They stood outside her apartment building and River looked at him, her emotions churning chaotically inside of her. The walk back from the café had been quiet. Nico had clutched her hand the entire way as he silently brooded. And River had been too rattled to say anything about it. She was grateful for the companionship… silent though it was.
River found that just being with him was comforting. It made her feel safe. She looked down at her hand, so small and delicate, swallowed by his large, rough hand, and felt liquid fire flowing through her veins. His physical touch ignited a firestorm in her. River’s heart was thundering inside of her, and despite being so shaken by what happened outside the café, she’d been uncomfortably wet the entire walk home. His touch made her skin tingle and her intimate parts quivered.
“River?” he pressed. “Are you all right?”
She swallowed hard, feeling her face grow impossibly hot. "I'm fine. Th—thank you, Nico. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't come along."
His face grew even stonier. “I don’t even want to think about that.”
“H—how did you know?”
A small grin curled a corner of his mouth upward. “I heard you were at the café we talked about. I wanted to have dinner with you.”
“You heard?”
He shrugged. “I heard.”
“What? Are you having me followed?”
“Not exactly.”
A cold shiver lowered the temperature inside her body and that tingling sensation on her skin began to ebb. The idea that he had somebody watching her sobered River quickly.
“Not exactly? What does that mean?” she asked.
"It just means I have a lot of friends in the city, and I've asked them to let me know where you're at," he said. "I worry about you, River. As you said, a single girl alone in a foreign land has to keep her guard up. I wasn't going to let you wander around unprotected."
She looked down at her hands and shuffled her feet on the cobblestone walk. Knowing he had people keeping an eye on her was still somewhat unsettling. But she thought knowing he was doing it because he was concerned for her safety and wanted to help keep her safe was sweet. She’d never felt unsafe on the streets of Venice. Not until tonight anyway. And for that, she was suddenly grateful that she’d had a guardian angel of sorts.
“That’s… sweet, Nico. Thank you.”
He shrugged. “It’s nothing.”
“Do you want to come up?”
Her eyes wide, River physically clasped her free hand over her mouth, unable to believe those words had just come out of her mouth. She’d been thinking it but hadn’t intended to say it. As he turned that sultry, dark gaze upon her though, River felt her heart skip a beat and electric tingles coursing through her body. She felt her intimate parts growing even warmer and wetter than before. She licked her dry lips and tried to quell the violent churning in her belly.
River’s hand trembled in his grasp, and she felt the burn of mortification flushing her face as she realized how damp and clammy it must be. But she was overwhelmed by desire. It felt like a fire had been set inside of her—and was centered between her legs. It was unlike anything she’d felt before and in the back of her mind, she heard Evie telling her to go for it. To create some memories that she’d carry with her throughout life. To enjoy herself for a change.
Before Nico could say anything, she pulled him up the half-dozen stairs that led to the stoop and then through the outer doors. Her face was burning and an unnatural shade of red, she was sure. So, River didn’t turn around and look at him. She kept her eyes focused forward as they walked up the flight of stairs and then down the long hallway to her door. Her stomach roiled and her pulse raced. She couldn't believe she was doing this. Couldn't believe she was giving in to her wants and desires. Her every nerve ending felt like it was on fire though and she could honestly say she’d never wanted something more than she wanted Nico in that moment.
River’s hands trembled wildly, and she dropped her keys twice before Nico bent down and picked up the ring. He offered her a warm smile and then tried several different keys before finding the right one and unlocking her door. He pushed the door open, letting River go in first. Her body trembled and her breath quickened as she stepped inside and flipped on the lights, feeling her legs were about to give out beneath her.
She turned around as Nico closed the door behind him, his smoldering gaze fixed firmly on her. River never thought she was the kind of girl who got turned on by violence. She never thought she could watch a man beat another man down and feel aroused by it. She knew some girls were like that. Boxers and MMA fighters never lacked for women to sleep with, that was for sure. But River never thought of herself in that way.
Her gaze drifted down to Nico's knuckles which were bruised and scuffed from punching Emiliano and felt her entire body quiver. Her panties were soaked through and all she wanted in that moment was to feel him inside of her. As if sensing her desire, Nico reached out and grabbed her hand. He spun her around and pushed her up against the door so hard she gasped. But then his mouth found hers and River’s body felt like she’d been wrapped in fire.
Nico’s tongue swirled around her own and she gripped the sides of his face as twin threads of passion and lust encircled her body and pulled so tight, she gasped. River’s entire body was alight with sensations she’d never felt before and though it scared her, she’d never been more turned on. She felt her juices spill down the insides of her thighs and an intense quiver run through her most intimate parts.
As Nico kissed her neck and gently nipped at her flesh, she reveled in the musky scent of his cologne. In the taste of scotch on his tongue. And in the way his large hands traveled over her body, caressing her breasts and cupping her ass. She’d been felt up before but always by nervous, fumbling, overeager boys. Never by a man who knew what he was doing. Was confident. And seemed solely focused on her pleasure.
With a hand trembling harder than it was when she dropped her keys outside the door, River reached down and grabbed Nico’s cock through his slacks. As she took hold of him, River gasped at how long and thick it was. And when she stroked him through the fabric, his body tensed, and a soft moan passed his lips. River fumbled with his belt and zipper, all but tearing his slacks as she yanked them down then thrust her hand into his boxers and wrapped her fingers around his long, thick staff. Nico closed his eyes and pressed his forehead to hers as she ran her hand up and down his shaft, squeezing and stroking him.
Their mouths crashed together, and Nico thrust his tongue against hers. River swallowed his muffled moans and kept stroking his cock harder and faster. His staff pulsed and grew harder in her hand, arousing her even more. Nico’s skin was as warm as hers and she grew even slicker between her thighs. But then he abruptly pulled away and grabbed her wrist, removed her hand. His lips were parted, and his breath was quickened as he stared at her with that dark-eyed smolder. The desire and need for her were etched into his features which nearly stole the breath from River's lungs.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked. “I know you’re not, as you Americans say, that kind of girl, so I want you to be certain.”
River’s mouth was so dry, she could hardly swallow. She certainly couldn’t get a word out. She looked down and tried to slow her racing heart, blotting her damp palms on her skirt, and drew in a long, shaking breath. River didn’t know if it was because he was a sexy older man, if it was because she’d just watched him beat another man to a pulp, or because she was finally giving in to Evie's advice and living a little, but River was filled with a sense of desire she’d never known before. It was so overwhelming and powerful, her entire body trembled with it.