Epilogue
“Where are we?” I ask.
River gives me a grin that would stop traffic. It almost knocks the breath out of my chest.
I glance at River out of the corner of my eye. He’s full of surprises. His hand is warm in mine, his grip reassuring, as if he can sense the swarm of butterflies doing somersaults in my stomach.
“And here we are.” he says, half-turning to flash me that heart-stopping smile. The one that promises mischief and something slightly more meaningful, all at once. “Surprise! I know it’s been a while since we have done anything but play with the new baby. Tonight, real life is on pause. Mom has our daughter. All we have to do is relax.”
“Just for the night?” I ask. “I don’t want to leave the baby for long.”
He kisses my knuckles. “We’ll be back at our house in the morning.”
My lips twitch, but my eyes also fill with tears. I dash away my tears. “You spoil me, River.”
He squeezes my arm. “You deserve every penny I spend on you, darlin’.”
I give a little shiver. It’s automatic; River has trained me to practically pant when he uses my pet name. I lick my lips.
“Let’s enjoy the view first. We can explore later,” he suggests.
I raise my brows and shrug. “Fine by me.”
He lets go of my hand for a moment, leaving me adrift. Soon, he returns with a pair of blankets tucked under his arm. ”Thought it might get chilly,” he says.
River walks me through the house. Everything is gleaming, marble and chrome and warm wood. I stifle a laugh.
“You unpacked!” I say.
He nods. “I wanted everything to be perfect for my darlin’ wife.”
My heart squeezes at the pet name.
“You did great,” I assure him. “Just having furniture is a big step up.”
“That’s a solid burn.” His lips twitch with amusement. “Come outside. There’s more I want to show you.”
He stops at a pair of French doors and throws them open. I stop and stare at the beach just a few hundred yards beyond where we stand.
Talk about a million-dollar view! I step out onto the back porch. I’m too consumed by the sunset on the water to really think of much else.
River spreads the blankets across the wooden planks of the deck beneath our feet. One blanket lies smooth and inviting, while the other gets bunched up at the corners, forming a makeshift pillow.
”You are always prepared,” I note, impressed despite myself.
”Comes with the territory,” he replies. He smirks and a hint of that CEO authority seeps into his tone. I love that about him. There”s a playfulness there too. He issues a challenge as he pats the blanket next to him. ”Join me?”
I would go anywhere this man leads me.
I settle onto the soft fabric, my eyes on him. The warmth of the day still lingers as the setting sun paints the sky in streaks of orange and purple. River sits beside me, close enough that I can feel the heat from his body. My chest constricts when I see the way his eyes darken when they meet mine. It”s attraction, sure. But it”s also something rawer.
Something like the vows he said to me at our little beach wedding. My mouth kicks up at the corner.
”Nice view,” I say. I”m not looking at the ocean, though. My gaze is only focused on him.
”Best in the house,” he agrees.
I know he”s not talking about the water either.
River”s gaze locks onto mine, a cool sapphire tone that threatens to drown me here and now. My heart is a hummingbird trapped within the cage of my ribs. Its frantic beat feels like a drumroll. Building to the moment unfolding between us.
”Beautiful,” he murmurs. He hooks a wisp of my hair with two fingers and tucks it behind my ear.
River is a magician and I’m desperate to watch his next trick.
He leans in closer, the air charged with electricity. With every tiny shift, every breath he takes, the anticipation builds.
”River...” His name is a prayer on my lips. It’s a plea for something I can”t quite define.
”Shh,” he soothes. He cups my cheek, rubbing his thumb lightly over my lips. My mouth opens and I have the damnedest time keeping my eyes open.
Between my legs, a thrill of excitement makes me press my thighs together.
A kiss, hot and searing, lands on my lips. I kiss River back as the world tilts on its axis. Our mouths move together. Every brush of his lips feels like magic against my ever so sensitive, bee-stung lips.
My hands roam across the broad expanse of his back. They trace the muscles that ripple beneath his shirt. I feel can River; his solid presence presses against the softness of my own form. He groans, opening his mouth more. He only kisses me with a greater fervor. He is touch ignites lines of flame as her strokes his hands along my waist. I suspect the fires will never fully be extinguished.
Not while we are both alive and sucking each other in with every breath.
”God, Pearl,” he groans against my mouth. “My little wife.”
I revel in the sound of the word, roughened by desire from his throat. My little wife. His words give me chills and tear a demand from my lips.
We tear each other’s clothing off, clawing, unable to stop kissing for long enough to properly undress. His touch slows at my bra and panties. He takes them off with careful, respectful grace.
I don’t want that, though. I’m not just the mother of River’s child. I’m his wife. I want to embody that, to take that meaty bone and suck it down to the marrow.
