Beautiful Mine (Beautiful Rivers #1) (5 page)

He breaks away, dipping down to my breasts. I arch my back to meet him. When I feel his wet mouth on my nipple, I close my eyes and throw my head back.

Too long. God, it’s been too long. I forgot how good this feels.

His arms tighten around me, hands spread wide on my back, and he sucks on me more firmly. I run one hand down his back and one into his hair. He teases my nipple, circling it with his tongue before taking it back into his mouth. I look down and watch him move to my other breast, squeezing it while his mouth sucks and pulls on my nipple.

Suddenly, he pulls away and says, “Oh, shit.”

“Whaa?” I say, which is all I can manage. What I’m thinking is,
Why the fuck are you stopping?

He straightens and looks at me, a mixture of heat and dismay on his face. “I didn’t... pack for this.”

I blink at him. What?

“I don’t have protection,” he clarifies.

“Oh!” I’m not on anything either, thanks to my non-existent love life. “Oh, shit.”

“Exactly.” He pauses for a second then holds up a finger, looking determined now. “I’ll take care of it.” He gives me a quick kiss then grabs his shirt from the floor. “I’ll be back in five minutes.” He kisses me again, then wrestles his shirt on. “Two.” He kisses me again. This time he cups my face in his hands and lingers, kissing me deeply and eagerly.

Pulling back but staying close, he looks into my eyes. “Don’t go anywhere.”

“Don’t worry,” I say heatedly. “I won’t.”

He kisses me once more, then hustles out the door, leaving me alone in his room, shirtless and breathless.
“Ahhhh....”
I exhale, half swooning, half collapsing on the bed. “Oh my
god.”
I sit up, putting my hands in my hair. I’m so tingly and flushed I can hardly think.

One glance at my hiking boots changes all that. I hop up and hurriedly unlace them, tucking them in the corner away from the bed, along with my socks. I take my shorts off, too, but leave on my underwear, even though they’re not exactly the sexiest thing I could be wearing. Plain cotton, but at least they have soft lace trim and a cute pattern.

I took a bath just a few hours ago, thank god, but I still want to freshen up my feet. I’m probably being paranoid, but taking off hiking boots just is
not
as sexy a feeling as kicking off heels. I dash into the bathroom and flip on the light. It feels too bright after the soft light in the main room. I grab a washcloth and quickly wash my feet in the tub and pat them dry.

I check my appearance in the mirror, hastily fussing with my hair. Even though I wasn’t really able to style it earlier, its natural wave is working to my advantage and it actually looks pretty good. My face has a vibrant flush, too, thanks to Connor’s magic touch.
God.
And, since I’ve always detested shaving and got the full-body laser treatment a few years ago, my legs are smooth and I’m fully groomed.

I quickly grab the little container of lotion, wondering how long it’ll take him to track down condoms in a foreign country, but I already hear the keycard in the lock. Heart leaping into my throat I throw down the lotion, flip off the too-bright lights, and hustle to lean casually against the door frame of the bathroom. I manage to put a relaxed, sexy expression on my face before he enters the room.

He comes in, takes one look at me and freezes, the door halfway open but shielding any view of me from the hall. The heated expression on his face starts warming me right up again, but as he releases the door and it slowly swings closed, I can’t help but notice he’s empty handed.

“Did you strike out?” I ask, trying not to sound like I’m pouting. Which I may or may not be doing. It’s not an important point, really.

“No,” he says distractedly, eyes still taking me in. “I got a couple.”

Thank god.
“Just a couple?”

His eyes swing hard up to mine then and I give him a wicked grin. He takes three decisive steps toward me, removing his shirt and tossing it aside, then scoops me into his arms. I hang onto his neck and he kisses me—the tip of his tongue brushing the tip of mine—as he carries me to the bed.

He lowers me and releases me just above the mattress. I land with a soft bounce. He doesn’t join me though. He kneels at the foot of the bed, reaches up and hooks his hands around my upper thighs, and yanks me down until my ass is right on the edge. Right under him.

Now it’s his turn for a wicked grin. Good thing, because I can barely breathe. Arms still hugging my upper thighs, he brings one hand down the front, scoots the damp crotch of my panties out of the way, and exhales like I’m the most desirable thing he’s ever seen.

Then slowly, so slowly, he dips down to me. His soft, wet tongue brushes the base of my folds, then slowly slides up, covering me with heat and moisture. My eyes slide shut and my hips relax open. I let out a slow exhale, matching the slow advance of his tongue up my seam. My core trembles in anticipation before he gets there, and when he touches my aching clit I exhale sharp and loud, arching my back.

