Chapter 30
Iwake up with the sun already slanting through the blinds and throwing crazy stripes across our sleeping forms. River is lying on his stomach beside me, feet hanging off of the bed, breathing so deeply that he”s almost snoring.
I turn on my side and burrow under the covers. I watch the rise and fall of his broad, muscular back. River is a work of art. There”s absolutely no denying it.
Even if I didn”t have a single feeling for him, that much would still be true.
I watch him for a minute more. There is some far-off possibility that I could just go back to sleep.
I deserve a day off, right?
But then the never-ending list of chores pops into my head. There will be trailers and cabins to turn over, like always. And I”ve learned from past mistakes that neglecting my chores causes them to pile up so high that it takes me a week to dig myself out again.
Throwing back the covers, I sit up and rub my face.
One day of laziness will end up being more stress for me than it”s worth.
I slip from the bed, grab my towel, and head for a quick shower. The hot water feels nice for two minutes, then the water heater starts to run low. After that, it”s a mad dash to get out of the shower again.
Wrapping myself in a towel, I step into the kitchen to start perking some coffee in the ancient coffee maker that came with the trailer. Usually I skip caffeine early in the morning, but today seems like I will need some coffee to get through it.
When I head back into the bedroom, River is sitting up against the headboard. He”s looking at something on his phone, and the blanket is draped very casually over his thighs.
I stop and allow myself a moment to stare at the carven marble statue that I”m sleeping with. Every inch of him is perfect, hardened muscle and jutting bone. There”s nothing soft about this man.
He looks up, a perfect little smirk perched on his lips. ”Come here.”
My heart skips a beat. Grinning at his command, I walk around to his side of the bed. River grunts, strips off my towel, and slides a hand around my waist. I sputter a laugh. He sits on the side of the bed, his legs spread, and pulls me inexorably closer.
”Your nipples look so fucking delicious. I think I”ll die if I don”t devour them.”
I bite my lip and press my thighs together as River bends his head and runs the tip of his tongue over one nipple. I groan as it pebbles under his attention. ”More.” I put a curve into my back, pressing my breast closer to his lips. ”Suck it harder, baby.”
River grabs me by the waist and pulls me down on top of him, where he proceeds to lick and suck at my nipples while thrusting his hard cock between our bodies. I reach down and position his cock just outside my already damp pussy. He groans and thrusts, a shallow motion, and we both release guttural sounds.
”Fuck, baby.” I grip his shoulders, holding myself up as he drives his cock deep into my pussy. He sucks on my nipples, biting them gently. My eyes roll up in my head, and for a moment I”m lost in the sensation. His thrusts grow frenzied as I moan. I”m already about to come and he”s only been buried to the hilt for thirty seconds. Sitting on top of him, I feel every fucking inch of his cock stretching out my hot, wet pussy. That, combined with the feeling of his tongue as he laves my nipple, makes me lose control.
”Fuck, fuck, River!” I cry.
”Come for me, darlin’. I want to feel you come on my cock.”
He speeds up his thrusts and my hips work hard to keep pace with him. He grabs my hips and hammers into me at a blinding pace. I have a moment where I”m not sure where I stop and he begins, where he is everywhere I desperately need him to be. My eyes close for a second as I peak. River is right behind me, his cock pumping in and out of my pussy. I seize up, my pussy clenching his cock with a death grip as I throw my head back and cry out.
I can feel his cock spurting deep inside my pussy, the jets of hot semen seeming to go on and on. I want to keep going but I can”t because my arms are shaking from the effort to hold myself up. I collapse and River slows his thrusts, his arms wrapping around me to cradle me.
He kisses me tenderly, unable to do anything but pull in the next desperate gulp of air.
I have a moment of pure, clear vision.
I love this man.
Deeply, madly. I know it is a bad idea. I know that it will probably only bring me heartache. But fuck, I can”t help it.
This moment is perfect. The fact that I could even now be getting pregnant just adds to my glowing, happy feelings of satisfaction. This feeling is intoxicating and the need to say my feelings aloud balloons in my chest.
River kisses me, then rolls to the side, carrying me with him. Grimacing a second, he pulls his cock from my body. Then he kisses my shoulder languidly.
”Can we start every morning like that?”
I chuckle. ”Maybe. We”ll have to see. I think some more practice is called for.”
”Mmm, I like the sound of that.” He props up his head with his hand. ”I assume that we have more to do today than just lie around and fuck each other silly, though.”
Wincing, I nod. ”Yeah. I need to check my phone to find out how many guests checked out and which rooms I need to clean.”
He grabs my hand and kisses my palm. ”Whatever you want, darlin’.”
Scrunching up my nose, I sigh. ”It”s not really something I want to do. It”s something that I have to do.”
He narrows his gaze on my face. I expect his next words to be either a crude suggestion about what else I should ‘do’, or another question about how I can hope to keep up with my workload while I”m pregnant. I tense, waiting.
But he surprises me. ”I poked around on the real estate market on your behalf. Quietly, of course. There are a ton of options for selling this place if you ever feel like it”s too much work. You could make a lot of money and take care of your family.” He holds up a hand. ”I”m just letting you know. I am not looking for a response.”
Some snarled knot of emotions surrounding my heart hiss and moan. I jerk my hand away from his grip. ”River, I told you.”
