Chapter 20
River’s soft breaths against my neck stir me from slumber before the morning has fully begun. With eyes still heavy with sleep, I feel his lips graze my shoulder.
It’s a tender kiss that sends a ripple of warmth down my spine.
”Morning, beautiful,” he murmurs. His voice is husky with sleep and something more primal.
I roll onto my back, meeting those piercing eyes of his that always seem to see right through me. ”Is it morning already?”
My words come out thick and lazy. They belie the tingle in my body that is waking up fast.
”Early enough,” River replies. He props himself on one elbow to look down at me. He”s got that half-smile that makes my stomach flip-flop. Especially when he”s this close.
I stretch beneath him, aware of the heat building between us. The sheets are tangled around our legs, evidence of last night”s activities.
We”ve been trying for a baby. My bathroom cabinet is full of ovulation kits and I have nothing against banging on schedule. Not that we need it, exactly. We haven’t been able to keep our hands off each other for long enough to need to schedule sex.
But right now, seeing River’s eyes darken with desire, I know I”m not actively ovulating. There’s no chance of getting pregnant today.
But I still want him.
A pang of guilt twinges in my chest. This isn”t part of the plan.
Wanting River Taylor is decidedly not part of the plan.
”Should we be doing this?” I ask. Even as the words leave my mouth, my body arches towards him. I crave his touch. “Don’t you want some time to recharge?”
River leans down, his mouth hovering just above mine. ”Do you want me to stop?”
His breath mixes with mine as he lays down a challenge. He knows perfectly well what he’s asking.
My heart races. I reach up to thread my fingers through his tousled hair.
”Don”t you dare,” I breathe.
That”s all the invitation he needs. His mouth captures mine in a kiss that obliterates any lingering doubts. The practical side of me might be screaming about schedules and optimal times. But the rest of me drowns in the sheer intensity of wanting him, here and now, consequences be damned.
”God, Pearl, you feel so good,” River groans against my lips.
I can”t help but press closer, wanting to melt into him. I want to breathe him in, to drink him down. I’ll take him any way I can get him into my veins.
”Keep making me feel good, then,” I whisper back, giving myself over to the moment, to the rush of heat that only River can ignite.
My pulse hammers in my ears. My heart has its own heady rhythm that syncs with the urgency of River”s kisses. With a sudden boldness, I wrap my legs around his waist. I need to bring him even closer, if that”s possible.
His desire is a palpable force. I can feel his thick cock where it presses against my belly. It excites me and fans the flames of my own desire.
”River,” I gasp between the press of our lips. I can feel his cock hardening against me. I rock my hips against his. “I need you, baby.”
His whispered words are laced with lust. They speak of a dirty promise that sends shivers down my spine. ”I want to stretch you out, Pearl. I’m ready to fill you up with come until you can”t take any more.”
A wave of butterflies erupts in my stomach. Oh, this is definitely happening.
”Please,” I murmur. My fingers explore the contours of his back. His muscles shift like taut cords under his skin. “Fuck, River. You make me crazy.”
River”s hands glide over my body, his touch both gentle and reverent. There”s an ownership in his caress, but also an adoration that warms me from the inside out. He pauses, hovering above me. His gaze traces the lines of my face before drifting downwards.
”Your skin,” he murmurs. ”It”s so soft, so perfect.”
His fingertips wander across the mahogany canvas of my body, igniting tiny fires wherever his touch goes.
”Every inch of you is exquisite,” he continues. He leans down to place a kiss in the valley between my breasts. ”I intend to taste every single part.”
I arch into him. I’m offering myself up to the sensation, to the anticipation that builds with each word, each touch.
”Then what are you waiting for?” I challenge, tilting my chin up. My lips are a hair”s breadth from his. ”Taste me, River. All of me.”
The grin that spreads across his face is devilish, promising a pleasure that”s both torturous and sublime.
I”m fully in his world now, the one where every breath is a silent plea for more. River”s gaze locks onto mine, dark and commanding—a look that speaks of raw possession. My heart races, my body aching for his touch.
I”m on fire, every nerve in my body screaming for River”s touch. I barely register the shift as he turns me over, positioning me onto my knees. My breath catches. The cool air of the room contrasts sharply with my heated skin.
The feeling of exposure sends an electric thrill through me. He spreads my knees wide.
I”m acutely aware of how vulnerable I am, displayed for him like a feast. He stands, leans over my body, and draws both my hands up to the edge of the bed.
”Keep your hands together,” River”s voice is low, commanding. It”s a delicious tone that promises untold pleasures. ”If you move them, I”ll stop touching you.”
His words are a velvet threat that wraps around my consciousness, binding me to his will.
The anticipation is a tangible thing, coiling inside me. I nod in agreement. My heart beats wildly as my hands lie where he put them, obediently minding his words.
