Follow the River (River of Rain Book 1) Read online

  Hey?

  He’s been gone for fucking hours, I didn’t know if he left me here or if he was fucking dead in the forest being eaten by a mountain lion like he said were out here that first day.

  And he says hey.

  I’m fucking seething. “Where the fuck were you? You’ve been gone for hours. You didn’t answer my calls, you didn’t leave a note. I was freaking out thinking you left me here. I thought…” I cut myself off, swallowing harshly.

  Shit.

  “I thought something terrible happened to you.”

  Shock crosses his face. “I went for a hike. Kind of like you do without telling me? I didn’t think you’d care.”

  I sigh and release my hold on his throat, bringing my forehead to rest against his. My heart is pounding a mile a minute. “Of course, I fucking care, River,” I whisper.

  “Why?”

  His question gives me pause. I pull back to look into his eyes, more green than blue today, my brows furrowing. “Why?”

  “Yeah, why? Why do you fucking care when you clearly hate me?”

  I clench my jaw. “I can hate someone and still want them to be alive and well. They aren’t any fun to torture if they’re dead.”

  River presses his hands into my chest, pushing me off his body. “Of course, Rain. You threaten to kill me multiple times, but you want me to be alive and well. You want your victims to feel it when you hurt them. I get it now. Really. I think I understand that more than anyone.”

  “Fuck you.”

  “Do it yourself,” he taunts with a smirk. “But I’d appreciate an orgasm out of it this time. Didn’t anyone ever tell you it’s rude to leave your partner hanging?”

  I narrow my eyes at him. It didn’t take long to catch onto the game he plays, but for the life of me, I can’t keep myself from playing it. “First, you aren’t my damn partner. And second, I know all about getting my actual partner off.” I pause, getting closer again, speaking against his lips. “You asked if you’d get rewarded for being a good boy. And you were anything but, Riv. So why would you ever think I’d let you come when you never know when to shut your fucking mouth?”

  Shit, just talking about his mouth makes me stupidly hard. Maybe just stupid in general.

  Because I’m not fucking gay.

  But I want to capture those lips with mine, seeing as I can’t stop fucking staring at them half the time, and put our tongues to other uses than fighting and taunting.

  Goddamnit.

  River licks the seam of my lips with the tip of his tongue, a wicked grin spreading across his face. “Well, baby, you know what to do to get me to shut up. Put your gorgeous cock in my mouth.”

  Baby. My brain catches on the word.

  I know he uses it as a barb, just like he always does.

  But this time? I swear I hear something else in his tone.

  Tenderness?

  “You’d like it too much,” I tell him, currently reeling on the idea of River wrapping those perfect pink lips around my cock again. Inhaling deeply, I attempt to calm my erratic thoughts.

  But he smells so damn good. I swear to God, his cologne or soap or natural fucking scent sends a signal of raging desire straight to my dick anytime I catch a whiff.

  I can’t believe I’m even contemplating this…

  “But maybe if you show me how good you can behave, then I can be…” I glance up into his eyes before continuing, “…generous enough to make these next few weeks a lot less… confrontational, and a lot more… pleasurable.”

  “What are you saying, Rain?” he mumbles, the sound of my name, that name, on his lips getting me ridiculously hard.

  “I want to fuck you again,” I whisper into his mouth, giving into temptation and grabbing his bottom lip between my teeth and tugging. “And I hate it. I can’t stand that I want to fuck your tight ass more than I want to escape from this goddamn cabin,” I say in a frustrated exhale. “I hate that I’m driven by this uncontrollable… lust for you, even when I fucking hate you.”

  “That’s because you don’t hate me at all.”

  I sigh against his mouth, letting the lie slip off my tongue. “I couldn’t hate anyone more if I tried.”

  “Better be careful, Rain. Love and hate are two sides of the same coin. You’ll be falling in love with me before you know it.”

  “Unlikely.”

  He pushes me back again and rolls his eyes. “Is it so fucking hard for you to admit you like me?”