”You did.” He looks guilty. ”I”m sorry I even brought it up.”
I consider him for a long moment. One loud voice inside my head tells me not to trust him. But another says that if I trust him with my body, I might as well just give him my heart, too.
He smooths back a strand of my hair and cups my jaw, pinning me with that million-dollar gaze that makes me melt.
I lift a shoulder and give him a tight-lipped smile. ”I”ll forget it if you make me a promise to forget about the land. Just pretend that it doesn”t exist. Deal?”
River looks nervous for a second before he answers with a smile. ”Your wish is my command, darlin’.”
Darlin’. I can”t help but shiver and kiss his lips. ”You make it hard to be mad at you.”
”That”s the point,” he says, winking.
I push myself upright, then reach over to grab my phone from my bedside table. River fondles my breast as I check my texts for a message from Delta.
No cleaning today, she texts. But I do have a surprise. Come down to the cabin when you”re ready. Bring River.
I snort. ”Delta says we don”t have to clean today. That”s almost funny, because I”ve had to clean every day since I got here, including when I had a severe case of COVID.” I squint at my phone. ”She also says that she has a surprise for both of us. What can that be?”
He looks mildly surprised. ”I have no idea. I didn”t think Delta liked me much.”
”Well, whether nor not that is the case, we”ve been summoned.” I put my phone down. ”She texted me hours ago, so we should probably get going.”
I grab the coffees I made. We get up and get dressed in our cleaning garb, because I would guess that Aunt Delta”s surprise is something like another leak in a cabin. Or maybe there”s an owl infestation. Something of that nature.
But once we make our way to the cabins, there is a lot of commotion around the cabin at the very end, set off a bit from the others. Malik and Crisanto are carrying a squeaky metal bed frame out. I wait for them to pass, waving at them.
”Who is that?” River asks, pointing out my brother”s boyfriend.
”Crisanto. He”s Malik”s very serious boyfriend. They”ve been together for years.”
I hear my mom and Aunt Delta squawking at each other from inside, and I steel myself. I don”t know what I”m about to walk into.
River casually grabs my hand and I toss him a grateful look over my shoulder.
When I walk into the cabin, I am nearly whacked in the face with a flying pillow. I neatly dodge it and it hits my chest, falling to the ground.
My mom looks over at me, apologizing. ”Sorry, baby. Oh! You brought River too.”
I am too busy gaping at the cabin. It has been hollowed out like someone taking a spoon to an avocado and just leaving the peel. My aunt Delta and my mom are stuffing the last of the bedding into trash bags.
”Is there seriously an owl infestation in here again?” I eye the ceiling skeptically.
”No, baby,” Aunt Delta sings out. “We are getting rid of the old furniture and we”re going to clean this whole place from top to bottom. My hard-working niece and her husband-to-be deserve to live in more than three hundred square feet.”
My jaw drops. ”Wait, this is for us?”
”Yes indeed!” my aunt Glory says, marching in through the open sliding glass door in the rear. She is pulling on a pair of bright yellow rubber gloves. ”We”re going to regrout the bathroom tile and replace the kitchen counter, too.”
I glance at River, trying to gauge his reaction. He plays it close to the vest, nodding quietly.
”Are you okay with this?” I ask him.
River gives me a rueful smile.
”I”m actually trying to figure out whether I can get a custom bed to put in here on short notice. I”ll bet I can.” He holds his phone up. ”Ladies, say the word, and I”ll have an entire construction and cleaning crew out here. It would be my pleasure to help with that.”
Delta drops the pillow she”s holding on the floor. ”We”re absolutely going to take you up on that. In fact, if I had realized that was an option, I wouldn”t have even walked in this cabin.”
I beam at River. ”Are you sure?”
He yanks my arm and kisses me on the lips. ”Absolutely.”
Aunt Glory strips off her gloves and places them neatly on the kitchen counter. ”We have other cabins that need turning over, I think.”
River waves her down. ”Let my crew do those too. You three look like you could use a day of pampering.” He raises his eyebrows at me. ”What do you think? There”s a spa up by Jekyll Island. I”m sure that they have room to roll out the red carpets for your family.”
”Uh, that sounds awesome!” I gasp.
”Now wait a second, here,” Delta snaps. ”I am coming around to liking you even though you”re not what I envisioned for Pearl. But don”t think for a second that we are gonna owe you anything just for a day of spa treatments. We are all firmly on Team Pearl, you hear?”
River nods his head solemnly. ”I would never think otherwise, ma”am.”
Delta looks at Glory. ”You hear this kid? Ma”am. I never.”
My mom smiles. ”That”s her way of saying thank you, River. I”d love to go to the spa.”
Delta grunts. Glory walks over to Delta and offers her an arm to lean on. Delta hobbles out on her arm.
Mom touches River”s cheek briefly. ”You treat my daughter good. That”s all we need from you.”
”Oh mom…” I start. But she just smiles at me and then heads out of the cabin.
I bite my lip, looking around. ”It”s a nice thought. Not much of an upgrade, though...”
He slides his arm around my neck and kisses my shoulder. “Just wait till you see what my crew does with the place. I promise, you”ll be impressed.”
I pick up his hand and kiss his knuckles. ”I”m already impressed, River. You don”t have to do anything special other than just being your own wonderful self.”