I want this. The heady mix of excitement and surrender is the best drug I’ve ever had. I can almost taste the control he has over me right now. And it”s intoxicating.
His fingers trace a line. It’s light and teasing, heading down my spine, sending shivers skittering across my skin. He finds the warmth between my legs, circling my clit. My eyes sink closed. I can”t help but push back against his fingers, craving more.
But the moment I do, the tantalizing pressure vanishes.
“That’s not what we talked about, darlin. You promised to stay still.”
”River, please,” I beg, the words spilling out of me without thought. I need his touch like I need air. The ache for release growing stronger with each second he denies me.
”Patience, Pearl,” he chuckles softly.
There”s a hint of something darker in his amusement.Then, slowly, oh so torturously slowly, his fingers return. They slide over the slick folds of my pussy. A moan escapes my lips as he circles my clit with practiced precision, drawing out the pleasure until it”s all I can think about.
”You”re so hot, Pearl. So tight and wet,” he murmurs. The raw approval in his voice is another kind of caress. “I can see how excited you are. Your pussy is dripping with honey.”
”River,” I gasp. I swear, trying to keep still under his masterful touch, I know that any movement might rob me of this ecstasy. His fingers move faster. I”m lost to the sensation, to the quick circles that promise a world of pleasure just within reach. ”Don”t stop.”
”Wouldn”t dream of it,” he replies, as casually as you please.
The heat of River”s breath fans over the curves of my backside before his tongue sweeps a bold path across my sensitized skin. I tremble, fighting the urge to rock back against the tantalizing caress that promises so much more. His hands grip my hips, steadying me as he explores my pussy with his tongue. He flicks it inside my pussy and I make a strangled sound.
Then he glides his tongue over my clit. My nails dig into the mattress. Surely, this is torture.
”River, please,” I whimper.
He increases the speed, then slows it. My pleasure mounts to an unbearable pitch. He stops.
”Stay still, Pearl,” he commands. “Be a good girl.”
His voice is a dark caress against the charged silence of the room. But the next flick of his tongue against my throbbing clit sends a spasm through my body. I jolt forward involuntarily.
Instantly, the divine pressure of his mouth is gone, leaving me bereft. Tears prick the corners of my eyes
”No movement,” he reminds me. I can hear the smile in his voice. It”s a game to him, this push and pull. I nod frantically. I’m desperate for him to continue.
”Good girl,” he murmurs, before sliding two fingers inside my pussy, slick with my own arousal. They move in a rhythm that leaves me panting, while his other hand trails up to tease the puckered entrance of my ass. The sensation is both foreign and intoxicating.
”River!” I cry out, as he presses a wet finger against that untried boundary, circling gently. He sucks hard on my clit then. The world narrows down to the overwhelming burst of pleasure that racks my body. My orgasm crashes over me like a wave. It’s fierce and almost painful in its intensity.
”Beautiful,” he breathes.
But he doesn”t give me a moment to recover. My pussy is still twitching like it’s been possessed when he starts touching me again. His hand remains firmly between my thighs, fingers drawing lazy circles around my overstimulated clit. My hips jerk reflexively. I’m trying to escape the onslaught of sensation more than anything.
“Baby…” I whine.
”Trust me?” River asks. “I only want to make you feel good, darlin.”
”Yes, of course,” I gasp out.
But in truth, I’m clinging to the last shreds of my control.
”Then relax,” he instructs. His touch becomes firmer, coaxing yet another crest of pleasure from within me. ”I know it feels like too much, but you can take it, Pearl. Let go.”
I bite my lip and wince. But his words are both a command and a promise.
Just have to relax, I remind myself.
Something inside me unwinds. Right now, River is control personified. He’ll guide me to heights I never imagined. I just have to trust in surrender.
”Let go,” he repeats.
I do.
Heat coils low in my belly. A simmering promise builds with each of River”s deliberate strokes. The pleasure is maddening, teetering on the edge of unbearable. I”m close again. So damn close to tumbling over into that abyss of ecstasy for the second time.
”River,” I pant. “Make me feel good.”
Suddenly, his fingers still against my throbbing flesh.
”Darlin,” he says, his tone laced with that intoxicating blend of command and concern. ”Let me take you a little further. Let me fuck your ass.”
His words are honeyed filth. They send a shudder of anticipation through me.
“M-my ass?” It’s a dirty idea. But not one that I haven’t considered…
River kisses my lower back. “Yes. I promise, you’ll come harder than you ever have before. You just have to trust me.”
I feel the blush scorch my cheeks. The taboo ignites an unfamiliar thrill within me.
”Yes,” I breathe out. “I trust you, River.”
”It”s going to be a different kind of climax,” he promises. His voice is deep and dark with the promise of pleasures unknown.
With a slick sound, he coats himself with lubricant, the clear gel glistening as he prepares himself. I watch him, biting my lip. Watch him stroke his thick cock with lube is stimulating all on its own.
