He pulls back just enough to look at me, and then he laughs, transforming his whole face. “Hated you?” He shakes his head slowly, wonder in his eyes. “Daliah, you’ve got it all wrong.”
His hand comes up to cup my face, thumb tracing my cheekbone with infinite gentleness.
I swear, I think my heart skips. This can’t possibly be healthy, but here I am, wanting him to do it again.
“Completely the opposite.” He leans down, lips hovering just above mine. “And now? I’m going to prove it to you until you believe me.”
I already do, but if he wants to do this, then I am happy to go along for the ride.
8
River
I’m still trying to wrap my mind around all of this happening. None of it feels real. Too good to be true. Yet, here Daliah is, squirming beneath me because she’s too impatient for her own good.
Can’t she see that I don’t want to hurt her? She’s too innocent to realize how big a moment like this is.
She wantsmeto be her first. First, she gave me her lips. Now, she’s lifting her hips like she can’t wait to give me her cherry, too.
I keep getting lost in the desire to kiss her, and giving her what she wants will feel like it’ll take a lifetime.
Eventually, I’ll wrap my mind around the fact that she’s here. Right where I want her, beneath me.
When I press myself closer by rolling my hips between her legs, she gasps against my mouth like I’m the one giving her something precious instead of the other way around.
I take my time. Not just because I want to savor this, but because I need her ready. Need her wanting. Need this to be perfect enough that she’ll smile every time she thinks back to it.
My lips trace down her throat, and she tastes like honey and salt and something uniquely her. I map the column of her neck with my mouth, feeling her pulse fluttering beneath my tongue. Shifting lower, my mouth grazes across her collarbone. Even further, I reach her chest. When I take her breast into my mouth, she arches off the bed with a sound that nearly undoes me—high-pitched and so fucking beautiful I have to pause, just to breathe through it.
It’s a miracle I haven’t already come. There isn’t a doubt in my mind that Daliah could bring me to that point, even without touching me. That’s how bad I’ve got it for her.
I lavish attention on both, giving each its due, watching the way her head tilts back on the pillow, the way her hands grip the sheets tight enough to make her knuckles white. By the time I work my way back up to her mouth, she’s a writhing mess beneath me, and I’ve never seen anything more perfect.
“River, please—” She doesn’t even know what she’s asking for. The way she says my name, desperate and breathless, makes me want to just fill her up with one solid, fluid thrust to put us both out of our misery.
I reach down between us, positioning myself, and the feeling of her heat against the head of me—fuck. I have to close my eyes for a second, and have to remember how to breathe.
It feels like a lifetime since the last time I’ve been with someone, and I don’t want to disappoint her. I want to be the best she’ll ever have. Theonlyone she’ll ever have. To do that, I have to do everything right.
“I’ll be gentle.” I kiss her, soft and sweet, trying to pour everything I feel into it. “But tell me if you need me to stop. Don’tthink twice about it. I won’t enjoy any of this if you’re in pain, understand?”
She nods again, and then I’m pushing inside before nearly doubling over at the intensity.
The heat of her. The tightness. The way she grips me like she was made for my cock—I lose my train of thought completely. She gasps, fingers digging into my shoulders, and I freeze immediately. Every muscle locks up with my worries. Every instinct screams at me to move, but I don’t. I wait, even though I’m gritting my teeth, focusing on not spilling my seed right then and there. I give her time to adjust.
My forehead is already damp. My lungs are burning from holding my breath. I’ve never wanted anything the way I want this, want her, and holding still might actually kill me.
“Okay?” The word comes out strangled, barely recognizable.
She breathes. I feel it everywhere—the rise and fall of her chest, the way it makes her grip me tighter before fluttering.
Finally, she nods. “Keep going, please. It’s…wow.”
Knowing what she means, I do. Inch by inch, impossibly slow, watching her face for any sign of discomfort. When I’m finally seated inside her completely, I have to stop and fill my lungs with a mixture of fresh air andher.
With an iron grip on my cock, I’m left shoving a hand between us. Finding her clit, she jerks at my soothing circles.
“Need you to relax, sweetness. Keep this up, and you’re going to cut off my circulation.” I’m panting, my brows furrowing in concentration. Pulling back far enough to look between us, I’m amazed by the sight of seeing her wrapped around me. Just like my fingers earlier, her slick has left my skin glossy.
