I jumped off the sofa and ran to the sink, grabbed a clean cloth, and doused it in water. I took River's hand in mine and wrapped the fabric around it. "Stop moving. You're going to bleed all over my floor." River stopped his struggle and succumbed to my touch as he allowed me to bandage up his hand.
"Sorry," River said, his voice nothing more than a whisper.
"So that's why you went with him? You thought you could save Ridge somehow?"
"Yes," River said, nodding. "I was a dumb kid. I didn't know better. You can't save a man from dying if he is determined. At first, I thought things were getting better. He was helping, and it felt like he had a purpose. I thought maybe the army was good for him. I dropped my guard. I foolishly thought everything was okay, but it wasn't."
I didn't know how to ask the questions. I wasn't sure how to be smooth and gentle. I stormed in like a bull in a china shop and asked the question I really wanted to know. "How did he die?"
River's eyes clouded over, and the blue irises went dark. "There was a village with some insurgents. It was an operation that was risky, and instead of following orders that could have saved his life, he dived right in and got his head shot off. He didn't even have his guard up. His gun was at his side, his helmet wasn't on. He just walked into enemy fire and didn't even care. That's when I knew that he’d killed himself. One thing I was glad about was that my mother wasn't alive to see it."
"River…" I whispered his name; it was the only thing I could think to say. There were no words that could make anything better, but I wanted River to know that I was there. I placed my hand on his shoulder, and he turned to me, our eyes locking. Before I knew what was happening, his lips were pressed against mine with fierce ownership that I didn't know was possible. The kiss was all-consuming, as if with that one kiss, he could wipe away all the pain and heartache of the years gone by. I straddled him as my arms went around his neck, and I pressed myself to him. My lips opened, inviting the invasion of his kiss. We poured all the longing into that one kiss, filled with possession, letting each other know with our touch all the love that we’d bottled up inside for far too long.
River moved us off the sofa and started walking towards the hallway. "Where's the bedroom?" he asked between small bites of my bottom lip.
"Down the hall from Violet's room, but you need to be really quiet. I don't want to wake her."
"Trust me, beautiful, the last thing I want is for her to wake up."
River didn't put me down as he fumbled with the knob on my bedroom door and stormed inside. He placed me gently on the bed and just stared. "You're so fuckin' beautiful," he groaned as his hand slid down, drawing my eye to his hard cock straining in his jeans.
I licked my lips in anticipation, but he didn't move to take off his clothes. He slid his hands up my leg to the fly of my jeans and ripped them off me, leaving me exposed in my T-shirt and black cotton panties. I could feel myself getting wet from his heated stare.
River bent down and took my lips with his again, making me desperate to meld entirely into him.
Chapter 7
RIVER
"Never thought I'd have my hands on your skin again. My lips on your body, my tongue tasting every inch of you."
Zoey's breath came out in ragged gasps, the pulse hammering at her throat matching the wild beat of my heart. I never thought I would have her again in my life, in bed, but now in the darkness, staring at her perfect face under the dim moonlight, I knew that I could never go without her again.
I pushed her arms above her head, locking them with my hand, and trailed my nose down the inside of her arm. She shivered, gasping for air, her hips grinding against my cock like she was begging for it.
"Tell me, tell me how much you fucking missed this cock inside you."
She groaned, eyes fluttering shut as my face grazed her heavy tits.
I latched on to the outline of one nipple, sucking and nipping, making her hum with pain before letting go.
"Say it. I want to hear you say how many nights you dreamed about my cock slipping inside you."
"Yes… Fuck, yes… Is that what you want to hear?" She hummed, gaze still averted.
Fuck that.
"I need your eyes on me, beautiful." I moved her face towards me, and her eyes—those eyes that haunted my dreams every night for the last four years—opened slowly. "I'm here now, and I've got you," I groaned in her ear, holding her chin in my hand. "I can't believe I survived this long without you. I'm never living without you again. You belong to me. You're mine."