Chapter 27
Marina swore inside the helmet and pressed her crotch closer to River’s ass on the bike.
She should have taken a Lyft after all. While it felt fucking amazing to be up against River this way, it wasn’t nearly enough to keep the bite of the cold from scratching at her neck and hands, and the coat was great for a walk in the park, but not for riding a bike at night at sixty miles an hour.
When they pulled up in front of River’s house, she was stiff, and River had to tilt the bike just a little more for Marina to be able to dismount without falling on her face.
She took her helmet off and smoothed her hair as she studied River’s home.
It was incredibly cute. Set far back from the street, it had a front garden with a few pots with dead winter flowers, and unusually, trees lined the sides of her yard, creating a natural fence line.
The porch had a couple of rocking chairs on it, and the sight of them made Marina smile.
River, the motorcycle-riding, tattooed butch rocked away her time on the front porch.
Marina frowned when the curtain moved, then told herself off. There was no such thing as ghosts.
River took the helmet from her. “You okay?”
Marina nodded and took River’s hand. Larger, a little calloused, it felt perfect in hers. “Lead the way.”
River glanced toward the trees on their left, and Marina refused to follow her gaze. Just in case.
River opened the door and flipped on the lights.
Just as Marina had thought, the place was cozy.
Big, heavy furniture was topped with light fabrics that offset the dark wood, and the table was clear of pretty much anything but a couple of coasters.
Beautiful artwork hung on latte-colored walls, much of it featuring women in various sensual poses.
Something bumped against her knee, and she looked down at the biggest cat she’d ever seen in her life. “Well, hello. You’re a big beastie.”
“That’s Shamus. He’s a beautiful pest.” River reached down and scratched behind his ears. He gave a kind of chirping trill in response. “I got a cat thinking it would be independent, but Maine Coons are more like dogs. Shamus even likes to play fetch sometimes.”
Marina knelt in front of him and he put his paws on her thighs, then pressed his face close to hers. She’d never really liked cats, who were far too superior, and she’d never had a pet, but in that moment, she fell utterly in love with the giant black cat with blue eyes.
“Can I get you anything?” River asked, taking off her jacket and hanging it on a hook by the door.
“Your place isn’t nearly as bachelor as I thought it would be.” Marina stood, and Shamus gave a little chirp of indignation before heading to River instead.
“Did you expect beer cans in a pile and a gaming system set up in front of a greasy engine block?” River grinned. “That’s in the other room.”
“Good to know I wasn’t totally wrong.” Now that they were there in River’s personal space, Marina wasn’t sure what she wanted to happen. All she’d known was that she didn’t want to be alone, and River was the person she wanted to be with. “I like your artwork.”
River’s gaze slowly left Marina to look around. “I think a woman’s body is the most beautiful art in the world.”
Her eyes moved back to Marina, and there was a smokiness to them that made Marina’s knees go weak. She moved toward her, into her personal space, and then so close her breath moved the hair along Marina’s cheek.
“Why did you want to come over tonight?”
Marina stopped thinking. She stopped worrying. She put her hands on River’s shoulders and tilted her head back. “I think you know.”
River’s hand moved beneath Marina’s hair and gripped her neck firmly.
Her mouth met Marina’s, and the kiss was hot and hard, just like River’s body pressed against hers.
Marina let herself melt against her, let the feeling of River’s big hand on her hip warm her in a way she hadn’t felt in too long.
She’d had sex, sure, but it hadn’t felt, even at first, like this.
River broke the kiss and rested her forehead against Marina’s. “This could complicate things. It will complicate things.”
“I’ve been having sex with you in my head since the first time I met you. I don’t think the real thing will make any difference to the fact that I’m desperate for you to fuck me senseless and make me scream your name.”
Marina’s breath left her when River bit down on her neck, her lips pressed hard against the pulse.
Her hands fumbled as she tried to get beyond Marina’s coat, and she finally tore herself away from Marina’s neck.
She took her hand and led her up the light beechwood steps to a loft-type bedroom at the top.
Marina’s knees went weak, and her panties grew wetter than they already were.
