Chapter 60 #2
“Speaking of cute moments,” River’s hands circled my waist and her brows flew up as she filled me in on the latest gossip. “Did you hear? Arlon got a second date.”
“You’re joking.” I titled my head. “So the first one actually went well? I didn’t know he had it in him.”
River laughed aloud and nudged me with her chin.
“Give the guy some credit, damn. The woman Caden set him up with is apparently a private detective too. The two of them hit it off spectacularly. According to Caden they’ve been getting along like a house on fire and Arlon’s been walking around with heart eyes for the past few days. The guy’s practically floating.”
“Well,” I giggled into her shoulder, lips tracing the line of her collar, “good for him.”
“Yeah.” River bared her neck to let me pepper kisses up her throat. “If it all goes smoothly he might just bring her along to Hunter and Addison’s wedding.”
“I forgot about the wedding!” I jolted upright, and River let out a breathy oof when I abruptly piled all my weight on her stomach. “Sorry—but, wait, I thought the wedding was postponed? Hunter told me they wanted to wait until the dust completely settled after everything with the organization.”
“I’d say things are pretty smoothed over by now.” River shrugged, and cracked a smile. “And knowing Hunter, she probably just got impatient. They’ve set a date for next month.”
“Oh my god!” I gripped her shirt in my fists. “We have to get them a wedding gift.”
River nodded sagely on her back. “Yep. I’m thinking a scalpel for Addison and maybe a muzzle for Hunter—she talks too much these days.”
I scowled but there wasn’t much venom behind it, not when the sight of her smiling had butterflies fluttering in my chest. “Be serious. We have to get them something nice.”
“It is nice!” River retorted with a smirk. “I’m sure Addison will appreciate a break from her fiancée’s incessant yapping.”
I rolled my eyes and tilted to the side, toppling off her and lying flat on my back. “You’re ridiculous.”
River followed the motion and rolled onto her side, propping an elbow under her head. She hummed thoughtfully, walking her fingers across the space between us. “So… Would you ever want something like that? You know…” Her gaze sidled up to mine and flicked away again. “Mariage?”
My eyebrows shot up, surprise evident in my startled squeak. “Is this how you’re choosing to propose?”
River looked equally startled and quickly shook her head. “I’m not proposing! I'm just curious!”
“Oh.” I clamped down on the sudden jolt of disappointment and picked at a stray thread in the rug. “Well, I—”
“But now that you mention it…” A mischievous spark lit up in River’s eye and she hurriedly got to her feet. “Wait here.” Before I could form a coherent response, she darted out into the hallway, and I could hear her rummaging noisily through her many, many belongings.
Bewildered, I hauled myself upright, crossing my legs beneath me and waiting with growing curiosity. River emerged a moment later, holding a beautifully ornate jewelry box, mumbling under her breath as she sifted through its contents.
“Ah-ha!” she exclaimed, triumphant. My eyes widened as she pulled out an intricate ring, obviously antique, and incredibly beautiful. “This was my grandmother’s. It’s something of a family heirloom.”
“What is—” I began but immediately cut myself off. Because River was kneeling in front of me.
My breath froze in my lungs. River’s eyes shone brilliantly, brimming with a warmth that made my heart leap wildly in my chest. She was right there, inches from my face, looking at me with such intensity it felt like she was looking directly into my soul.
I knew, logically, I should probably be standing for this, but I wasn’t sure my legs would actually support me if I tried. Instead, I sat there, paralyzed, staring back at her like a deer caught in headlights, barely breathing.
River swallowed visibly, the confident grin fading into a tender, hopeful smile. She reached out, fingers brushing my cheek softly, then lifted the ring between us.
“Laurie Montgomery.” She spoke softly, voice trembling ever so slightly with emotion. “What do you say…? Will you marry me?”
I opened my mouth. Closed it again. My heart pounded relentlessly, fireworks exploding inside my skull. The room spun briefly, and I blinked away the sudden tears that pricked at my vision. River waited patiently, eyes searching mine.
“Yes,” I finally croaked out in a raspy whisper, my voice emerging crackly and raw.
River tilted her head, concern creeping into her expression. “Are you sure? Because you kind of look like you’re about to have a stroke.”
Laughter bubbled up in my chest, breaking free with sudden abandon, and in the next instant I launched myself forward, tackling River and sending both of us sprawling onto the floor in a tangle of limbs.
“Yes!” I practically shouted it, peppering her face with rapid kisses between each ecstatic repetition. “Yes, yes, of course I’ll marry you!”
River laughed breathlessly beneath me, her arms tightening around my waist as she held me close, our hearts beating wildly together.
It took considerable effort to eventually untangle ourselves, and my hands shook sporadically when she slipped the delicate ring onto my finger.
Her eyes were just as glossy as mine, and she barely got the ring secured before I was kissing her again, heart full to bursting with a kind of euphoria I hadn’t even known was possible.
It was a happiness that never waned, never ran dry.
It was a bottomless well, it went on forever.
I couldn’t believe a human body could contain so much love, adoration, and deep-seated devotion.
Like a cup overflowing, it poured out of me, and I kissed her until I was breathless, until my lips burned hot and my pulse picked up to breakneck speed.
We shed our layers, right there on the rug, naked in broad daylight and wrapped up in each other as sunlight kissed our skin.