  “Yes, because I don’t. So, I’m not going to say it because I’m not a liar.”

  Liar.

  “You like me enough to want to fuck me. That’s what you’re attempting to ask for, right? A good fuck? Something to pass the time while we’re stuck in this hellhole?”

  River’s lips quirk up in the corner and his eyebrow inches toward his hairline as well.

  Damn him for being so receptive.

  “That’s not what I’m saying at all,” I deny. But we both know my argument is weak and the furthest thing from the truth. Because the unthinkable is happening.

  The asshole is starting to grow on me.

  So naturally, I keep digging the hole deeper, knowing he will have a witty retort on the tip of his tongue for anything I have to say.

  “This changes nothing. I don’t like you. I never will. And I won’t like fucking you, either. It’s a means to an end, that’s it. If we were to do this, then when this little social experiment Coach is putting us through comes to an end, so does the… arrangement between us.”

  “Fine by me.”

  I raise a brow. I was expecting him to put up more of a fight.

  “And no one can know about it when we get back to school.”

  “I’m not agreeing to that.”

  Ah, there it is.

  “But—”

  “Shut up and let me finish. I’m not agreeing to that.” He pauses, checking to make sure I’ll keep my trap shut this time. “I refuse to go back into the closet for anyone or anything. But that being said, you shouldn’t have to worry about people back at school finding out if we end this the day Coach comes to pick us up.” He quirks a brow in amusement. “Or are you already planning on breaking that rule, trying to hunt me down when you think you need a good dicking?”

  “You won’t go anywhere near my ass,” I snap. “And before you even think about it, I’m not blowing you, either.”

  He laughs. “Fucking bet.”

  “I’m serious. In this agreement, I’m the top only. I’m in charge.”

  River shakes his head. “No deal man. I’m not a human blow-up doll. I deserve to get off just like you do. Every time. Not only when you think I deserve it.”

  I grind my teeth, conceding that he does have a point. Begrudgingly.

  “Fine. I’ll make sure you get off. But I stand firm on the anal.”

  River just smiles and steps into my personal space. His hands, so much larger than any other that has touched me like this, slide under my shirt and over my abs. My dick jolts, loving his hands on me in any capacity.

  Fucking hell.

  I’m not gay.

  Riv moves his hands from my abs around my waist to my lower back, fingers trailing softly against my flesh. Goosebumps break out over my skin as he slips two fingers under the waistband of my jeans and briefs, teasing the top edge of my crack. “I’ll take this ass one day. And don’t worry, baby. You’ll love every fucking second of it.”

  I tense. It’s on the tip of my tongue to call this bullshit off and ignore him for the rest of the month, even if I go insane in the solitary confinement of my bedroom. But his hand shoots up and he places a finger over my lips, silencing me.

  “These lips don’t need to do anything right now except seal this deal with a kiss. So do us both a favor and shut the fuck up.”

  Before I have the chance to object, his mouth smashes into mine, his tongue probing my mouth instantly. In search of a sparring partner. It only takes a minute of our tongues tangling before I completel
y forget the protests I had to his terms.

  What were they again?

  Hell if I know, because kissing him makes me damn near mindless.

  I press River back into the counter with my body, locking him in with my arms and pinning him in place with my hips. My erection is thick and heavy in my jeans already, begging for release from its confines.

  “Get naked,” I murmur against his lips before whipping my shirt over my head in one fell swoop. My hands fly to my belt and I unbuckle it hastily before unbuttoning my jeans.

  “Someone’s eager,” he laughs huskily in my ear before his mouth trails down my neck and across my collarbone in slow, leisurely kisses. He nips and sucks at the skin on the other side of my neck, I’m sure leaving hickeys in his wake. “I’m fine going slow. I’d love to mark every inch of you first.”

  “Later,” I growl, beginning to undress him from the waist down. The minute I have his jeans opened, my hand dives into the front to grip him.

  Fuck.

  This is the first time I’ve touched him.