A giant four-poster bed was situated against the wall. Each post held at least one metal ring. There was one in the center of the headboard too. Marina shot her a grin, her eyebrow raised.
“I’m sure I mentioned I didn’t mind a bit of kink,” River said, sliding Marina’s coat from her shoulders and draping it over a big, navy blue cushioned chair.
“I thought you were joking. Kind of.” Marina shivered as River pulled her sweater over her head, leaving her standing there in her black lace bra. Her nipples were so hard, they ached, making the material feel like sandpaper.
River was on her in an instant, her lips trailing scorching heat along Marina’s jaw, down her neck, and then she pulled Marina’s head back by her hair and nipped along her collarbone.
Marina’s hips seemed to press forward of their own accord, and her hands fisted in River’s shirt, pulling at it as she moaned under the onslaught of her attention.
River undid her slacks and shoved them down, then lightly pushed Marina back onto the bed.
She rested on her elbows, watching as River unzipped her boots and tossed them aside, and then slid the slacks off slowly to reveal her black silk panties.
River’s eyes darkened, and she pressed her palm against Marina’s heat, drawing another moan out of her.
Then the panties were gone, as was the bra, and River’s weight pressed her to the bed.
River’s lust-filled gaze bore into Marina’s as she slowly pulled Marina’s wrists over her head and encircled both of them with one hand. With her free hand, she stroked Marina’s breasts, squeezing them, pinching her nipples, then sucking them in one at a time as her hand explored Marina’s wetness.
Marina squirmed under River’s touch, her entire body on fire. “Goddamn it, River. Fuck me.”
River leaned down and bit Marina’s bottom lip. “Impatient much?”
In response, Marina thrust her hips upward against River’s hand, making River chuckle.
Then River’s fingers were inside her, deep and hard, and Marina cried out, her head thrown back.
River didn’t relinquish her grip on Marina’s wrists, and the feeling was so beautifully delicious Marina forgot everything but the sensations sweeping through her body as River did exactly what Marina had begged her to do.
“Tell me,” River whispered in her ear. “Tell me what you want.”
“Harder,” Marina gasped, her eyes shut, her hips moving in time with River’s thrusts. “Fuck me the way you really want to.”
River’s chuckle was deeper, harsher. “You’re not nearly ready for that. But I can do this…”
She added another finger and picked up the pace, fucking Marina deeper and harder, her palm too perfectly placed against Marina’s clit. She came hard, her back arching, stars exploding behind her eyelids.
“Yessss,” River hissed softly. And she kept going, her strong thigh pressed against Marina’s, holding her down as she twisted her hand and made Marina come again, and then again.
When Marina sagged, she slowed, then gently pulled out.
The hand holding her wrists let go and caressed the length of Marina’s arm, down her side, to her stomach. “You’re so fucking hot.”
Marina smiled, but she didn’t want to open her eyes yet. Languid and sated, she didn’t want the moment to end. The silence stretched on, and River continued to lazily stroke her skin. Eventually, she opened her eyes and rolled her head to the side to look at her.
“I had a feeling you’d have that kind of stamina.”
River laughed, her eyebrows raised. “If that’s the limit of what you expect, you’ve been having sex with the wrong people.” She cupped Marina’s pussy in her hand and squeezed lightly. “I was just giving you time to breathe.”
Marina bit her lip, very much liking the sound of that. The fact that River was still fully dressed made her feel even more vulnerable, the kind of bottom she hadn’t allowed herself to be in a very long time. “Oh, yeah? What do you have in mind?”
River’s gaze went from relaxed to hungry in an instant.
She went to the trunk at the bottom of the bed.
She pulled out a leather strap and a black dildo.
She raised them, the question in her eyes, and Marina just nodded and scooted up a little further on the bed so she could rest her head on a pillow.
River left the room, disappearing into what Marina assumed was the bathroom.
Her body was already aching for River’s touch again, and she eyed the rings in the bedposts.
Not tonight, but maybe some other time… The thought brought with it a little train of mini-thoughts chugging after it, and she derailed it fast. This wasn’t the moment to think about tomorrow.
Right now, it was all about the present.