I was still no expert at this intricate dance, not by a long shot, but I made up for it with passion, a burning want for the woman beneath me that turned me feral from time to time. Now was one of those times.
Molten heat pooled in my gut and I poured my tongue into her mouth, knotting fingers in her hair while River’s hands came up to knead my ass. We moved together, bare skin bristling between us as her lips pressed hungry and forceful against mine.
It wasn’t long before River took the reins, rolling us over until I was splayed out beneath her, quivering legs parting to let her in.
She bent to peck kisses down my chest, pausing to nip at one sensitive nipple and then the other, apologizing for the rough treatment with a gentle sweep of her tongue.
She moved lower, and I propped myself up on my elbows to watch her, breathing coming sharp and sporadic as she trailed her tongue lower, traveling down the length of my stomach.
She paused at the scar on my lower abdomen—a past injury I had no memory of, but the silvery line of it stoked an unexplainable swell of affection in my heart.
She pressed small, tender kisses there, moving from one sloped hip to the other, before hooking my legs over her shoulders. I locked my feet beneath me and rocked my hips up to meet her, chasing her mouth when she paused to hover above me.
She jerked her head away and flashed me a smile, fangs glinting in the stream of sunlight that poured in behind me. “Eager, are we?”
I flushed bright red and dropped my head back with an exasperated groan. “Don’t make me beg.”
“But you’re so cute when you do it,” River crooned, and hot breath washed over that sensitive spot between my legs, sending shivers quivering up my spine.
I flopped down on my back, squirming beneath her while River took her time, sucking a bruise into the soft flesh of my inner thigh.
She bit down, ever so gently, and the faint prick of fangs coaxed a gasp from my lips.
My fingers scraped at the carpet, looking for something to grab onto as she drew the smallest trickle of blood from the wound, and my head clouded over with wild arousal.
“River,” I rasped, edging my hips up, legs squeezing tighter around her head. Tendrils of her dark hair trailed along my stomach, lifting goosebumps along bare skin. “Please.”
I felt her smile against my thigh, and her tongue flicked out, licking gently over the mark she’d left behind before she lowered her head.
The moment her mouth settled over my clit we both groaned in unison, and I looked up to see her eyes half-lidded, steeped in bliss as she licked a hot trail of fire through slicked folds.
When her tongue worked wonders on the sensitive bundle of nerves at my center, my own eyes rolled back in my skull. My spine curved up from the carpet, body wracked with burning heat that had my toes curling and my bottom lip cinched between my teeth.
No matter how many times we did this, no matter where or how she touched me, the sensation was always the same—an overwhelming exhilaration that shot through my veins, stoked fire in my stomach and turned my vision to static.
Stars burst behind my eyes as she coaxed me to a thrilling finish, and all I could do was lie there, twitching under her tongue, utterly intoxicated.
I came with a cry that rang around the room, and before I could recover, we kept going.
Her fingers entered me slowly, curling against that sensitive pad of skin deep inside me, forcing salacious moans from my lips.
She pushed me past the point of overstimulation, until sweat broke out on my brow and my body bucked against her hand, riding her fingers, toeing the line between delicious pain and decadent pleasure.
When tears pricked my eyes and my breath came stuttered and short, River returned to my mouth and kissed me.
I kissed her back with the same desperate desire, until I was lost to the moment, nothing else existed beyond the two of us.
We moved together, until time lost all meaning, until both of us were shaking and breathless.
We were unburdened, unashamed, and utterly invested in molding our bodies into one.
Hours later, when the rays of sunlight had shifted their angle and both of us lay drifting in hazy bliss, I lifted my hand.
The ring on my finger caught those golden rays, sparkling jewels refracting the faint light.
Not too long ago, I’d been hellbent on revenge.
I couldn’t see past my own convictions: believing that I was unlovable, unworthy, and doomed to meet an abrupt, brutal end.
Even after I’d killed Marcus and gone tumbling off that rooftop—after River caught me and brought me home, I’d been directionless.
I had no purpose, no drive, and no will to live.
The difference between that Laurie and who I was now, was a stark one.
These days I could barely believe the state I had been in back then, before and even after River walked into my life.
The way I struggled on, dragging myself through each day with heavy limbs and a heavier heart seemed so distant now. So much had changed. I had changed.
Maybe it was River’s doing, maybe it was because the organization and all of their leaders were gone for good.
Maybe it was a combination of both, and maybe it was more than that.
I wasn’t sure, but one thing was for certain; I was grateful for the change.
New life had been breathed into my lungs.
I wasn’t sure how it had happened, but I wasn’t going to look back now.
We’d survived, both of us, and after everything that happened, we deserved to move forward. I was tired of looking to the past, as I know my old self did so often. Now I was looking to the future—with River at my side.
Her hand came up to grip mine. Our fingers laced together, and hers tightened fiercely despite the fatigue that shook her limbs. We lowered our hands together, and I thought I’d never let go. I could go the rest of my life conjoined with her and I’d be perfectly content.
I titled my head to look at her and found River looking back, bright eyes brimming with tenderness.
She kissed me slowly, and my fate was sealed.
I was completely at peace, utterly devoted.
Nothing could ever separate us now. Nothing loomed over us, no shadows threatened to encroach on our happiness.
I didn’t need her visions to see the bright future unfolding before us, a world of possibilities waiting on the horizon. I was ready to see it all, to walk this path together.