Oh god.

He tightens his embrace around my thighs, and circles the wet tip of his tongue around my clit before flicking it directly.

Oh god.

He sucks on it gently before rubbing the flat of his tongue side to side over the tip.

Oh god. This, this, this.

My breaths come short and hard. My channel is hot and aching, my legs are spreading wide, my head is back, my mouth open. It’s been so, so long and it all feels so good I almost can’t handle it. I’m almost embarrassed to come so soon but with his tongue on me like that, it’s a force I can’t stop. It rushes through me and grips me hard and I’m trembling and moaning in a mind-tilting climax.

I curl in, shaking and helpless, and he keeps licking me, making a sound like he’s enjoying it more than I am.

Not possible. My entire body is flushed with pleasure. It’s thrumming through my skin and face and pulsing at the peak of my breasts. And still he continues, keeping me coming. I gasp for breath. I think my heart stops for a second. I throw my head back, crying out, arching myself up and he grips me hard against his mouth.

I bite my bottom lip.
“Ffffff...”
I say.

Translation: Holy Fuck.

At last, my climax breaks and releases me and I come down in crashing waves. When he finally takes his mouth off me, I’m weak and panting on the bed.

He slowly comes to a stand, watching me. “Uuuhhhhhh,” I say.

Translation: You are divinity.

And there’s that half smile. And those incredible, smoldering blue eyes. And that chest. His muscles are flexing as he undoes the button of his shorts. I want that chest all over me. I want to take a little bite out of it. Or a big bite. I want—

“God, is that thing real?” I say suddenly.

He’s slipped down his shorts and briefs—or boxers, I wouldn’t know because it all came down together—and the sight of his cock has brought me up on my elbows, gawking.

“You’re about to find out,” he says, slipping off my panties and dropping them on the floor.

“Uuuhhhhhh....”

This is porn star perfection, right here, and it’s either going to break me or deliver me to the highest heaven.

“I’ll go slow,” he says as he opens the condom wrapper and rolls it on.

Did you get a king-sized one?
I want to ask. As I fully take in his length and girth, I want to say,
Gimmie, gimmie, gimmie
. But I keep my trap shut, because if I open it, the only thing that’s going to come out is,
Uuuuhhhhhh.

As he slowly crawls onto the bed, I scoot backwards to give us more room. His eyes are locked on mine the entire time. They stay on me as his bare chest comes against my breasts, as his weight settles on me so deliciously, as his hand comes into my hair and grips a handful gently, as he lowers his mouth to mine.

His tongue is warm and slightly tangy with my taste. The way he kisses me stokes the blaze inside me. My hands rub all over his back, and my thighs squeeze his waist. I’m open to him and he’s somewhere down there. Not touching me yet, but I sense him. I flutter with anticipation and nerves, wondering if I can handle him.

He dips his hot mouth down to the crook of my neck, sucking the tender skin gently and making my nerve endings dance. I run my hands down to his firm ass, squeezing eagerly. Still tasting my neck, he tugs slightly on my hair with one hand, and rubs my breast with the other.

And still he’s not touching me down there. I’m throbbing and open my legs wider, angling my hips up, hoping to feel him. His cock just barely brushes against me and I exhale with brief satisfaction. It turns quickly to aching frustration. I want more.

My hands go into his hair as he kisses me, his tongue thrusting deeply, making that ache in me go higher and higher. I angle my hips up again, still a little afraid of his size but wanting him. The way he’s working me up, it’s almost more than I can stand.

He pulls away and looks me in the eye. He slowly traces his hand down my breast, down my side, over my inner hip as he reaches between us for his cock. My breath catches. Still holding his eye, I briefly kiss his lips, leery and ready and so, so wet for him.

Then I feel the head right at my slick entrance. I exhale briefly, then hold my breath again. He very slowly presses against me, opening me slightly, then wider. Deeper and wider and he’s going so slow. My mouth parts slightly. As he comes fully past my entrance, stretching me more than I’ve ever been, almost to the point of pain but feeling so good, my eyes slide shut. He’s in enough to be able to release his cock and his hand comes back up, cupping the underside of my shoulder. His massive width slides deeper in me, and I let out a slow exhale, tilting my head back.

The fullness spreads down into me. Deeper. He pauses and my eyes flutter open. He’s still watching me. Being careful. Not wanting to hurt me. But he has the same expression of pleasure on his face that I feel.

“More,” I whisper.

And he complies. My eyes close again as he stretches me harder. He reaches so deep I feel a sudden zing and let out a small gasp. He halts.

