Chapter 8
“Are you asking me what I think you’re asking me?”
As River drives me home to talk in private, I can’t get his words out my head. They replay and replay every time I sneak a peek at him.
He’s still tall, dark-haired, and very handsome. Swoon City, if you ask me.
When River pulls into my front drive and looks out the window, I can see him look at my Airstream trailer with a calculating expression. It makes me worry that he”s wondering if he underestimated our class differences.
If he is like every other man in my life, he’ll let me down soon. Every single man I’ve ever known has eventually proved a disappointment. Except my loving little brother, that is.
But I don’t need River in my bed forever.
I just need him for a few months.
Without waiting for his reaction, I fling open the truck’s passenger side door and bail out of the cab. I’m nervous and I might be mildly running away from the entire situation. As River hurries to catch up with me, I zoom up to my front steps and push the front door open.
It’s never locked, because who would bother to come all the way out here to steal something?
Nervous energy is driving me as I step inside the Airstream. I hang my keys up by the front door and shed my coat, placing it carefully on the dinette bench.
River has to duck his head as he steps inside the trailer. He looks comically large in here, where the fridge and bathroom door are two-thirds the size of normal ones. He looks around with a curious expression.
God, what must he be thinking? Nothing good. I’m not ashamed of having less than he does. It’s just a fact of life.
Not all of us were born with a silver spoon in our mouth.
“Welcome to Chez Moi,” I say. I shoot him a nervous smile.
River zeroes in on the tiled kitchen backsplash, which feature hand-painted UFOs. His lips twitch.
“Alien-themed kitchen?” he asks.
“Actually, the whole place has a UFO theme.” I flush and spin around to point at the little green men-shaped pillows resting on the banquette of the dining area. There are pictures of UFOs hanging on the walls, a fun alien themed shower curtain and bath mat in the bathroom, and tiny UFOs hanging in the corners of the bedroom.
“Interesting.” He looks around, taking it all in. “It fits you.”
“I suppose.” I smooth my hands over the front of my dress. Why are my hands shaking ever so slightly? I need to do something comforting right now, something familiar. Given the option of places to go, I blurted out that he should come home with me.
Was it the best choice? Maybe not. But it puts me at ease knowing I hold a lot of power here.
“Why don’t you sit?” I wave to the banquette. “I’ll make us some tea.”
River studies me for a moment, his sapphire blue eyes intent. Then he takes a seat next to the twee UFO pillows. He seems to weigh his words carefully before speaking. “I didn’t know that you lived in a… what do they call these trailers again?”
“Airstreams.” I fill the kettle out of my small kitchen sink. “You’ve never been out here, have you? It’s a trailer resort. Aunt Delta has a whole bunch of them for the hotel, but she set a few aside for family members.” I grab two mugs and drop teabags in. “I’ve lived here since I graduated college.”
River digests that as he sweeps his gaze around the trailer again. “Your aunt Delta is the one that you told me about, right? You said that she hadn’t paid the taxes on this land for a number of years?”
Blushing, I shoot him a look. “Yes. We are pretty close to getting a notice from the IRS at this point. But I’m still having a devil of a time getting her to listen to me. She’s so damn stubborn. I asked her who she can go to for a loan. She says she is tapped out. I tried to work out a payment plan with the IRS, but Delta won’t sign off on it. She says she shouldn’t have to pay taxes.”
“She sounds… spirited.”
I laugh. “That’s certainly one way to put it. She would have a heart attack if she knew that I was flirting with one of the Billion Dollar Bennetts. She says that your family thinks they are so high and might just because y’all are rich.”
He snorts. “Billion Dollar Bennetts.”
I sit down across from him, dunking my tea bag in my mug to stir it. “Sorry. I know that you hate that nickname. I won’t use it again.”
River shrugs the topic off and sniffs his tea. “This smells horrible.”
