“What?” she asked, noticing his stare trained on her.
“Nothing, I just like looking at you.” He was fascinated as a dark blush blossomed on her cheeks as she took a final bite of her pie and set the plate back on the table. He turned his attention back to the movie, but he was aware of her gaze now trained on him.
“What?” he asked, repeating her question, but this time she had no response. Their eyes locked and held as the movie continued to run. His heart pounded in his chest, fighting against the instinct to make the first move. River was fragile, and he knew from their discussions that she was weary to proceed past a friendship, but he didn’t know how much longer he could take.
Suddenly River leaned toward him, placing both of her hands on either side of his face and sealed his lips with hers. She wasted no time begging his mouth for entrance with her tongue and he happily obliged her request. Ridge reached for her waist and effortlessly pulled her onto his lap, her legs straddling either side of his hips. He held her close, wrapping his arms fully around her back so that her breasts pressed against his chest.
With the movie long forgotten, River slid her hands from his face to the back of his neck, gripping his hair with her fingers. She tilted his head in the direction she wanted and he was fully prepared to relinquish control to her.
Ridge thought that she was the most magnificent creature as she rocked her hips against his growing bulge, taking what she wanted from him. But he didn’t want her to regret their actions.
Painfully, Ridge pulled his lips away from hers, kissing his way from the corner of her mouth, across her cheek, and to the edge of her ear.
His lips brushed against the soft skin as he whispered, “We need to slow down or I won’t be able to restrain myself much longer.”
One of her hands slithered between their bodies until he cupped his erection through his pants. He hissed between his teeth at the contact.
“I want you, Ridge. All of you.”
Using his hand, he grabbed her chin and turned her head to face his. He wanted to see her eyes when they made the decision to take things further.
“Are you positive, River? Because there is no going back after this.”
“I’m sure,” she whispered breathlessly.
Ridge pressed his mouth against hers firmly and stood from the couch, gripping her thighs to bring her legs around his waist. Blindly he stumbled down the hall to where he assumed was her bedroom since the two houses were built similarly.
The room was dark, but a small lamp in the corner bathed the room in a yellow glow. Ridge placed his knee on the bed with her body still wrapped around his until he released her legs, causing her to fall in the center of the duvet. Hovering above her, Ridge pressed one last kiss to her lips, then stood back and began unbuttoning his shirt. River’s must have grown impatient as she sat up on the bed and moved her hand toward his chest. She gripped the material of his shirt in her tight fists and tore the two sides away from each other. Buttons flew across the room, scattering across her floor.
He stared at her wild expression and River only responded with a small grin and a shrug of her shoulders. “You were taking too long.”
She gripped her own belt and undid the latch, unwrapping the leather from around her waist, and then she swiftly lifted the material of her dress over her skin. Ridge was in awe of her actions, hypnotized by her movements as River continued to expose each delectable inch of her skin.
“God, you’re beautiful.”
Reaching out with the tip of his finger, Ridge trailed a path from her shoulder down between her breasts clad in soft ivory lace. Her skin was more delicate than he imagined.
“You’re still overdressed, superhero.”
Fuck, hearing her call him a hero set his cock on fire. He was harder than he had ever remembered being before and it was all due to his quiet neighbor.
Clenching the opening of his dress shirt, Ridge drew it off his body, leaving only his undershirt covering his chest. Ridge yanked it over his head and threw it in the same haphazard direction as his dress shirt. Toeing off his shoes, he kicked them aside then went to work on his slacks. He hissed as his hand rubbed against the stiffness of his erection as he unhooked the pants.
As he placed his hands on his pants' waistband, intending to remove them, River placed her hands on the material instead. She gathered the edge of both the pants and his boxers, tugging them downward, exposing his cock to her view.
“Geez, could you be any more attractive?” she asked breathlessly as he worked to eradicate himself from the pants and his socks.
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“Oh, it definitely is.”
As he stood up, he leaned over her petite figure on the bed. He wanted desperately to rid her of her own lingerie that was driving him mad, but he wanted to move at her pace.
Her eyes were drawn to the hard tip of his cock that bobbed with each breath that he took. Then she demurely looked up at him behind long dark lashes. Their gazes locked and he knew without a doubt that he was completely lost to her. She owned him entir
ely.
“Can I. . .can I touch it?”