Chapter 12
Twelve
River was quiet after Max had left. Newt wondered how he’d feel if he’d discovered someone had tried to kill him, or at best, seriously injure him.
He’d be scared. And angry. It made him think of the night his world had collapsed.
The actions of his family had broken him for a long while.
Maybe part of him would always be broken.
The part of him that allowed him to trust. He’d loved and trusted Phelan.
The one person he’d been able to rely on—always.
From that night on, Newt had been on his own.
Apart from him and River being careful, there wasn’t much they could do.
Max had shown him the CCTV system, which transmitted images from the cameras outside and could be viewed remotely via an app.
Thankfully, the system only saved the last seven days’ data so there was nothing to see of their return from the river.
Newt couldn’t help but wonder why Max hadn’t shown this to him before.
Maybe he had been spying on them. But even as the thought came into his head, Max had said, “I didn’t see the point in telling you about this earlier, but it’s important now.
Check to see if there is any movement at night or when you come back after you’ve been out. Keep River safe.”
He’d do his best, though Newt thought CCTV was more use after something had happened than while it was happening.
This place was already well protected with window locks, complicated door locks and an alarm system.
And me. Newt would always do his utmost to protect River. He was the first friend he’d ever had.
River sat on the couch looking miserable. That was something Newt could try to put a stop to.
He dropped down beside him. “Do you have a long list of people who might like to kill you? How big a piece of paper do we need? Who shall we put at the top? What about that guy who wants the same film role as you? I’ve forgotten his name. Harry something?”
River managed a small smile. “Gard…”
“Harry Gardner. Yes, that’s it.” Newt held his hand. “I can’t tell you not to worry. I’m worried too. But if we think about this logically, maybe we can work out who might have sent the letters. Whoever it is knows you live here. Can we make a list of those people?”
River shrugged. “Don’t know…who knows. One…can…tell other.”
That was true.
“One thing I thought about was what if the hold that let you down was the one Malik had marked, but it just crumbled. Rock does that. He might be trying to deflect blame from himself for not having climbed before you that day.”
“I like Malik.”
“Doesn’t mean he didn’t make a mistake.”
River shrugged.
“Well, you’re not currently being physically stalked. We’d have seen someone. No one has followed us when we’ve been out in the car.”
River widened his eyes.
“Yes, I have been checking. I am your bodyguard.” Newt beat his chest and launched into a mock-coughing fit.
River smiled.
“Max told me you were a shit to people who came to help you. Well, you weren’t sweetness and light to me at first. And we both know Jorge deserved to be fired. How much of a shit were you to the others?”
River shrugged. “Not bad… Not to get…tho…letters. Why? No point.”
“To upset you?”
“Not enough mo… mot… motive. People use…hmm…usually after money. Max paid them off for being a …sh…shit.”
“Maybe the police will get to the bottom of it.”
“I don’t…”
“You don’t want the police involved?”
“No.”
“Maybe we should stop thinking about it. Nothing we can do. So what do you need? Food? Something to drink? Want me to read to you? Or shall I try and make you see stars?”
River touched Newt’s smile, stroking his fingers against Newt’s cheek, following the line of his mouth. “Stars.”
Newt pulled him to his feet. They went upstairs hand in hand, Newt’s heart pounding harder with every step. River pulled him into Newt’s room.
“Strip,” River said.
“I’ve noticed that you’re very good at the words you really want to use.”
“Strip…now…fast…slow…sex.”
Newt laughed. He peeled his T-shirt over his head and as he tossed it aside, River slipped into the bathroom.
Newt took off the rest of his clothes, tugged the duvet to the bottom of the bed then lay down.
He was hard. Of course he was. The thought of being naked with River always made him hard.
Though he’d been hard when they’d flown the kite, hard when they went swimming and hard when he’d watched River watching the deer. He chuckled.
When River emerged naked from the bathroom, a strip of condoms dangling from his fingers, Newt’s lungs stopped working. Was this what Max had meant when he’d told them to be careful?
River tossed lube and condoms onto the bed, then straddled him, lowering himself down until their cocks touched, before he rocked against him.
The light, skin-to-skin brush made blood race along his veins.
Newt groaned with pleasure and threaded his fingers behind his head.
River sat back, took hold of Newt’s cock with one hand and stroked his abs with his other.
He was looking at Newt as if he could see inside him, see what he was hiding.