“First the cinnamon whiskey. Then ginger tea. I just saw you down a bunch of pho. You can’t tell me you don’t like strong flavors. Maybe you just don’t like spices??”
“I like things that taste good. Point blank. And judging by the smell alone, that tea is not going to taste good.”
“It has medicinal effects,” I reply tartly. “Try it. It’s great.”
I sip the zesty tea, watching his face as he tastes it then pulls a face. He slides his mug away a few inches.
“It’s not for me.” River trains those probing blue eyes of his on my face. “You were telling me about your Aunt Delta.”
My eyebrows rise. “What else is there to say? She’s determined to lose this land to the IRS before I ever inherit it.”
He puts his arm up on the back of the banquette, his fingers brushing my shoulder. “You are supposed to inherit it someday?”
I sip and then nod. “Yup. With Aunt Delta making the calls, I have no say in financial matters. In fact, Aunt Delta has told me to butt out repeatedly.”
“She doesn’t have anybody that she goes to for financial advice?”
I snort. “No. She keeps her own counsel. Aunt Delta really doesn’t even like anybody other than me, my mom, my Aunt Glory, and Malik. She won’t even consider taking our advice.”
“I gotcha.” River looks thoughtful. He flexes his outstretched fingertips, intentionally stroking my shoulder. I shiver, swiping my tongue over my lips, and imagine the feeling of those two fingers flicking my clit.
Heat gathers between my thighs.
“So?” he intones.
Gulp. River’s eyes are like two deep oceans, begging me to scoot closer and take a dip.
“So?” I try to keep my tone light, despite the almost painful flip-flopping of my stomach. “You want to talk about… the deal?”
He smirks and his dimples flash. Suddenly, I realize my kid could have his dimples, and go all tongue-tied. Pressing my thighs tighter together, I pray that I can keep my shit together in front of him.
“Now that we’re somewhere that we won’t be interrupted.” He slips his warm hand around my waist and pulls me closer to him. “I very much want to talk about the deal.” His fingers touch the bare skin of my shoulder, tracing a pattern into my flesh. “It sounds like you need a baby daddy.”
Swallowing, I give my head a tight shake.
“I need someone willing to donate sperm. But I don’t want them around forever, taking my kid away for visitation or thinking they have a say in how I raise my kid. I don’t want or need that.”
One of River’s eyebrows rises. “Oh? So you’re just looking for someone to knock you up?”
It feels like every ounce of blood leaves my lower body and circles in my cheeks.
“Yes.” My eyes are steady on his. “But I don’t want it to be unequal. If you agree to this deal, I’d want you to get something you’d want, too.”
His smile turns brilliant.
“It just so happens that I already know what you could give me.”
My heart pounds against my chest. “What?”
His eyes slide away for a moment. “I want you to pretend to be my fiancée.”
I give my head a shake, worried that I heard him wrong. “Wait… what?”
“I need a girl to pose as my fiancée.” His grin widens and mischief sparkles in his eyes. “For a few months. You would have to pretend that we’d had been carrying on in secret for a while. I already told Bishop that we were dating, so that should help. You’d have to come meet my family as my fake fiancée. You’d probably have to do a few pre-wedding events by my side, too.” He squints, tallying. “I guess you would have to let people in town think that we were engaged.”
My stomach sinks. “That sounds like a lot of lying. I’m a bad liar.”
River looks amused. “Yeah, you’re too honest to be any good at it. But you won’t be put on the spot. I’ll do all the massaging of the truth. You’ll just be next to me.” He skates his fingers around to the back of my neck, dropping his voice to a purr. “And in exchange, I’ll get you pregnant. I’ll have to draw up a contract to protect my interests. I don’t want to be medically or financially obligated for anything. But…”
“I would never ask that of you!” I blurt out. “My baby’s parentage would be a secret forever. I would carry your name to my grave.”
He leans down and whispers. “It sounds like we have a deal, darlin’’.”