“More,” I demand, eyes still closed. Relaxing the base of my muscles so he can slide in more, he dives deep until I’m completely full with him. “Oh god, yes,” I say, exhaling with a previously-unknown satisfaction.

And then it starts.

He pulls back some, making me tremble with pleasure, then comes back in and fills me again. He pulls back again, then rests his forehead on mine as he comes in quicker. “Oh yes,” I say, gently digging my nails into his back. He rocks back, then in. Out, then deeper.

Our exhalations increase their pace with our movements. Our kisses and caresses increase with intensity as he thrusts and rocks me. I claw at him. Throw my head back. Kiss him hungrily.

We cling to one another and our whole bodies move together with his thrusting. I’m climbing steadily. The pleasure in me pulsing as I clamp down harder on his cock. And he’s so rigid inside me. The muscles in his back are tightening. Even his thighs, against mine, are getting firmer as he climbs too. His breath is hot and short in my ear.

The rising flood of ecstasy within me gathers into a tight core, trembling and straining. He lets out a desperate groan, waiting for me. “I’m so close,” I gasp.

“You feel so incredible,” he says thickly, increasing his speed. Hitting bottom.

“God, yes. More.”

He lets loose. Pounding me fast and hard and startling me and pushing me up, up, up and over the edge. My orgasm explodes. I’m contracting and gasping and out of my mind. He grips my shoulder hard, thrusting me fast and furious, making my toes curl and my eyes roll back in my head. His movements are suddenly erratic as he moans in my shoulder and pulses inside me.

I tuck my forehead hard against his neck and whimper over and over as I ride out my climax. As I start to come down, I gasp against the continued pulsations in my body. At last I’m released, and as I start to relax my legs, I take a deep breath.

He comes up on one elbow, then cups my face in one hand and kisses me. He pulls away, we both exhale hard, and he slides gently out of me.

“Give me a minute,” he says, and kisses me again before climbing off the bed.

He heads for the bathroom and I close my eyes, my blood coursing hard through my veins.
Uuuuhhhhh,
I think. Damn.

I feel him climbing back onto the bed and look over at him as he flops on his back. He’s still panting a bit too.

“Man,” I say, and he looks over at me. “What in the hell took us so long?”

He laughs and I smile too, but I close my eyes, still trying to catch my breath.

Connor

Oh, fate did me good, this time.

Earlier today, when I saw Whitney standing outside the elevator, I decided I was done holding back. When fate puts someone in your path
four times,
you don’t fucking argue.

Anyway, there’s no harm because we’re both well aware of the fact that she’s leaving in a few days. No expectations, no disappointments. Right?

As I watch her over there, eyes closed and slightly panting, face beautifully flushed, I’m as intrigued as I was the first time I saw her. She’s beautiful, strong willed, and caring. Listening to her talk about her kids was endearing as hell. You don’t come across a woman like this every day.

Not that I’ve been looking. In fact, I’ve been doing the opposite of looking.

Yet here she is, in my room. I play again in my mind the image of her eyes rolling back in her head as she took me inside her for the first time. I hear again her sigh of fulfillment. Think about the way she asked for more. And god, she was so wet and tight and moved under me just right.

Satisfying as it was to be with her, it wouldn’t take long to be ready again.

She opens her eyes, looks at me, and smiles. Her smile pinches at my heart. I smile back. She rolls heavily onto her side and sighs, still watching me. “You,” she says slowly, “are crazy hot.”

I laugh and go onto my side too, tucking one arm under my head.

“Like, irresistible,” she says.

“Thank god.”

She grins wider. “And your cock is the eighth wonder of the world.”

I laugh and reach out to put my arm around her waist. I scoot her closer to me. She was too far away. “You were pretty fucking awesome yourself.”

She tucks her head onto my shoulder and snuggles in. She’s pinching at my heart again, which is maybe a dangerous thing. I allow myself to sink into it anyway, trying not to sigh like a schoolgirl. It’s been a long time since I’ve held a woman like this. A long time since any woman made me want to.

There have been hookups, sure. But those were different. This is nice.

“Do you have any siblings?” I ask, softly stroking her upper arm.

“No,” she says. “I’m an only child.”

“I used to wish for that when I was kid, every time I fought with my brother,” I say.

She laughs lightly against my chest. “Don’t you get along?”

“No, we do. And we mostly did when we were growing up too, but we had our moments of course.” I’m actually pretty tight with my siblings and can’t imagine life without them. “Did you like being an only child?”

She shrugs lazily, and I trail my fingers lighter on her skin, finding her softness soothing. “Yeah, I had plenty of privacy. Anyway, it’s all I know. I wanted a little sister when I was a kid, but once my parents divorced I gave up on that idea.”

