I start moving up and down on my toes, pushing him as deep as possible into me. When his fingers dig into my flesh, I know his pleasure is building at the same pace as mine. He’s no longer kissing my lips, no longer able to—I can tell from the sounds he’s making and the way my body feels. As he continues to rock himself into me, my body responds rapidly. Closing my eyes, I inhale a deep breath and scream into the night, “Oh God, River yes!” My body shudders and pulsates from its core as I come hard and fast, experiencing a feeling that makes everything that was wrong between us feel right.
His thrusts slow as my cries continue and a low groan escapes his mouth as he pours himself into me. It makes my muscles clench and my toes curl. He cocoons me against the wall, his arms on each side of me, his chest flat against my back, and his cheek resting on mine. We are both breathless and spent, but neither one of us wants to move—I don’t want this feeling of utter pleasure to ever end.
When he tugs on the string around my back, my bikini top falls to the ground. I twist my head around and joke, “What? You want more?”
His lips meet mine and he kisses me with so much love that when he stops my lips are tingling. I smile at him and a devilish grin crosses his face as he says, “I always want more.”
Chapter 12
Catch My Breath
The next morning we’re back outside in the yard and I love how River’s green eyes sparkle in the sunlight as I watch him from the lounge chair. I have my coffee in one hand and my Kindle in the other.
He turns to me and shoots me his full-blown smile. His dimples always make my heart flutter. Even with a black eye, he still takes my breath away.
“You’re really not going to help me, are you?”
I shake my head from side to side. “Nope. You have to learn your lesson.”
“What lesson would that be?” He walks over to me with the broom still in his hand.
Setting my Kindle down, I hold my hand over my eyes to block out the sun and say, “Why, the ‘you break it, you clean it up’ lesson, of course.”
He lets the broom fall to the patio and pushes my knees up toward me as he straddles the lounge chair.
“Hey, watch my coffee!”
Taking my coffee from my hand, he sets it on the side table. His mouth is on mine before I can say another word. Then pulling away, he runs his hands up the inside of my thighs and says, “I have a few lessons I wouldn’t mind teaching you. And I bet mine are much more fun.”
I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him back to me. He presses his mouth to mine and with the taste of his lips, the feel of his breath, everything seems perfect. Suddenly he sits up, his hand comes to my cheek, where he cups my face for a long moment, and then just stands up.
“Where are you going?” I protest.
With a sexy grin he says, “I have to finish cleaning up.”
I pout my lips. I wasn’t done kissing him.
He laughs. “I’m getting too turned on sitting here like this, but if you want to help me, we could finish a hell of a lot faster and start on one of those lessons.”
I giggle. “Nah, I’m good.”
He slips his Rolling Stones T-shirt off and tosses it at me. “It’s hot out here.” He grabs the broom and walks back over to the shattered green glass.
My eyes scan his perfect back—the way his muscles flex and move with every sweep of the broom, the way his skin glistens in the sunlight. “I know exactly what you’re up to and it’s not going to work.”
He smiles darkly. “Oh you have no idea what I’m up to. Trust me.” He winks before turning back around. Bending over, he attempts to push the glass into the dustpan with the broom. He manages to get about a quarter in each time and the more I watch the more I feel bad. He really could use some assistance. I finally stand up and walk over to help him.
When I’m standing next to him, I place my hands on my hips and let out a deep exaggerated sigh. “Hand me the broom and I’ll sweep the glass into the dustpan.”
His eyes peer up at me as a smirk crosses his face. “You sure?”
I nod my head and his smirk grows wider.
But instead of handing me the broom he drops it to the ground and lunges forward to hoist me over his shoulder.
“Put me down! What are you doing?”
“Lesson number one, beautiful girl—never feel sorry for the person who looks incapable of cleaning up because more than likely it’s just a big act.” And with that, he tosses me into the pool.
Surfacing, I sputter water out of my mouth and yell, “You suck.”
“No, I’m just good,” he says smugly.
When I reach the side and look into his seemingly content eyes I have to agree, “Yeah, you are good.”
He strides toward me, reaching his hand to help me out. “You mean you’re finally admitting it?”
“I guess I am.”
After stripping off my wet clothes, I threw his T-shirt on and left him to finish cleaning up. With wet hair, I’m sitting at the breakfast bar in nothing but his shirt, attempting to eat a bowlful of cereal. His mood swings since Ben’s reappearance are getting to me. One minute he’s happy and normal, like this morning. The next minute he’s quiet and distant like dinner last night—or he’s angrier than I’ve ever seen him like our argument last night over Ben’s note. Even though we’ve discussed Ben and I’ve made my feelings clear, I feel like there’s something left unsaid between us, something still lingering between us. But I don’t know how to figure out what it is.
Arms tighten around me and River’s chest presses against my back. “I’m sorry.”
I almost feel like he’s apologizing for more than throwing me in the pool, but since I’m not sure where a deeper conversation would lead, I just want to keep the mood light and our tempers even– keeled.
I swivel around and run my fingertips up and down his bare chest. Hovering my lips over his ear I whisper, “Never apologize for winning, because paybacks are a bitch.”
Kissing me on the lips, he shrugs as he walks into the kitchen. “Paybacks sound like fun to me.”
I follow him and pour my cereal down the drain. I haven’t had much of an appetite the last few days and the bowl of Wheat Chex did nothing to increase it.
He takes the box of Cheerios out and sets it on the counter. “Not hungry again?”
I sigh a little. “No, not really.”
Turning around, I lean against the sink and catch him shooting me a concerned look. He opens the cabinet to get out a bowl. I can’t keep all of this bottled up so I take a deep breath and grab on to the edge of the counter as I let it out. “Can I ask you something?”
Leaving the bowl on the counter, he twists to look at me. The intensity in his eyes makes me want to escape this conversation. “You know you can.”
“Why did you fire Caleb?”
He doesn’t hesitate to answer. “Do you want to know what I told myself was the reason then or the real reason?”
“Both.”
He says, “We didn’t need him anymore since . . . ,” he stops as if unable to say why.
I finish the sentence for him. “They caught the asshole who attacked me.”
He lets out a long sigh. “Yeah, that’s what I told myself when I fired him.”
“And that’s not the real reason?”
“I just couldn’t stand that he was, can’t stand that he
Ben and Caleb have been friends for many years. Somehow I always knew that was the reason River acted like he did toward Caleb. The only thing I can think to do is just tell him what he already knows. “River, even though