Newt had a sudden urge to tell him, but he beat it down.
“Want…to fuck…you,” River said in the most determined voice Newt thought he’d heard from him. “Say yes.” He took a deep breath and added, “Pleeeesssse… please.”
“Yes, please.”
River furrowed his brow, then grabbed the lube and squirted it over his trembling fingers.
“You’re going to have problems getting the condom on now. Your fingers will be slippery.”
That earned a him a glare.
River pushed up Newt’s knees, spread them apart and knelt between them. Then he wiped his hands all over Newt’s cock. Fuck, fuck, fuck!
“No p…problem…now.” River had a smug look on his face.
“So put the condom on.”
River’s fingers shook as he pulled it from the packet. He chewed his lip as he rolled it down his dick.
Newt took his hands from behind his head and grabbed the lube. “Now you need more.”
River squeezed the lube onto his hands, then wrapped them both around Newt’s cock and dragged them up and down.
Oh God. One hand continued past his balls, on to the delicate strip of skin beyond and Newt groaned.
So of course, River lingered there, teasing and pressing before he touched the entrance to Newt’s body.
Newt tried not to tense, but he knew he had, and he knew River noticed.
“Say stop…and I stop,” River whispered. “But say in Na’vi.”
“Na’vi?”
“Yes.” River looked snug.
“Fgtang.”
Smug turned to shocked. “How?”
“We only watched Avatar a few days ago. I can remember stop.”
“Chinese then.”
“Bù.”
River rolled his eyes. He circled Newt’s hole with the pad of his middle finger, while Newt did his best not to clench any tighter.
“I can’t even remember my name now.” Newt sucked in a breath.
River kept on pressing and pushing, until the top part of his finger slipped through the tight muscle barrier.
Newt’s breathing was shaky. He’d done this much to himself, but it felt different not being in control.
River chuffed, Newt chuffed back, then winced as River’s finger slid in as far as his knuckle.
“Okay?” River asked. “No…bù?”
Newt shook his head.
River pushed again, curled his finger and touched Newt’s prostate. Oh fuck! Newt couldn’t stop his hips bucking, couldn’t hold in the low, needy sounds pouring from his mouth, noises that hardly made sense, except to him it was yes, more, there, right there, don’t stop, don’t stop…
“Na’vi?” River asked.
Newt sort of wanted to gently punch him but he could do nothing but lie there and enjoy the sensation of River pushing his finger in and out, stroking his prostate. Newt writhed and moaned as he lit up from the inside. The heat, the pleasure, the hormonal rush, the way tension built and built…
Persistent gentle pressure allowed a second finger to join the first and even though Newt was aware of how careful River was being, the knowledge of what was happening, what this was heading towards, had his heart leaping in his chest, trying to get up his throat, out of his mouth.
The look on River’s face was one of wonder blended with desperate concentration.
With his free hand, he reached up to caress Newt’s lips and cheeks and mouth and jaw, as though he couldn’t believe he was doing this.
River continued to massage his prostate and Newt couldn’t keep his eyes open.
He had hold of Newt’s cock too now and was working it in the same rhythm as he finger-fucked him.
It was almost an overload of pleasure. His lungs burned from his rapid shallow breathing.
He was shocked by how much he wanted this, wanted River to take him, have him, possess him, own him, make him his… Oh fuck, fuck, fuck!
“Newt,” River whispered.
He forced his eyes open.
“Watch.”
River put his sheathed cock against Newt’s hole and Newt gulped.
“Mine,” River whispered.
Newt pulled him down as River slid into him. It burned enough to make Newt cry out. But a couple of deep breaths and pain ceded to pleasure. River pulled back, dragging his cock over Newt’s prostate before pushing in again.
“Fuuuuck.” Newt gasped and gulped.
The next time, River withdrew completely before thrusting back inside and apart from feeling really good, there was something hot about watching him do that, the way he kept taking him. More and more precome leaked from Newt’s cock.
River dropped his mouth to Newt’s and kissed him as messily as he fucked him, over and over, faster and faster.
Newt’s heart fluttered in his chest. He could feel himself almost coming and River’s hands were everywhere, on his cock, his hair, his neck, his belly.
And every touch wound him tighter. Newt was dimly aware that one hand was now tight around the base of his dick, pressing down on his balls, stopping him from exploding. Or at least slowing him down.