“How old were you when they divorced?”

She comes up slightly and gives me an amused smile. “So many questions.”

“I want to know more about you,” I say, tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear. And I do. I feel like I could ask her questions all night.

It’s not the
only
thing I feel like I could do all night with her, but anyway.

“I was seven,” she says, settling back into my arms again and rubbing her hand on my chest. “During the school year I lived with my mom and saw my dad on the weekends, then we kind of switched during the summers. It was hard at first, but they were good about keeping the drama to a minimum, thankfully. They never put me in the middle of anything.”

“That’s good.”

“Yeah.”

“No step-siblings?”

“Nope. Just me. I don’t even have any cousins.”

“What?” I say, my hand stilling for a moment. “None at all?”

She shakes her head against me.

“Wow.” I start rubbing her arm again, running my fingers down past her elbow and up again. Her hand is still caressing my chest, my stomach, my side. “Small family.”

“Yeah. I think that’s partly why I get so attached to my kids. Is Corrine your only cousin?”

“Oh no. I’ve got a ton. She’s the only one close by though.”

“There in... where’s your family from?”

I tend to be purposefully vague about that with people in general, just in case the subject of my parents’ “hotel” ever comes up. The Rivers Paradise Resort is no hotel. In fact, it’s on the global map as a top destination. In addition to our many California devotees, we get tourists from all over the world.

My parents’ business isn’t a secret, exactly, but I get bored with answering the same questions over and over again. And, frankly, the resort put me into the limelight enough when I was a kid. Articles about “the Rivers family” are mostly limited to the local papers and magazines—unlike articles about the resort itself, which are usually national or global in scope—so it was really nothing more than homegrown celebrity. But still. I don’t miss the scrutiny one bit. It’s the same reason I’m vague about how I make my living. I prefer to fly under the radar on that one.

At dinner, I felt kind of funny about not speaking up when Whitney was telling me about the little boy whose adoptive family is from Swan Point, but as she went on with her story, I figured I could let it slide. However at this point, now that she’s asking, giving “Central California” as an answer doesn’t feel quite right. “Swan Pointe,” I say.

“Where Nadim is!” she says.

“Yep.”

“Do you know Gerard and Abigail Sanders? They live kind of up in the hills there.”

We know a shit ton of families in Swan Pointe, but they’re not one of them. “No.”

“Huh. Still! Small world.”

“It is. It’s funny the people I’ve run into. When I was in New Zealand, I ended up having drinks with a man who used to teach where my mom went to high school. He didn’t think he ever had a class with her in it, and when I called her later she confirmed it. But she remembered seeing him around campus.”

“Oh wow.”

“I think that was my closest connection. Well, except there were the twins I met in Curaçao. A brother and sister, and he works for my uncle. He made me swear not to report back how smashed he was though.” I laugh a bit at the memory. “Maybe that was the closest.”

She comes up on her elbow again, this time resting her chin in her hand. “I think it’s so cool, all the places you’ve been.”

“Is this your first time outside of the United States?” I ask, trailing my fingers down her back.

“No. My dad took me to Vancouver the summer before sixth grade.”

I try to picture her has a little sixth grader and smile. “Did you do the whole Victoria Gardens thing?”

“Yeah!” She says, her eyes lighting up. “It was cool. Have you been there?”

I nod. “Sort of. Freshman year. One day I was—”

“Wait. Freshman in high school or college?”

“College.”

“And where’d you go?”

“CSU San Marcos. I picked a school on the coast so I’d have a place nearby to dock my boat.”

“Of course,” she says, grinning. “Go on.”

“So one day, I was fed up with papers and tests and, oh my god,
boring
lectures, so I hopped in my boat and sailed up the coast, not knowing where I was going or when I’d be back.”

“You just... hopped in your boat?”

“Yeah. Right after class.” This was back when I just had my little Catalina sailboat, which had been a graduation gift from my parents. They were going to get me a car, like they did for my siblings, but I asked if I could get a sailboat for the same price instead. “Anyway, so I sailed up the coast for hours, feeling like I could just keep going forever, you know? But then I came to this marina that looked interesting so I stopped. I didn’t realize I was in Canada by then.”

“You didn’t know where you were?”

I shrug. “It’s all right. I always figure it out eventually.”

She gives me a look that’s half perplexed, half amused, half impressed. I realize that’s three halves, but believe me, I’ve seen this look a lot so I’m not questioning the math.

“Well, they weren’t too happy about me pulling in without a passport so I had to turn around and go back. By that point I’d cooled down enough though, so I just went ahead and went on home.”