  A shudder of pleasure racks my body when I pull his cock free, getting close enough so I can grasp my own dick in my palm too, like he did out by the shed. I give us two slow vertical strokes, loving the way it feels to have his cock pressed to mine.

  Why does something so wrong have to feel so good?

  “I need to fuck you,” I tell him while he drives me insane, still biting and sucking at my neck.

  “Then fuck me,” he murmurs against my skin before pulling back to aim a self-satisfied grin at me. “Preferably with lube this time.”

  I can’t help but smirk. “Go get it, jackass. Since you were so sure enough of yourself to buy it in the first place.”

  He just laughs and I can’t stop staring at him. His chiseled jaw, those dimples that could win wars, and his lips. God, my eyes are glued to them. He quickly grabs his wallet from off the counter, fishing out a condom and packet of lube, tossing them both at me. Being the star wide receiver I am, I catch them with ease and glance up at him.

  “Jesus Christ, were you a boy scout or something?”

  “It pays to be prepared,” he grins, pulling my mouth back to his with a grip on the front of my throat.

  He sure can fucking kiss.

  River breaks away and finishes undressing quickly, shucking all his clothes in any which direction while I slide out of my own jeans.

  And then I take a minute to really admire his body.

  Sure, I’ve seen him in only a towel plenty of times in the locker room and his back half naked the one time in the shower a little over a week ago.

  But I’m allowed to look this time.

  His chest and arms are perfectly sculpted, hard and smooth in all the right places. A couple tattoos run down his left arm in sporadic placement, and though I’ve seen them easily a hundred times at this point, I can’t help but stare. There’s a small cross on his inner wrist. A mountain range and treeline wrapping all the way around his forearm, just below the elbow.

  On his ribs, I see a quote in script.

  Into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul.

  I move my gaze down his torso and over his abs. They ripple and flex under my perusal, forcing my eyes down further, to his cock. It stands at attention, long and thick and just as fucking perfect as the last time I saw it. It jumps suddenly, as if sensing my thoughts, and my eyes fly up to meet River’s.

  He wears nothing but an arrogant smirk on his face.

  I frown. “If you say anything stupid, I promise, you’re going to regret it.”

  He lets out a throaty laugh before ripping the condom from my hands, tearing open the foil and rolling the latex over my cock. “I was going to offer that you could take a picture, since it’ll last longer.”

  I roll my eyes as I open the packet of lube, applying a generous amount to my length.

  This time, despite my threat, I don’t have any desire to hurt him.

  I want to be the only one making him feel good.

  “How do you want me?”

  I bite my lip and glance around the open floorplan of the cabin, but my attention keeps snapping back to the kitchen island.

  “Up here,” I command, patting the stone countertop.

  River doesn’t waste a moment, hopping up, only to let out a hiss as his bare ass hits the cool surface. But then he laughs and pulls me between his legs. His mouth is on mine again in an instant, molding against the shape of my lips, his tongue dancing with mine.

  I could drown in him, in the euphoria of being like this with him.

  But that doesn’t mean it’s not confusing as shit.

  Slipping my fingers into his hair, I tug his head back and trail soft, wet kisses down his throat, my tongue flicking out against his Adam’s apple.

  “Lean back,” I mumble against him, pressing my palm against the warm skin of his pecs, forcing his back against the counter. My fingers dance over his chest and abs, relishing in the way his muscles tense under my touch.

  A low groan slides past his lips when I trail the pad of my index finger down his length from tip to base. “Stop fucking teasing me.”

  Chuckling softly, I grip his hips and shift his body to where I want it, his ass at the edge of the counter, the backs of his knees draped over my forearms. “You think that was teasing? Oh Riv, you’re in for a rude awakening.” After slicking two fingers with the lube on my sheathed cock, I slip my hand under him and tease his crack, coating his hole before easing the tip of my index finger inside him.

  He’s hot and tight, making my dick ache to be inside him again and actually be able to enjoy it this time.

  Not that the shower wasn’t intoxicating in its own right. Hate fucks are pleasurable, the undeniable charge in the air is something that only comes from pure, unfiltered lust.

