and got some answers, it would be worth it. “Can we get moving?”
“Jeez, slavedriver.”
I felt stiff the first few miles. My underused muscles protested. Working out in my gym back home didn’t compare to being out in the wild, climbing over real obstacles and forging a path through the forest. Much less while wearing a heavy pack.
And of course, River wasn’t even breathing hard.
But eventually, my tension dissipated. I couldn’t help it. Being outside like this, miles away from any civilization, reminded me of so many happy memories from growing up.
“You introduced yourself as Charlie when we were talking to Trace,” River said suddenly.
My brow wrinkled as I glanced at him. “What?”
“During the video call. You introduced yourself as Charlie.”
“Oh. I did.” I shrugged. “Guess I don’t mind the nickname so much anymore. ”
“Only took twenty years of protesting for you to decide you liked it after all?”
“Didn’t say I liked it. I said I don’t mind it. I do mind Charlie-baby.”
Snickering, River touched my arm. “Hey.”
I stopped walking and turned to him. He gave me a soft kiss.
“I’ve always called you Charlie because it’s a way to be closer to you. Something that was just ours.” He brushed the back of his finger down my cheek. “Even when I couldn’t have you.”
Ugh, why did he have to say things like that? River’s sincerity broke down every barrier I tried to keep against him. The last scraps of my annoyance fled, replaced by flutters in my chest and stomach.
I pressed another kiss to his mouth. “River, I… Thanks for doing this with me. Going to my parents’ house.”
“You were pretty insistent. And made quite a few good points.”
“But you can be stubborn too. You could’ve refused.”
He stepped in close enough to whisper in my ear. “That’s one more of my secrets. You’ve always been my weakness. I can’t deny you for long, no matter how hard I try.”
While I stood speechless at his latest confession, River continued onward.
We’d hiked five miles when the first strains of thunder rolled overhead. Ominous dark clouds had been following us for the last half hour. “We should stop for the night,” I said.
“Agreed.”
We had to set up camp before the rain started. Also, my quads and feet were killing me .
We kept going until we reached a clearing with a babbling creek on one side and a stretch of flat ground covered in soft meadow grass on the other. I groaned as I wiggled out of my pack and dropped it at my feet.
The air smelled like rain and pine, and I greedily pulled it into my lungs, feeling calm wash over me. We were getting close to home, and I felt it. How long had it been since my last trip to see my parents at their house? At least eight months.
I glanced over at River, who was unpacking the tent and other supplies. “How can I help?” I asked.
“You can get settled. This will just take me a couple of minutes. I brought my slightly bigger tent, but it’s still only meant for one person. It’s going to be cozy in there.”
“What a hardship. I’m sure we can manage.”
“I have a few ideas for how we can fit.”
That thought made desire fill me with warmth, and I was already overheated. I needed to clean up. I was sweaty and dirty from the hike.
I went over to the creek, stripping off my hat and my shirt on the way. Then my boots and socks, groaning again as I wiggled my toes. I stepped onto a rock and bent down to splash my face. The creek water was icy and refreshing. Goosebumps spread over my skin.
When I glanced at the bank, River was there. He’d pulled off his shirt and shoes. But he was watching me more than he was cleaning up.
“You’re staring,” I said.
“Yep. So are you.” Slowly, he crouched to scrub creek water over his face and in his hair. His chest. My eyes traced every droplet that cascaded over his body.
Thunder rumbled again. A few cold raindrops landed on my shoulders.
River stood, pushing his hair from his forehead. His back arched as he stretched. “Not the first time we’ve been caught in the rain together.”
“Are you going to kiss me this time?”
“Come closer and find out.”
I carefully stepped into the creek, wading through the shallow rushing water toward him.
Then I swiped my hand low and splashed him.
River shouted in protest. Laughing, I dashed over to the bank. He grabbed me as I passed by, and we both went down onto the grass. He tickled me and I fought back, trying to push him away as I giggled breathlessly. River caught my hands and shoved them over my head, pressing them to the ground.
He hovered over me. An inch between us.
It had been eighteen years since that last summer at my parents’ house with River. Being here on Silver Mountain with him now, it was hard to believe so much time had passed. Especially with those freezing raindrops pricking my skin and dotting River’s eyelashes. The way our chests moved, panting for breath.
River’s hot mouth slanted over my lips. His tongue curled against mine. I hooked a leg over his hip, urging him down, and he covered my body with his. I felt the length of his shaft firming against my thigh.
The sky chose that moment to open up on us.
Lightning crackled, and rain cascaded into the clearing, pinging against the rocks and the surface of the creek. Cursing and shouting, River and I jumped up. We grabbed our things, shoved everything inside the tent, and tumbled in after them, laughing hysterically. Good thing River had already put the rainfly into place.
We looked at one another in the dim light, smiling. Just those few seconds in the cloudburst, and we were nearly soaked. But the inside of the tent was dry. Very cozy, just like River had said.
In a blink, we were kissing again. Licking raindrops from each other’s skin. Pushing off wet clothes and gasping the humid air. Heavy drops pelted the tent, surrounding us with a roar of sound. Like we were the only two people on this mountain. Or the whole world.
Kneeling, head bent against the roof of the tent, he wrestled off his pants and boxers. His hard cock slapped his stomach. I dove forward and took him into my mouth. I hadn’t done this yet, and I wanted to know what he tasted like.
River cursed. “Oh hell, Charlie. Yeah. That’s perfect.”
I bobbed over him, licking and sucking with the storm and River’s dirty encouragement as my soundtrack.