His hand returns to my pussy, two fingers circling my clit. They reignite the fire that had barely begun to wane. A moan escapes me, unbidden, as his touch fans the flames.
”Relax for me, baby,” he murmurs. “If you’re tense, it won’t feel as good.”
His fingers press insistently against my sensitive bud. I close my eyes and do my best to make myself relax. He rubs my clit and I focus on that pleasure.
As I melt under his ministrations, I feel his cock nudging at my ass, pressing gently at the entrance at first. Inch by inch, he eases into me, the sensation of fullness growing exponentially. It”s foreign, intense, and utterly consuming.
I catch my breath, my heart hammering against my ribs as I adjust to the invasion.
”Good girl,” he praises. ”That’s it. Feels better than you thought, doesn”t it?”
I can only nod, words lost in the whirlwind of sensation. The way his cock stretches me out, the fullness I feel. It’s overwhelming.
Yet there”s a thread of pleasure weaving through the tightness.
”Move with me, Pearl,” River coaxes, his hands guiding my hips back to meet his slow thrusts. “Come on, darlin. Touch your clit and fuck my cock.”
A chorus of gasps and groans from deep within us both as I do what he says. Each careful movement drives me higher. I rub my clit as the pressure builds like a storm surge within me.
”River,” I whimper. “Baby…”
The pressure builds inside me. An insatiable need that gnaws at my core. I”m teetering on the edge, every touch sending electric shocks through my body.
“Fuck, Pearl. Your ass is so tight. And the way you fuck me…”
He groans as my hips move faster.
”River, please,” I beg between panting breaths. ”I’m ready.”
His chuckle is a low rumble against my skin. I can feel the smirk in his voice. ”You”re so beautiful when you beg, Pearl. So ready to let go.”
I shudder, embracing the role he”s carved out for me. A submissive to his dominant.
”Then give it to me,” I plead. I shove my hips back against him, seeking friction, craving the thrust of his cock deep inside me.
He complies, starting slowly. But soon he”s really fucking me, going hard and deep. With each powerful stroke, I”m propelled further into a realm of sensation. I revel in the fullness, the stretch, the sheer intensity of being filled to the brim. It”s dirty, it”s illicit, and it”s utterly divine.
”God, yes... River! River, fuck, just like that,” I moan, my nails digging into the sheets as I brace myself against the onslaught of pleasure. ”Don”t you dare stop.”
”Never,” he grunts. His movements become more forceful, more insistent. He”s a man possessed, consumed by our connection, driven by our shared lust.
The sound of our bodies coming together fills the room, a rhythmic symphony of flesh meeting flesh. I lose myself in the moment, in the feeling of him moving within me, staking his claim with every thrust. I reach down and rub my clit in quick circles.
”River,” I gasp. “River, I’m going to come. I’m going to come.”
The world narrows to the point where he and I merge. His name is a mantra on my lips, a plea and a declaration all at once.
”Come for me, Pearl. Let go.” His voice commands and soothes, guiding me to the precipice.
I”m close—so close. The pleasure coils tighter, a spring ready to snap.
”Touch yourself for me, Pearl.” River”s voice is a low growl behind me, laden with authority. An edge of raw desire that I hear sends shivers down my spine.
I can”t help the soft whimper that escapes my lips.
”Fuck, yes... just like that,” he encourages. ”God, that feels so good, darlin. Show me how much you want my cock.”
I circle my clit with practiced ease. The pleasure builds rapidly as he continues to drive into me from behind. His pace is relentless, each thrust pushing me closer to the brink. My body responds to his words, to the delicious filth spilling from his lips. He’s painting vivid images that only fuel my arousal.
”Does that feel good? You like playing with your pretty pussy while I fuck your tight little ass?” he taunts.
I can hear the smirk in his voice.
”More than you know,” I pant. My movements grow more desperate, more frenzied. He”s always been able to draw out this wild side of me, the one that craves the raw and unpolished facets of pleasure.
”Come on, baby. Come for me. I want to feel you clench around me when you do,” he commands.
I”m powerless to resist.
The orgasm hits me like a tidal wave, overwhelming and all-consuming. My vision blurs. I cry out, the world narrowing to the pulsing ecstasy that radiates from the epicenter of my climax.
”River!” His name is both exclamation and benediction. My body shakes with the force of my release.
I barely register the warmth flooding inside me as River follows, his own groan of satisfaction mingling with the aftershocks rippling through me. He fills me completely. The sensation of being full grounds me as I float back down from the dizzying heights.
”Christ, Pearl. You”re incredible,” he breathes out.
The awe in his voice matches the awe in my heart. His hands grip my hips, holding me close as we both catch our breath. We’re basking in the afterglow of our shared decadence.