  But right now, taking our time and learning each other’s bodies? It’s just…more. Seeing someone in their most vulnerable state and knowing you are the one who holds the power to make them quake in fucking ecstasy. That is when true chemistry is formed between two people. That is real fucking pleasure.

  River starts to squirm as I begin pumping the single digit in and out of him, slow and tantalizing. Curling my finger to brush along his prostate on every downward stroke.

  I drop to my knees in front of him, letting his legs dangle over my shoulders and trace my lips up his inner thighs. Adding a second finger just as I give him a slight nip right where his hip and torso meet causes him to buck off the counter.

  “Jesus Christ, my toes are tingling,” he gasps when both fingers rub against the hidden button of pleasure inside him. Continuing to nibble at his skin, licking each and every little bite mark I leave behind, River shoots into a sitting position. His hands twist into my hair and he uses his hold to anchor my head in place. “You’re fucking killing me.”

  Smirking, I lick his hip. “Don’t die on me now, Riv. I haven’t even gotten to the good part.” My taunts spread warm breath across the sensitive skin near his groin.

  He shivers, his foggy gaze meeting mine. With quick lashes of my tongue over his V, his hips, I work my fingers faster. Eyes locked on him, watching every intake of breath and heave of his chest, I press him back into the counter again, forcing him to release my head.

  “More,” he pants, bearing down on my hand, fucking himself harder with every twist and thrust of his hips. “I need more.”

  I bite his skin, harder this time, in an attempt to keep from smiling.

  Patience, Riv. They call it a virtue for a reason.

  Rising back up to a standing position, I slide my arm under his knee again and spread him wider before me. For a brief moment, I watch him while his eyes are closed. His body moves in rhythm with my hand in the way we always seem to be in sync.

  And I’ve never been this turned on in my entire life.

  River’s body is a masterpiece, sculpted and molded after Adonis himself. Something I’ve been desperate not to notice up until this point
, yet always did.

  But it’s not just his body. It’s fucking all of him.

  His intelligence and quick wit. The sharpness of his tongue when he lays into me, letting me have a taste of my own medicine. When he smiles and laughs and is fucking secure and honest with who he is. And while I’m insanely jealous of that freedom, it might also be the biggest turn on of all.

  I’m beginning to realize resisting him was a futile effort from the start, and I thank my lucky stars I don’t have to anymore. Because right now?

  He’s all fucking mine.

  With a grunt of satisfaction in knowing I’m about to be balls deep inside him, I remove my fingers from him. A shudder wracks his body and his head snaps up.

  His chest is heaving, and his eyes narrow into slits before he bites out, “That is the exact fucking opposite of more.”

  I can’t help it, I fucking burst out laughing at his little meltdown, a huge grin taking over my face. Which, of course, only causes him to frown harder. But his eyes soften, so at least he isn’t actually pissed at me for stopping when he must’ve been close to coming.

  Instead, a small smirk plays at his lips as his dart between mine. “You should do that more often.”

  I quirk a brow, gripping the base of my dick and swiping it up and down his crack tauntingly. “Stop when you ask for more?”

  “Fucking laugh, you jackass,” he rasps as his body squirms, pressing toward me as best he can. I keep myself from sliding home into his tight ass, despite the urge flooding me. Even though it just about kills me.

  “Maybe you should make me then, yeah, Riv?” I continue teasing my length against the puckered hole before aligning myself with it, ready to drive into pure bliss.

  “The only thing I want to make you do right now is fuck me.”

  And with that, he wraps his legs around my hips and impales himself on my cock. We groan in unison, delirious with how damn good it feels to be joined like this.

  I could spend the rest of my life inside his ass and it wouldn’t be enough time.

  “Move,” he commands as he attempts to sit up, but my hand flies out to his chest to keep him down on his back.

  “You’re not the one in charge here,” I tell him, sliding my forearms back under each knee, my hands finding hold on his hips as I give a powerful thrust forward. His hands claw at the edge of the counter above his head. Gripping for dear life as I start pounding into him.