River sat up abruptly and said, “I’m going to take a quick shower. Go back to sleep, sunshine.”
Jeanette nodded and watched him walk away, his bronze body gloriously nude. Her mouth watered at the delicious sight. But she knew he needed a moment alone to get himself under control. She should let him close her out, but if she were to ever breach the iron wall around River, she couldn’t shy away when things got tricky. She flung the covers back and headed for the bathroom he’d entered. When she reached it, slowly opening the door, she saw him scrubbing his hands. Judging by the steam filling the room, the water must have been scalding. She reached out and clutched his forearm. “River, stop.”
“I can’t get it off,” he ground out, scrubbing harder. “It’s always there.”
Her stomach dropped as she watched the anguish on his reflected face in the mirror. His hands were getting redder. If he kept it up, they’d bleed. “River!” she screamed, hoping to jar him out of his waking nightmare. She turned off the faucet. “Stop it. You’re hurting yourself.”
He froze. His gaze shot to hers in the mirror. “There’s always blood. So much of it, and I can’t wash it off. I try, and it never goes away. It’s there when I wake up, and I can’t get rid of it.” He closed his eyes tight and turned around. “Do you see now?” He glared at her. “I’m a fucking train wreck, Jeanette. I’m never going to be normal.” He held up his hands, palms out. The skin was raw, as if he’d dragged sandpaper over them. “Do you see?”
She didn’t speak, simply wrapped her arms around him and held him tight. Seconds passed before he locked her in a powerful embrace.
“I don’t know the details of what you went through,” she said, “before Mr. and Mrs. Jennings adopted you, but I know it wasn’t easy.”
He buried his face in her neck, neither of them moving. Jeanette stroked his back, soothing him the only way she could. When he released her and stepped back, Jeanette was very much afraid he’d ask her to leave.
Please don’t shut me out.
“Shower with me,” he murmured.
Relief nearly overpowered her. “Thought you’d never ask.”
She caught the hint of a smile creasing the corners of his mouth before he turned toward the tub and adjusted the spray. He slid the glass door aside and stepped in, then held out a hand for her. As River stood under the massaging jets, Jeanette picked up a washcloth and began washing him. She took it slow, aware of River’s agitated state.
“What are you doing, sunshine?”
“Taking care of you,” she answered easily. “Now, hush and let me get on with it.”
By the time she finished, River was calm, his eyes no longer wide with fear. He turned her until her back rested against his chest and wrapped his wet arms around her body. “I’m sorry you had to see me that way,” He murmured.
Jeanette leaned back and stared up at him. “When will you get it through your head that I don’t scare that easily? Remember the time you wore that giant Frankenstein suit and tried to scare me on Halloween?”
He chuckled, caressing the silken skin of her torso. “I do remember that. It was your senior year, and you were pretty full of yourself in those days.” His fingers came into contact with her nipple, teasing her to a fever pitch. “Someone had to take you down a notch.”
She snorted. “You were the cocky one, not me. And your attempts to frighten me failed miserably.”
River stroked his large hands over her hips, clear to her stomach. He massaged her lower belly and whispered against her ear, “If you knew half the things I want to do to you, you’d be very afraid, trust me.”
His fingers began to find their way south. He slipped his long, thick index between her folds, teasing her by sinking only to the first knuckle.
“Your skin has such a pretty glow, and your breasts are so full and ripe.” His finger moved in small circles, and she arched against him. “You’re sexy as hell. It’s been nearly impossible resisting you.”
“I never wanted you to resist me.”
He moved his finger all the way out and flicked her clit. “I know.”
“I need you. Stop teasing me.”
River took her clit between his fingers and pumped it. Her body sizzled with little shock waves that only he seemed able to create. His other hand came up, cupped her right breast and squeezed. She’d always been extra sensitive there, and River zeroed in on the fact immediately. The man was intoxicating.
When his finger dipped between her slippery pussy lips again, Jeanette pushed forward, telling him without words what she wanted. He complied by sliding two fingers in. This time he sank them
deep and began pumping her hard, his thumb swiping back and forth over her clit, his other hand torturously pinching her nipple. He dipped his head down and licked the side of her neck and shoulder; then he bit down. Hard. Jeanette jolted, and her pulse throbbed as if eager to be tasted. River was everywhere at once. Jeanette couldn’t hold back.
Her orgasm began a slow climb. Water drizzled over them as River slipped three slick fingers in and out. Jeanette lost it. A mass of heat welled to the surface as River finger-fucked her, his words pushing her over the edge.
“Let go, sunshine. I’ve got you.”
She reached behind her buttocks until she found his heavy cock. She squeezed him tight.