Chapter Three
I felt like I was being transported back to the days when my body and mind weren’t mine to command. Like a string being pulled at whatever direction he so desired. I was his as River took full control, devouring my lips, my body.
The spell was too potent to dispel its influence on me. The moment those masculine hands travelled about my body, feeling and cupping my breasts as he lodged one of his thighs between my legs, I knew whatever convictions I had, had all but disappeared.
Consumed by unrivaled hunger, carnal passion took precedence, and I was at his mercy. Unequivocally.
“I forgot what your touch feels like. You feel fucking amazing,” I sighed, out of my mind as I gasped for air, breaking our kiss while his lips trailed down my neck, leaving specks of fiery need, branding my skin as he went further down into my nether region.
“It’ll be my pleasure to remind you, Cara.” He spoke just above my parted thighs before breathing me in with a guttural sound that almost unhinged me.
Before I could make another sound, he softly bit the soft spot atop my moistened pussy.
What was he waiting for?I frustratingly thought as I gazed down with such fevered need it frightened me.
“River?” I blinked at him.
He slowly got to his full height, expressive eyes meeting my own. “If I take you, you’ll be mine again,” he said softly before leaving a chaste kiss on my lips. “Just say the word. I need to hear you say it, my love.”
Sucker punched. That’s what it felt like. River just brought me down to earth in the harshest way possible. How could I let myself down so humiliatingly?
Closing my eyes, big, hot tears sprung behind my lids. It was a moment of madness; what else could one call it? To be sure, it was lust. Nothing more. Dressing it for love would be a mistake, and I surely wasn’t going to do that.
“I can’t. I won’t.” That kiss meant nothing. Nothing at all.
“I figured as much. Although, it was worth a shot. I hope you can forgive me for trying,” he said through a saddened smile that seemed to tear into the very core of my being.
It was the opposite of what I had expected of him. I hadn’t imagined he would beg or anything, but for him to not fight harder wasn’t want I had anticipated.
Distracted, he stepped back and scanned the room. “Let’s get you home, shall we?” he asked.
Nodding in response, I meekly gazed at him through my lashes. My mind seemed hell-bent on making a statement, yet my body yearned for his touch, and the memory of how he took my body made me throb and ache for more. Alas, the man had withdrawn from my reach.
Once he retrieved his keys, he barely glanced at me as he silently guided me toward his garage. He had a black, matted-out Range with matching all-black interiors, perfectly matching the owner’s mood, no less.
“Where’s your place?” he asked after the engine roared to life. His eyes were directed on the dashboard as though he would rather not look at me.
“It’s on Santa Monica and 6thStreet,” I murmured back as I bit into my lip, unsure if I should break the icy barrier he had erected.
His somewhat of a dismissal made me feel at odds. However, I understood his reluctance in wanting to connect, even if it was through a mere gaze. At this moment, it might be all too much. And even though he was at war with himself, I appreciated the fact that he was gentlemanly enough to drive me home. This side of River was one of the things that had made me fall for him. He was as protective as he was encouraging.
While he drove, Ed Sheeran’s calming voice softly crooned in the background. Confined in such a space, tension crackled between us. There was so much to be said, yet silence seemed fitting. My mind was in turmoil, as was my body. My mind, more pointedly, reprimanded my prior actions.
It was a relief when we exited the freeway and River reached my home in no time. Without another word, he found a parking spot before killing the engine.
In the midst of contemplation, I was just about to open my mouth to thank him for taking me home when I found him unbuckling his seatbelt.
Wait. Where was he going?
Panicked, I stared at him in confusion. “Uh, where do you think you’re going?”He can’t be thinking it,I inwardly bemoaned.
In the dark, his lethal eyes dismissed any thought process I had. “I’m coming with you. I know what you’re going to say, but a lot happened tonight and all I ask is for you to spare me the worry. I just need to make sure you’re safe inside your home; that’s all. I promise, okay?”
Was it ever really that simple? Hardly, but I was running out of energy to keep arguing.
Disconnecting from his gaze, I let out an audible sigh and said, “Okay.”
Emotionally fatigued, we quietly got out his Range and began to awkwardly stride next to each other toward the complex entrance. My apartment was only a few blocks from the beach and the pier. This was my home, my haven, and it troubled me that River was going to step into my territory. From here on, I would have a memory of him here, walking me home.