“You won’t break me, baby,” I tell him. I take one of his hands and grab my right breast hard. “I promise that I’ll say something if I can’t handle anything you give me.”
River’s sapphire gaze studies me. “Are you sure?”
”Trust me. Trust yourself,” I whisper back.
He nods silently. “I’ll try.”
That makes me kiss him again. The salt air is thick with tension and the moon bears silent witness to our naked lust. It’s been too long since we have touched with the actual intention of making each other burn. The most we have done in this vein is to masturbate next to each other before collapsing in a pile of exhausted limbs.
But not today. This moment is all about reconnecting and rekindling the fire that always lays smoldering between us, ready to burst into full-fledged flames at any second.
He pushes me down on my knees with no gentleness. I suck in a breath.
“River, I’m always so hungry for you. Do you think it will always be this way?”
His face creases in a faint smile. “I think it will be, darlin.”
My knees sink into the blankets River has spread out, their texture rough against my skin, grounding me in this moment of surrender. He stands before me. He looks like an Adonis backlit by the dim lights spilling out from the beach house. His chest heaves with anticipation and his burning eyes lock onto mine.
”Show me what you can do, Pearl,” River”s voice is a low growl. It is laced with the husky timbre of lust that sends ripples of pleasure down my spine.
His words aren’t just a request. They”re a gauntlet that he lies down before me.
Eager to rise to the challenge, I reach for him. My fingers curl around his heat. The power I wield in this act sends a thrill spiraling through me. I look up at him, seeking permission in his gaze. In it, find nothing but dark, unbridled yearning staring back at me.
God damn, he’s fucking sexy. And he’s only interested in me.
How did I ever get so lucky?
”Please, Pearl,” he utters.
Nothing more, nothing less. His words sink into my soul and brand me.
I take his thick cock into my mouth. The taste of him is still as intoxicating as the finest wine. Or cinnamon whiskey, if you’re an afficionado.
I explore, experiment, and tease. My tongue laves his length and my body aches faintly. Sucking his dick is the prelude to pleasure for me. Doing it well is a particular point of pride.
It’s a skill I have kept on call for the last few weeks when I have felt too tired from staying up with our newborn to want to be touched. River is still every bit as horny as he was before the baby came and sometimes I feel like rewarding him for trying to keep things romantic between us.
River’s hands find purchase in my hair. He guides my head a with gentle pressure. I love feeling his excitement. I let him know that I am enjoying myself by gripping his ass and moaning around his cock.
His breath hitches. It’s a sign that I’m sucking his cock well. I get lost for a minute in the rhythm we create. Giving everything I have, taking everything he has for me. It’s intoxicating.
”Fuck, Pearl... just like that,” River”s voice breaks. I love it when he is about to lose it.
But he soon stops my ministrations. He pulls out of my mouth and draws me up to stand.
Our roles reverse as quickly as the ocean tide.
”My turn,” he murmurs. “Be a good girl for me and be still.”
A rivulet of anticipation drips down my spine and pools somewhere low in my body. His lips trace a searing path down my neck. He sucks and marks me with bites kisses that feel like a branding. With every caress, he worships my body as if it”s sacred ground. I”m lost to the sensation.
I’m in awe of being adored like this, without reservations.
”River,” I gasp. I barely recognize my own voice. It’s laced with an urgency that borders on desperation. He answers with a hum against my skin. The vibration sends another surge of pleasure rippling through me.
Heat builds within me. A fire is being built, sparked by River”s relentless tongue and teeth touching my every sensitive spot.
Suddenly, I have to have River inside me. Pressing him back gently, I guide him down onto the bed. He goes without resistance or us having to communicate anything out loud. We both know where the ultimate goal lies. How we get there is more or less beside the point.
I mount him, fisting his thick cock and bringing to my wet, hot pussy entrance. He gasps as I begin to impale myself inch by torturously slow inch. His cock stretches me out, filling me to the brim. I feel like I’m worshipping him, taking my time and being surrounded and filled by him at the same time. Fucking him, rocking my hips back and forth slowly, is almost a religious experience.
“You feel so good, darlin,” he purrs. “So fucking wet for me.”
“I need to feel you move inside me,” I breathe out. “Please, baby. Give me everything. Don’t hold back.”
He grips my hips and starts to move beneath me, driving his cock up into my desperately needy pussy. My eyes roll up in my head briefly.
But I force them to remain open so I can see the pleasure on my man’s face. His expression is open and raw. His eyes bore into mine.
My hips move with a fervency that matches the pounding of my heart. Each thrust pushing me closer to the edge of reason. His hands grip my hips, guiding me, encouraging me to abandon all restraint. I comply willingly. I’m driven by a hunger that only he can satisfy.