His lips brush my ear. My mouth falls open. A shiver runs down my spine. A part of me is very ready to tear his clothes off and fuck his brains out. I have to grip handfuls of my skirt to still my hands. “River…” I protest. “We have way more to talk about.”
He slides closer, settling his big body against my thigh. He walks two fingers up my neck and turns my head, angling it so he can place a burning kiss right where the line of my jaw meets the slender column of my neck.
“Do we need to talk first?” His voice is hushed and harsh. “Or do you just want to fuck? I can’t wait to lick that hot, sweet pussy. At the diner, I never did get a chance to taste you on my tongue.”
Every muscle in my body clenches at his explicit whisper. It takes me a second to rein myself in.
The protest leaves my lips anyway before I can stop myself. “River! I didn’t mean you should actually get me pregnant the old-fashioned way! I thought you were agreeing to go with me to the clinic and jerk off into a cup.”
He bites his lip, amused. “Why should we do that? It sounds like a lot of bullshit. I want you. You want me. Let’s just fuck until we reach the desired result.”
River tips my head up with two fingers. He looks at me for a moment before closing his eyes and kissing me on the lips. His mouth is hot and demanding, and he immediately deepens the kiss. I open my mouth, helpless under his onslaught, my fingers gripping his leather lapel like I’m clinging to a lifeline.
In this moment, I am ready for him. Prepared to rip my dress up off of my body and shred his jeans. Primed to mount his cock and ride him until I can’t move anymore.
He sinks his hand in my hair and tugs it back to expose more of my neck. Then he runs a line of fire-hot kisses down it. I am paralyzed with need.
“Your neck tastes as sweet as I thought,” he husks. “Makes me think your pussy is as sweet as muscadine wine. How about you take off your clothes and sit on my face, darlin’?”
I’m speechless. God help me. Give me a handsome man and a little dirty talk and I’ll fall to my knees.
I need River to follow his dirty talk with filthy actions.
But I suddenly realize that I haven’t trimmed or shaved my bikini area… like, at all. My bedroom is still a little messy. I haven’t prepared for sex… and I’m not ready for River, period.
Cursing myself for my cowardice, I gently push him back.
He stops his trail of kisses, breathing hard, and looks at me with concern. “What do you need, darlin’?” he asks, his silky voice gone to gravel.
“Protection.”
He arches a brow at me. “Pardon?”
I clear my throat, flushing. “Legal protection. To keep us both safe.”
River eases back, not seeming remotely upset. “Okay.” He licks his lips, looking at me carefully. “As you say. I’ll draw the contracts up.”
“Shouldn’t we get a lawyer to do it?”
He rolls his eyes. “I am a lawyer. I specialized in real estate and contract law. My day-to-day job just doesn’t call for those skills very much.”
My eyebrows jump up. “Oh! Sorry.”
He gives me a small smile, pulling a fancy pen and a piece of paper from his jacket pocket. “Let’s get down to the nitty gritty.” He starts making a list in neat block letters. “Two orgasms guaranteed every single time we fuck. We keep it up for six months, or until you’re pregnant, whichever comes first. And in exchange…” He writes it down quickly. “Four pre-wedding events. Dinner with my family once per month for the length of the agreement. And I can tell anyone that I deem important that we are engaged.”
I swallow, my pulse still racing from his touch. “Can I add something?”
River looks up. “Of course. Anything.”
“Flowers. Once a week, you’ll bring me flowers. Just so that it doesn’t feel so transactional between us.”
I feel a little stupid for saying it, but I don’t want him to become a task to be checked off. I don’t need romance, but I do want pizzaz.
He smiles and nods, then adds that. “Flowers once a week. You got it. I think that we’ll keep the exchange going for as long as it takes you to get pregnant… or six months maximum, at the outside. Sound good?”
My lips twitch. I hold out my hand. River takes it without hesitation.
“It’s a pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Taylor.”
His eyes shine with promise. “It will be, Ms. Brown.”