“What do you mean ‘cooled down’? About what?”

I sigh. “I was just... frustrated a lot back then. I thought college would be better than high school, but it was worse. The classes were more interesting, kind of, but I think because I had so much more freedom, it made me just pull at the leash even harder.”

Whitney settles down against the pillow, one arm under it, and gives me a thoughtful look. I can’t stop touching her, so I run my hand along the gentle curve of her waist and hips. “The leash?”

I may as well come out with it. “Yeah. The leash. Whatever it is that keeps people in one place, I don’t like it. I have to move. I have to see what’s on the other side of the horizon or around the next corner.”

“You do have itchy feet, don’t you?”

I smile. “For as long as I can remember. It made me a bit of a daredevil when I was a kid, but my dad helped with that.”

“How so?”

“He likes adventure, too. My mom says I get it from him, but she says it like it’s all his fault, so I don’t know if that’s a good thing.” Whitney laughs, and the sound of it lightens my chest. “Anyway, he taught me how to be smart about things, and not so reckless. He taught me to sail and climb and took me down my first Class 5 rapids.”

“Wow.”

I nod. “My dad’s in his fifties but you’d never know it to look at him. I’ve never seen him shy away from any challenge. He’ll make damn sure the rope line is laid out correctly, but when he’s done, his ass is rappelling down that cliff like it’s nothing. He’s had his share of injuries, but I totally have him beat. I was such an impulsive kid, without his guidance who knows if I would’ve even survived childhood.”

She laughs. I’m joking, but only kind of. I really was a stupid kid.

Still smiling, she closes her eyes a bit. I see the exhaustion on her face, but she’s fighting it. She opens her eyes and gives me a contented smile.

“Are you getting tired?” I ask.

“Just a little.”

“Long walk tomorrow,” I say.

She hesitates, then scoots in closer, but keeps her eyes on me. She slips her arm around my waist and I wrap my arms around her too. She smiles gently and I run the back of my fingers down her cheek. “You’re coming with me?” she asks softly. “Right?”

I smile. “Hell, yes. I’m gonna follow you all the way to Finisterre, if you’ll let me.”

Her smile broadens and I lean in to kiss her. My dick’s been in a state of semi-arousal this whole time, but as our kiss lingers, and then deepens, it comes roaring to life. Our embrace tightens and her leg slides up my thigh and hooks over my waist.

I half groan, half growl (two halves) and roll her onto her back to get on top of her. She giggles lowly and wraps both legs around me. Her soft moistness is against my pubic bone and the blood flow’s really going now. My cock is raging hard.

“I want you inside me again,” she whispers, then gently nibbles my bottom lip. If I were a cat, I’d be purring.

“Oh really?” I ask, running my hand up her side and to the full cup of her breast. “You want some cock, you naughty girl?”

“Not just any cock. Yours.” My heart’s pounding.

“I don’t know,” I say calmly, a smile emerging as I dip my head to her neck to taste her soft skin. God, she tastes incredible. “We only have one condom left. We may have to pace ourselves.”

Pace ourselves, my ass. I could climb on board right now. But I want to do more than warm her up first, I want to make her molten. I want her to be more than ready. I want her to squirm.

“We can get more,” she says, sucking on my neck and sending chills all through me. I clutch her shoulder and hold her tight against me.

“Or... I could make you come with my tongue,” I say, kissing her shoulder, then trailing hot kisses down her breast and toward her nipple. She takes a shaky breath, her hips adjusting under me. Seeking.

There you go, sweetheart.

“I’d want more,” she says.

I grin before taking her nipple in my mouth. Her back arches and she brings that beautiful breast toward me. I flick the hard tip with my tongue, my cock throbbing. She whimpers. “Then after my tongue,” I say, swinging to the other breast, “I’d make you come with my fingers.”

She moans and I take her in, suckling her firmly.

“I’d still want you,” she says, panting now. Her hips are angling up to me. Asking.

“Greedy girl,” I say smiling.

“Yes,” she breathes, tugging on my biceps, trying to get me to come up and in position. She moves her hips again and this time I feel her silky softness against the length of my shaft. Fuck, I’m gonna lose my resolve. But I keep a cool tone.

“You want it, don’t you?”

“Yes.” She reaches for the condom on the nightstand, taking it eagerly. “Fuck me, now. Please,” she says, then brings her mouth to mine and takes me just as impatiently. Damn, this woman knows how to kiss. We’re practically fucking with our tongues. God, I hope she’s ready, because there’s no resisting her now. I grab the package, tear it open, and roll the condom on. Angling above her, I grab the thick base to guide my tight cock.