Chapter 29 #2
River shook his head. “My turn. What were you doing at the gala?”
I scoffed. “Me? I’m in a fucking Royal Chain now. Did you miss that?”
River’s gaze went cold, and he stepped away from me.
“Of course, how could I forget? Princess Skye, going everywhere with a bodyguard like she isn’t the big bad Phantom.”
I almost laughed. “You’re not serious.”
“Of course not. Why would I care if some hot guy is following you everywhere?”
“Because you want to be the hot guy following me everywhere?”
River scowled at me, clenching his fists like he wanted to strangle me before he dropped his hands.
“I don’t have time for this,” he muttered.
“I don’t think so,” I snapped, storming after him as he again began to walk back into the trees. “You owe me some fucking explanations, otherwise what’s stopping me from killing you? Maybe you’re dangerous.”
River whirled around, startling me. I stumbled so that my back bumped up against a tree, and River loomed over me threateningly.
“You’re one to fucking talk about being dangerous,” he said lowly. “Nothing is stopping you from killing me.”
I swallowed.
“Unless…” River said, lowering his voice even further. “There’s a reason you don’t want to kill me.”
I glared at him, and my eyes dropped to his lips.
Just once.
Just for a fraction of a second.
But River saw it.
He tilted his head to the side, then laughed like an asshole. He stepped back and away from me, leaving my front cold.
“You’re joking,” he said. “Right?”
“I didn’t say anything,” I said defensively, though my voice was too quiet.
“You didn’t have to,” River snorted. “I swear, you’re all the same. Carla, now you–”
“Don’t fucking compare me to her,” I hissed. “Also, isn’t she your friend?”
River’s jaw dropped. “No.”
“You sure? You seem pretty friendly. Remember when she got pissed you were paired up with me in class? And then–”
“Shut up,” River growled. “There’s nothing between me and Carla.”
“Are you trying to convince me or yourself?” I shot back.
River’s eyes widened, and he looked up into the sky, blinking at the full moon before he let out a laugh of disbelief.
“You’re fucking infuriating,” he seethed. “I think…fuck.”
He pulled away quickly, running a hand down his face as his chest heaved.
“So stay the fuck away from me?” I spoke sarcastically.
Even seeing his volatility, I couldn’t help myself.
I knew I was being childish, especially since I’d told him we could be friends.
What was it about me that enjoyed irritating men?
Well, it wasn’t really men, per se. Just this man. And Wyatt, sometimes.
I gulped, straightening my stance as I took in River’s demeanor. He was angry, yes, but he was also…frustrated. He was struggling, caught between wanting to leave while something was keeping him here.
Something? God, had I always been such an idiot?
River wanted me.
River snorted before running a hand over the back of his neck. “I don’t think I can.”
My throat went dry.
“What does that mean?” I asked, thankful my voice didn’t shake.
A new energy was buzzing under my skin, similar to adrenaline but ten times more potent. River’s blue eyes met mine as he looked up at me from under his lashes. My heart-rate spiked, and I swallowed hard. His gaze seemed to zero in on that one damning motion, and he stilled.
We stared at each other for several seconds, the air between us shifting. I tried not to fidget, but now that I’d realized this man wanted me…
River drew closer, one step at a time. I took a step back, and he took a step forward. Again and again, he slowly backed me against the tree before his hands reached for me. We both froze, and his eyes met mine again, this time with curiosity. Asking for permission.
I gulped, my eyes fluttering closed as I nodded, giving silent approval.
River’s large hands met my waist, making me jump, but I kept my eyes closed.
His fingers slid along my waistline before his hands spread on my hips.
He squeezed gently, then harder. A spike of pleasure shot up my spine, and I barely held in a moan.
“I hate these fucking shirts,” he whispered. “I hate that other people get to see you in them.”
I let out a breath of shock as his hands traced along my stomach, sending goosebumps along my arms. I was just now realizing it was quite chilly out. My nipples had been poking through my shirt for the entirety of this conversation. Why hadn’t I grabbed a sweatshirt?
“I think,” his deep voice broke through the fog in my mind.
I blinked my eyes open only to squint into the halo of light around River’s face.
He worked his jaw for a minute, and his hands slid from my hips up to my waist. His eyes dropped to watch his hands circle my middle, and his jaw dropped slightly.
“I don’t want to be your fucking friend, Skye. ”
My eyes widened, my chest heaving as I opened my mouth to snap back at him and then–
“Fuck,” he breathed, sounding really pained. “I think…I need you.”
I barely had time to react to that crazy fucking statement before he was on me.
I gasped as he pushed me the rest of the way against the tree. His mouth was on mine not a moment later, his soft lips pressing against mine desperately with a heavy, masculine groan.
My hands flew to his shoulders, quickly drifting up to his neck so I could grip him properly and force us impossibly closer.
My nails pressed into the back of his neck at the same time he thrust his tongue into my mouth.
My skin erupted into goosebumps, and I let out an embarrassingly girly moan at the sensation of his tongue prodding against mine.
He answered me with another groan, then sucked my lower lip between his teeth, biting me ever so gently.
“Fuck,” I whispered between kisses. I ran my nails across the back of his neck a little harder than intended, and River growled, the sound vibrating through his chest into mine.
He pulled back with a grimace from the pain. My mouth dropped open to apologize, though that would have been awkward as hell, but suddenly River was pushing two fingers into my mouth and my entire body throbbed in response.
My lips closed around him and he groaned again, his lips parted while he panted, his eyes locked onto my mouth. He pressed his fingers down on my tongue after I sucked them, and my mouth popped open, freeing his hand.
“Fuck, that’s hot,” he mumbled before his wet fingers slid down my front, between my breasts, across my stomach, then dipped under my waistband. I gasped as he pressed against my sore clit like he had a magnet right to the source. “Fuck, you’re too much. What are you doing to me?”
“I…what?” I blinked at him, feeling dazed. Is this how it felt to be drunk? Out of control, impulsive, but filled with fire. Every nerve in my body was lit up bright as River easily thrust his two fingers inside me.
I cried out, arching my back and bumping my head against the tree trunk behind me. I was too sensitive, too raw from the last several days, but I made no move to stop him.