“What?” Elias asked.
I shook my head. “Just thinking about us, out here naked.”
He slid his hands over my arms, guiding them to touch this low-hanging branch of the tree that sloped to touch the ground. It was picturesque, this place, and I imagined it was one of those places people came to picnic, back when the riverbed wasn’t dried up and cracked.
“That’s funny, is it?” he asked. “Us, out here, naked?” He plunged his fingers inside me, and I gasped.
“Not...now, it’s not.”
Pleasure rushed through me, and I heard the crinkle of foil. Over my shoulder, I saw him tearing open the packet with his teeth. I had never been so ready for anyone.
When he entered me, it was with no hesitation. In one swift thrust, he was inside me. I arched my back, pressing my ass against him, and his hands grasped my br**sts, pulling me into him. I braced my hands against the branch, the rough bark cutting into my palms, but I didn’t care. All I could feel was him.
“You are so f**king tight,” he said, and I felt a rush of wetness in response to his words. I’d never much been one for dirty talking, but something about how this man spoke got me hot and bothered earlier, and it was doing even more for me now.
“Yes,” I gasped. “Harder.”
I felt his mouth near my ear as he spoke, punctuating each ragged word with another thrust deep inside me. “Careful what you wish for, sweetheart,” he said. His fingers pinched my ni**les, and a shock of pain ran through me.
“Oh my God.” I was so close.
“Wait,” he growled, close to my ear. “Wait until I tell you you can come.”
I could hear myself moaning, from somewhere outside my body, but there was nothing else except him and I. I didn’t want anything else. His touch erased everything in that moment, made it impossible to think about anything except what he was doing to my body. All I could imagine was him - his hands on my br**sts, his breath on my ear, his lips on my neck, and his cock, filling me up. It was ecstasy, pure and simple.
“Now,” he said, and the instant he spoke the word, I let go, crying out as he came into me. The white heat of my orgasm eclipsed everything else.
Afterward, I stood there, completely motionless as the throbbing between my legs subsided and the fog in my head cleared. I moved my hands and winced. My palms felt raw where I’d clutched at the rough bark of the tree.
Elias breathed heavy against my neck. “Goddamn,” he said.
I’ll say, I thought. Goddamn was about the only thing there was to say.
18
Afterward, I sat there, my arms wrapped around River, her back pressed up against my chest.
"Thank you," she whispered.
"For what?" I felt her chest rise and fall under my arms as she took slow breaths.
"All of this," she said. "No one's ever done anything like this for me before."
"No one's ever f**ked you like this?" I teased her.
"Shut up," she said. "You know what I mean. No one's ever done something like this, what you did for me tonight, out here."
"You mean that none of those boys out in Hollywood haven't done anything like this for you?" I asked. "I find that hard to believe."
River laughed, but it sounded bitter. "You're joking, right? Boys are exactly what they are. And no, I meant what I said."
I couldn't help but be pleased with myself, doing something for her that was different from all the other guys who had to be chasing her. Especially that douchebag musician boyfriend of hers.
Viper. What a f**king name.
"Well, I also meant what I said earlier, before you distracted me," I said, nudging her up. "I am going to feed you."
River tucked her knees up to her chest, and wrapped her arms around them, watching me open the picnic basket. "So this is a proper date now?"
"It always was," I said. "Are you cold?"
"Chilly."
I reached for an extra blanket and tossed it to her, then joined her underneath it as I took out the food I'd brought.
"You went to a lot of trouble," she said.
I shrugged. "Just went to the store and shit," I said. "Not like I cooked it or anything."
"It was a compliment," she said. "You should learn how to accept one gracefully."
"Less talking, more eating," I said, and held up a cracker I'd smeared with some gourmet cheese or some shit I'd gotten at the store - the lady at the grocery said it was imported something or other.
River laughed and took a bite. "Classy," she said. She leaned in next to me, and as much as I'd never been much for the cuddling bullshit with other girls, with River I decided it was okay. In fact, it felt kind of nice, the same way it had been with her last night.
"What happened in town yesterday," River began.
"I really am sorry about snapping at you," I said.
"Oh, no, I'm not talking about that," she said. "June told me about your father."
"Oh. That." I tensed automatically at the mention of him.
"Yeah, that."
"He died," I said. "I'm not sorry in the least. He wasn't a good person."