“You come here,” He quirks a brow.
“And you’re here,” I bite back.
“I’m not trying to be a dick here, Marly, or offend you,” He holds his hands up, fingers black with dirt, “But it’s a shit move on your parent’s behalf to not give you basic skills. Sure, you can hire someone, but sometimes things happen that’ll prevent that course of action.”
“I get it,” I go back to the chair I’ve been using to watch him the last few days and sit, cradling my coffee. It’s warm out but there are several fans going in here that keeps the air cool. River getsback to work, focusing his attention on his task for the rest of the day.
I turn my attention to the book in my lap, content with simply sitting here, even if we don’t talk, I’m so lost in the words on the page that I don’t notice the sun has started to set. A loud bang sounds in the garage, startling me from my reading.
He smirks at me, jerking his chin for me to follow him back to that small section behind us that he calls home. I sit on his bed and watch him as he washes off his hands and then pulls out fresh clothes before he tugs his t shirt off and throws it into the hamper.
“You’re staring princess,” I hear the smile in his tone.
“You’re nice to look at,” His mouth notches up at the side with my words.
“Yeah?”
I lean back on my hands and smile shyly at him, “Let’s not pretend you don’t already know it.”
He chuckles, the sound warm, “I’m going to shower.”
He leaves the door open a little and the sound of the water fills the room, so I settle back on his bed to wait. My cell begins to buzz next to me and I pick it up, expecting to see Zara’s name on the screen but my blood runs cold when it’s Liam’s instead.
My brother doesn’t call me. It’s not so much that we don’t get along, but we don’t talk. We lived together but still barely said two words to each other. He is my father’s protégé, his heir and I’m not worthy of his conversation. I know he sees me as a bargaining chip just like my parents do.
I press the side button to silence the call and place my phone face down on the bed. He calls another three times before I decideto turn the cell off completely. I still have a couple more days of freedom and my older brother isn’t going to ruin them for me.
River steps from the bathroom, a cloud of steam following him out as he rubs a towel on his hair while another sits low on his hips. I have the sudden urge to touch him, to explore him. He’s denied me from doing so the past few nights and I don’t know why, especially since he’s been so generous when it comes to me.
He pauses when he sees me climbing from the bed, a knot forming between his brows as I steel my spine. Do I feel confident? Not even close but maybe if I lay it out for him, he won’t reject my advances.
I press my palm flat against his abdomen, letting my nails score his skin a little and he sucks in a breath, looking down his nose at me, eyes hooded.
“What are you doing?” He rasps as I continue my hand down the bumps of his muscles and let the tips of my fingers run through the hair that travels from his navel and disappears under the towel. He grasps my wrist just before I reach the knot holding it up.
“Marly,” He warns in a voice filled with gravel.
“Let me touch you,” I whisper, hiding the shake in my own voice.
“Are you feeling a little needy, princess?” His cocky grin makes my thighs ache since I know what it promises. But I don’t want it for me.
“For you,” I admit, “But I want to touch you, River.”
He steps into me, forcing my legs back until the backs of my knees hit the mattress and I fall onto it and then his hands are on my thighs.
No. No. No.
This isn’t what I want.
I reach for the towel again, but he twists his hips to stop me from getting it.
“Do you not want me to touch you?” I blurt the question, unable to stop it from spilling off my tongue.
He pauses, “That’s not it, princess.”
“I want to touchyou, River, like you’ve touched me.”
His eyes close for a moment and then he straightens to his full height and steps away from me. Hurt makes my chest ache, the rejection like a physical blow.
