Chapter 46
Callie
River laces our fingers together as we step into the private elevator, and I lean into his side, pressing my cheek against his shoulder. My heart is still pounding from everything we said earlier and the truths we finally spoke aloud, but it’s no longer from fear or uncertainty.
It’s anticipation.
Every step, every floor we ascend, feels like moving closer to something new. Something that’s been building between us for years.
When the doors slide open on the rooftop level, my breath catches at the sight that greets me from the other side.
Fairy lights twinkle around the space, strung between the trees that circle a rectangular pool.
The glow they cast is soft and golden, painting everything in an amber light that feels unreal.
Lush greenery surrounds the space. Tall planters and potted palms give the illusion of a secret garden perched high above the city skyline.
A few stone sculptures peek out from the foliage.
It’s as if the entire rooftop was designed to be more of a dream.
As soon as I take a step, River bends and lifts me into his arms without effort. His hold is strong and steady, as if I’m something precious he’ll never let go of.
“Oh my God,” I gasp, taking it all in.
“This is all for you,” he murmurs, his lips brushing the crown of my head. “For us. No noise, no pressure. Just you and me.”
Something inside me falters and races all at once as he carries me toward the water. Loungers are strategically placed around it with space heaters to ward off the chill of the night. He brushes a kiss against my lips before gently setting me down.
His hands find the hem of my sweater, his fingers hovering there for just a beat. Even though he doesn’t ask, I give him a nod.
That’s all the permission he needs before slowly lifting the fabric. His fingertips skim over my skin as the sweater slips from my body. His touch leaves a trail of heat behind, and it awakens something deep inside me.
Leaning in, he kisses my shoulder, my collarbone, and the gentle curve of my breast through my bra. Every inch he bares, he worships with his lips.
“You are so damn beautiful,” he mutters against my skin, like it’s a truth he needs me to believe.
I tremble under the weight of his words, his hands, the way his eyes stay focused on me. He makes me feel as if I’m the center of his entire world. As if it’s always been that way and only now am I catching up.
He kneels in front of me, sliding my leggings down inch by slow inch before pressing his lips to my hipbone. And then lower, to the inside of my thigh. I shiver as his warm breath grazes my sensitive skin.
“I’m nervous,” I confess. “What if someone else wants to use the pool?”
River looks up at me with a smile. “No one’s going to come up here, baby.” He runs his palms down the backs of my calves and up again with reassuring strokes. “This oasis? It belongs to me. Private access only. No one can come up here without me knowing. It’s just for us.”
His hands settle on my hips, his thumbs stroking gently. “There are heat lamps around the edges, and the pool is a balmy eighty-five degrees year-round. I had all the lights put in last summer. I’ve never brought anyone else up here.” His gaze holds mine. “I made it with you in mind.
Tension seeps from my muscles as gratitude fills me.
With his eyes locked on mine, he hooks his fingers in the band of my panties. “Okay?”
I nod, suspended in a space between disbelief and desire. “Okay.”
He kisses me again.
This time lower.
A whimper slips out as he lifts me effortlessly into his arms and carries me to one of the plush loungers near the pool. As soon as he lays me down, the warm air wraps around me, but it’s his mouth that sends a shiver dancing across my skin.
He kisses along the center of my body, pausing at the curve of my belly. His lips linger there, and when he speaks, it’s a low vow that brands me from the inside out.
“Someday soon,” he murmurs, “you’ll grow round with my baby. I want to watch your body change in the most miraculous way and know it was us. I want to give Nora a sibling, and to build a life together. I’ve never wanted that with anyone else, Callie. Only you.”
It’s everything I’ve always wanted to hear. Before I can tell him that I want it too, he moves lower, settling between my thighs.
“River…” My hands slide into his hair, anchoring him to me, as his mouth finds my center.
He touches me as if he’s never wanted anything more, and tastes me like a man starving. He loves me with his tongue. Each flick and stroke is a silent declaration. His hands hold me as if this moment matters more than anything else in the world.
And what I realize is that it does.
He’s memorizing me, and I’m giving him every piece of myself without fear or uncertainty.
My hips rise of their own accord, chasing that pressure, that rhythm, as he groans against me.
Every sound he makes is fueled by hungry devotion.
It doesn’t take long until I’m falling apart in a flood of sensation.
The cry that escapes me echoes into the night sky.
It rings off the steel and stars before getting carried away by the autumn breeze.
Barely am I able to catch my breath as River rises and strips off his clothing piece by piece until he’s standing in front of me gloriously naked. The fairy lights glow against the hard lines of his chest, the ink on his skin, and the need burning in his eyes.
He’s absolutely gorgeous.
Strong.
And most importantly, he’s mine.
This man is mine.
I sit up slowly and drink in his masculine beauty before sliding to my knees. Not once do I break eye contact as I wrap my hand around him and guide his thick erection to my mouth.
The sound that rips from him is filled with pent-up desire and longing.
“Jesus, Callie,” he groans, fingers threading through my hair. The way he holds me doesn’t feel forceful, it’s almost as if he needs to ground himself in this moment.
I take my time, worshiping him with the same level of attention he did to me. Every flick of my tongue, every pass of my lips tells him what I haven’t stopped feeling since the moment his mouth touched mine.
All the emotions I was too afraid to admit even to myself.
I love you.
I love you.
I love you.
His muscles tense beneath my hands, his breath turning ragged as I push him closer to the edge. His other hand trembles against my jaw, and when he finally comes, it’s with my name a hoarse cry on his lips.
River stares at me like I’m everything.
And when I rise, his mouth settles on mine in a deep kiss that consumes me.
One that feels like a thank-you and a promise all rolled into one before he scoops me into his arms and carries me to the pool.
The second my skin hits the water, a shiver racks my body.
It’s not from the temperature but from the weight of his gaze.
The heat in his eyes makes me feel exposed even though I’m submerged.
He settles me on his lap in the center of the pool, his hands bracketing my hips as he slowly sinks inside me.
Needing to be even closer, I wrap my arms around his shoulders and hold on tight.
I just want to singe everything about this moment into my memory.
The weight of his body, the depth of his love, the way we move together like we were always meant to be this.
Months ago, I couldn’t have imagined a future with River.
Now I can’t imagine one without him.
His mouth finds my neck, my jaw, the place just beneath my ear that makes me tremble. “I love you,” he confesses. “I’ve loved you for so long.”
“I love you too.”
His arms tighten around me as we keep moving. Surrounded by the water, fairy lights, and stars, this sliver of time feels almost magical.
We make love like two people who’ve finally found what they never thought they’d have.
Every touch is sure, every kiss is steady, because he’s always known I was his, and I’m finally ready to admit he’s mine.
And when he pulls me close afterward, it doesn’t feel like an ending.
It feels like the beginning of everything.