With a guttural moan, he nudged my jaw with his thumb, urging me to sit up. “Keep doing that, and this will be over way too soon. Come here.”
More kisses. Tangled limbs as we maneuvered in the tiny space. It should’ve been awkward, but we were too wrapped up in each other to care.
River pushed me onto the sleeping bags and tugged off the rest of my clothes. When I was naked, he flicked his tongue against each of my nipples. My skin was ultra sensitive. Like I was made of goosebumps, both too hot and too cold. Thunder and lightning. An electrical current running straight from River’s mouth to every one of my nerve endings.
It was getting darker by the minute, but still, I closed my eyes, relishing each sensation.
“River,” I breathed. “Make love to me.” I didn’t care how desperate I sounded. How shameless. “I need you so badly.”
I wasn’t even going to ask if he’d brought a condom. Either way, I still wanted him. But he reached for his pack and rummaged inside. Then I heard the package rip open .
“Lay on your side.” River’s hand slid up my thigh, resting on my hip. “Like this.”
We lay face to face, though I could barely see his outline. Then a flash of lightning lit him up. His striking features, the intensity in his dark eyes. River hiked my leg over his waist. Taking his time, his hand moved to my inner thigh and up higher. Finding the center of me. That was where he guided the tip of his cock. I bit my lower lip as he pushed inside and drew me as close as possible and his arms wrapped around me.
No space between us. We barely had room to move. But I liked that. Liked feeling him everywhere.
He kissed me sweetly and rocked our bodies together until I couldn’t tell where he ended and I began. Around us, the storm rolled on and on. But we were in our own perfect world.
Heat built in the air of the tent, our skin slicked with sweat. Salty when we kissed. I wanted this to last and last. As if we could recapture all the moments we could have had together if we’d figured this out sooner.
River pulled out and shifted me so I faced the other way, my back to his chest. He filled me again, and I cried out at the change in position, different pleasure receptors lighting up like the lightning outside the tent.
His smooth chest to my back, groans in my ear. The gentle scratch of his stubble and sometimes his teeth grazing my shoulder.
His wicked fingers explored my skin, finally circling over my clit. That extra pressure and sensation, on top of everything else, was more than I could take.
I tried to push his hand away. I wasn’t ready for this to end. “Wait.”
“You want me to stop?”
“I…no. Don’t stop. ”
His fingers kept stroking. “Make up your mind, Charlie-baby. Should I keep going?”
“Always. Ah. Please.” I had no control over the words spilling from my mouth. “Say I’m yours.”
“You’re mine. In my heart, in every true part of me, you’ve always been mine.”
Every cell in my body seemed to clench at once, trying to hold on to this moment. But I couldn’t. It broke me into a million pieces. River’s arms tightened around me and I felt him losing control just as I did. Pleasure so intense it was like nothing I’d experienced. A lightning strike. Too much and yet exactly right. The two of us clinging to one another to push back the force of the storm. He kept kissing and sucking my neck, moving inside me, drawing it out until I was breathless and reeling.
I blinked, and a tear spilled onto my cheek.
That had been wild .
River propped onto an elbow, looking down at me just as the tent lit up again with a flash of light. “Are you okay, sweetheart? Did I hurt you?”
He’d called me sweetheart before. But that had been sarcastic. The reverence in his tone now… It just reminded me of the things we’d said a few moments ago. That I had said.
Say I’m yours . What had possessed me?
I rubbed the teardrop away. “I think the tent is leaking.”
“Uh huh. Sure it is.”
The storm had died down. Individual raindrops pattered onto the tent instead of a torrent. River pulled away briefly to deal with the condom. Then tugged me against him again, our bodies lifting and falling in sync as we breathed.
He was playing with the hair by my temple, brushing his fingers through the strands.
Intimacy was different with him. A pure head rush .
I’d had two serious relationships in my past. Spent years with men who were wrong for me, though of course Ross was a sweet, intelligent guy while Jud was a scumbag. In hindsight, something had been missing with both of them, and I’d failed to see it. Exactly why I was supposed to be taking a break from romance.
But even during the early days, neither one of my exes had come close to this kind of intensity.
It wasn’t right to compare River to his brother. Yet my wayward mind couldn’t help it. River and I had fiery chemistry, clashing and sparking. Undeniable.
Was it just the situation? The danger and adrenaline? Maybe, but I didn’t think so. I’d felt the same rush with River eighteen years ago when we’d been teenagers. That relentless, irresistible pull, before he’d left for the Navy and I’d insisted to myself that our connection had meant nothing. Because I’d been convinced that he didn’t care.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I blurted out.
“Tell you what?”
“How you felt. Ross and I broke up seven years ago. Seven . You and I saw each other after that. You didn’t say a word.”
River exhaled. I couldn’t see his expression well, but I could feel him frowning. “When you and Ross got engaged, it gutted me. I thought the jealousy would swallow me alive. I accepted an offer to join the Agency after that. Threw myself into my work even more than I had before. Probably more than was healthy. That’s when I met Trace. I had all the excitement and intrigue I ever could’ve wanted, career-wise. Years went by and I was fine . I tried as much as possible to stay away from you.”
“I noticed.”
“Then Ross dropped the news that you two had broken up. I pretended it meant nothing. Lied to myself, repeating that same damn pattern. But I couldn’t stop wondering what- if, and that hope only grew until I couldn’t ignore it anymore. I finally decided I had to tell you, if only to hear you reject me and put myself out of my misery.”
“But you didn’t.”
“I meant to. Almost did.”
I rolled over to face him and wiggled to readjust on the sleeping bags. “Wait. That’s why you came that day. Isn’t it?”