”River,” I pant. “Tell me what you feel, sweetheart.”
He gazes up at me, his eyes dark pools of desire. I see reflected in them the depth of our connection. It’s not just our bodies that are entwined
Our very souls are enmeshed in a way that is concrete and permanent.
”God, yes, Pearl. I love when your greedy little pussy takes what it needs like that,” he rasps out from below me. “Fuck me like it’s the last thing you’ll ever do, darlin.”
His praise spurs me on. I ride him harder.
I”m lost in the moment, lost in him. I honestly forget that we’re in a physical space and time for about half of our sex session. But when a flicker of movement catches my eye, I start. Strangers are strolling along the shoreline and their laughter carries faintly on the breeze.
I freeze. Should I try to cover myself?
What if they see? What if they laugh? My body doesn’t look the same as it did before my pregnancy and I’ve definitely got some insecurity about it.
”Hey, hey...” River”s voice is a steady anchor amidst the swirling eddy of my fears. “Look at me, sweetheart.”
I look at him, swallowing. I don’t have to speak my fears aloud. River knows. He always knows.
“Don”t mind them. They don”t matter. It”s just you and me here, Pearl. Only us.” He runs his hands through my hair and then down to my breasts. He shapes the flare of my hips.
“Look at yourself. So fucking beautiful,” he murmurs. “And all mine.”
His hands move to my hips. His touch isn’t restricting but it’s reassuring, as if he”s grounding me to this place.
I want to believe him.
”Are you sure?” My voice is a fragile whisper.
”Absolutely.” There”s no hesitation in his reply, only certainty.
God, the love burning bright in his eyes right this moment takes my breath away.
With that thought, my anxieties wane. I move again, slowly rocking my hips at first. He meets each rock with a thrust of his own.
”Let them watch,” I pant, a rebellious spark igniting within me.
River”s response is a low chuckle and is rich with approval. ”That”s my girl.”
River slips his fingers down between our bodies and finds my clit. He moves his fingertips in quick circles, sending rivulets of heat spiraling through my core. His eyes lock onto mine, a mischievous glint playing within their depths. It’s as if he knows exactly which strings to pull to orchestrate the melody of my arousal.
”Let go, Pearl,” he murmurs, his voice a velvet command that vibrates through me. ”Give it to me.”
I surrender to the crescendo building within me. It’s fueled by River”s knowing touch. He knows me. He knows how to give my body pleasure. The edge blurs. There’s just my silted breath, just his touch, just the pulse of need throbbing between us.
The pleasure peaks, crashing over me like the waves against the shore. A cry escapes my lips, uninhibited and raw. River smirks. It’s a testament to the ecstasy that he draws out of me with such ease. Then he bites his lip and lets go. He thrusts a few final times before his breath catches. I grip his waist as he comes. I feel his cock pulse inside of me, no doubt releasing thick streams of milky white cum deep inside my pussy.
I groan with satisfaction at the feel of everything ending as it should. We belong together. I rock my hips gently, keeping River seated inside my pussy.
As the intensity of my release ebbs, the figures drift away, mere ghosts against the vast canvas of the beach. River and I, still entwined on our blanket-covered sanctuary, share a knowing smile. It”s one of those smiles that speaks volumes, a shared secret that wraps around us, reinforcing the bond that has grown stronger with each stolen moment.
”Seems we”ve gone unnoticed,” he teases, his chest rumbling with laughter against mine.
”Good,” I reply, my breath still catching in my throat. ”Because I wasn”t quite ready to share you with the world.”
River”s arms wrap around me, pulling me flush against the solid wall of his chest. The warmth of his bare skin radiates through the thin fabric of my dress, sending a wave of comfort and desire coursing through me.
”You,” he murmurs, his lips brushing against the crown of my head. ”Are absolutely perfect, darlin’.”
I laugh. It’s a light, airy sound that floats on the air. ”Perfect, huh? That”s a dangerous word.”
”Only if it isn”t true.” His hands glide down my back, tracing the curve of my spine with gentle reverence. ”I know that you are. If we had an audience, they would know it, too.”
”River!” I swat at him playfully. The absurdity of the idea sends another ripple of laughter between us.
”Only kidding. I mean, unless you”re into that.” His voice is thick with amusement. I can feel his stubble against my cheek when he laughs.
”Let”s stick to our own private world for now.”
“I would complain, but that means I still get to fuck you, so…” He pulls a face. “You won’t hear a word out of me.”
“Oh, is that right?” I laugh and kiss him.
”Let”s stay like this forever,” he murmurs.
”Forever sounds perfect,” I agree.