“You’re blushing,” he murmured as he slowly licked his lips, probably holding back from devouring me right here for everyone to see.
And the dimple was back again, toying with mind and overeager body. Fuck.
“How can I not blush?” What did he expect when he was so unabashedly forward?
“Don’t do that … or I won’t be able to stop myself from kissing you. You have no idea how hard it is to sit here and not touch you … taste you.” His tongue darted out again as his eyes seared into mine. “I’ve missed your taste on my tongue, Cara.”
“You wouldn’t dare.” As much as I liked optimism, I knew my body’s limits. If he kissed me, I knew I wouldn’t protest.
He grazed the skin on my neck with his thumb, causing my skin to flush at his touch. He knew now how my pulse raced. “I just might, but I don’t wanna scare you off. Besides, I’ll wait until boyfriend’s gone.”
“Then …” It wasn’t necessarily a question as I watched him turn pensive.
Our eyes met, dancing, courting fire that would soon engulf us.
“I don’t know, Cara. You tell me.”
In his mind, once Parker was gone, there would be no barrier. Well, that was where he thought wrong. As much as my body wanted him, my heart didn’t. I might not be able to count on my body, but I could rely on my heart. It was shut for good where River was concerned.
“I intend to be single for quite some time … or maybe just date around. I have too much going on to be stuck in a relationship. It’ll take my focus off work, and in this point in my life, my career’s more important than investing in something that never lasts.”
He frowned, looking puzzled at my response. “You’ve become a cynic.”
“No, not a cynic. A realist. A woman’s got to be one to survive and stay sane.” Not that I was a feminist, either. In my tender age of twenty-one, I intended to do more living than crying. I had never been given this much freedom in my life, and there was more to explore, to taste, to live. I wasn’t going to give all that up because I was too broken to function. I had given my heart before, and the lesson it taught me wasn’t going to waste.
“You used to be so passionate. You were so consumed by it that you could barely control it. Where’s the fire, Cara?”
The fire was gone. He killed it, along with everything that thrummed in my veins—all my dreams, the good memories. He took the magic out of everything.
“People change, River.”
“I can see that … and how well you’ve changed,” he murmured with a tone that was heavily laced with longing that almost crushed my resolve.
Just when it was becoming unbearable to endure, my friends trotted back and joined us. The respite gave a mild attempt into normalizing my heart rate.
“Awe, look at you two. You guys look so perfect together,” Anton said on a sigh before sliding into the booth. “If you little Tweety birds haven’t dated yet, you guys should make a go for it, like seriously.”
I almost had a heart attack on the spot.
“If looks could kill, Cara’s already placed your dick on the chopping block.” Kells giggled before grinning at me.
My friends, as much as I loved them, just didn’t have a filter. They had a knack for teasing me at the wrong time. It’s like shit-on-Cara radar just for giggles.
River, on the other hand, seemed not to mind. He was grinning from ear-to-ear.
“It’s my good bud Phoenix’s birthday. We’ll be leaving in a little bit to head back to my place; why don’t y’all come?”
“No!” I blurted, while Kells and Anton simultaneously trilled the word, “Yes” in their ever so cheery tone.
“Why not?” Anton queried. “It’d be fun. Besides, don’t you wanna catch up with River?”
Catching up, ha! If only. River would annihilate me the moment he had a chance.
“Private parties are too fun to say no to, Cara,” Kells chimed in, beating me two against one.
By the looks on my friends’ faces, there was no mistaking that they would be dragging me, anyway, permission granted or not.
“I don’t know … It’s been a long day.” I was holding out hope.
Sensing my discomfort, River took my hand and gave it a light squeeze, skyrocketing my blood pressure. “It’s close by. If you feel uncomfortable, you can leave whenever you want. I promise.”
He hadn’t let go of my hand since.