In the aftermath, we”re a tangle of limbs and heavy breathing. Our connection is a tangible thing. It’s a force that wraps around us like a cocoon. For these few moments, there”s nothing else. Just us, and the undeniable truth that what we share is as inevitable as the sun”s rise.
I collapse in a boneless pile. River lies on his back next to me, sucking in breaths. I can see the fine sheen of sweat on the muscles of his chest and abs. The tiny bedroom smells like lust and sex.
“God, Pearl. That was…” He searches for the right word. “Glorious.”
I laugh and snuggle close to him. He wraps an arm around me, making me feel like I’m a precious object that he wants kept safe.
“It was pretty good,” I say. “I don’t want to say too much, because I don’t want you getting a big head about it.”
“I distinctly remember you like my big head,” he teases. “You said, and I quote, ‘Don’t you ever stop, River’.”
I slap his pec lightly. “You know what I mean.”
“Always.” He kisses me, long and slow.
I lay my head on his sweat-damped chest. If I could open him up like a sleeping bag and crawl inside, I probably would. I want to live right here in this moment forever.
River sighs and gently moves me off his chest. He sits up and looks around. ”I need to shower. Do you have any towels?”
My abs hurt as I roll off the bed and open the closet. There are some towels at the very top shelf, and I have to stand on my tiptoes to reach them. When I pull a couple down, I turn to him.
He is looking at my ass with the most mischievous grin on his face. ”Damn, Pearl. I”m not even an ass guy, but I”m ready to say fuck the shower. Why don”t you come back to bed and sit on my face?”
He sticks his tongue out and wiggles his eyebrows. I”m pretty sure that if there was an actual devil, River would be it.
My face feels hot as I chuck the towels at him. ”Surely you are worn out by now.”
River cocks a brow and looks down, flexing the muscle that controls his cock. ”I”m good to go again if you are.”
I put my hands on my hips. ”I have to eat dinner and do a million other things before we go to bed again.”
He leans back and looks at me speculatively. ”We can order pizza. Then while we wait, I can whet my appetite by eating your ass like a cupcake.”
”River!” I say, my voice strangled. ”Please. Just go shower. We can talk about sex again before we go to bed.”
He pulls a face. ”You”re no fun.”
”Who said I had to be fun?” I am ticked off now. Cocking my head, I put my fists on my hips. ”I am just trying to be an adult and set myself up for success tomorrow.”
”So I shouldn”t suggest that you play hooky tomorrow?” he asks.
His teasing tone aggravates me. ”No.” I grab my robe out of the closet. ”Listen up. You”re here right now because I”m doing you a favor. I”m lying to everyone I love and letting the whole town think we”re engaged. And yes, you”re doing your part by trying to get me pregnant. But anybody could be my sperm donor. You just happen to be ruggedly good looking, and pretty good in bed.”
River looks surprised. ”I didn”t mean to make you mad. Honest.” He picks up my hand, turns it over, and places a kiss against my palm.
I have to resist the urge to melt like a snowflake near a furnace. ”Is that your way of saying you”re sorry?”
He looks up, his expression contrite. ”I”m sorry, Pearl.”
I’m not even sure he knows why I’m irked.
I sigh and run my fingers through his dark, silky hair. He rubs his head against my hand like a cat seeking affection. I cup his cheek and kneel on the bed, leaning down to kiss him. But before the kiss turns into more, I step back. ”Go shower. You like seared chicken breast and green salad, I”m hoping?”
He stands up and flashes me a smile. ”I like anything you feel like making, darlin’.”
The way he calls me darlin’ makes me weak in the knees. I clear my throat and hustle out of the bedroom, because there is not enough space in this bedroom for the light, airy feeling that fills my chest when he says that word.
Darlin’. I shiver and hurry out to the kitchen. I cook while he showers, and lay out a pile of fresh bread I brought home from Gem”s on the table to accompany dinner.
River pads out of the bedroom, wearing nothing but a pair of boxer briefs. When I look at him with a raised brow, he shrugs. ”At home, I wouldn”t be wearing anything at all.”
We sit down to eat. I notice that I have several texts and read them while shoveling salad in my gullet. ”Shit.” I push the salad away, my appetite deserting me.
River glances over his half-eaten bowl, lifting a curious brow. ”What?”
Exhaling a long second, I flip my phone face down on the table and shake my head. ”Aunt Delta just texted me that this property is officially distressed. She sent me a bunch of pictures of the forms that the IRS sent her.” I slap the table, frustrated. ”I can”t believe she let that happen. Now we”ll have to pay a bunch of fines to the IRS for them to lift the designation. How are we going to pay for that??”
River’s expression is sympathetic. ”That”s a tough situation to be in.”
”No kidding.” I scoot out of the booth and pick up my phone. ”I should text my mom and my aunt Glory. If you”ll excuse me.” I hurry toward the bedroom, my head full of anxieties.