She loses the smirk and sets a clear gaze on me. “If we mess up badly then we do what we did tonight. We talk it through and find a way forward.”
I stand up, making it so she has to tilt her neck to look up at me when I stop myself inches away from her. “I won’t let you go. That will never be the way forward,” I warn her. I can compromise on a lot of things but Freya not being mine will never be one of them.
Her eyelashes flutter and the swell of her breasts rise and fall. “I know,” she says.
Her lips flush pink and her tongue darts out, making them shine and glisten like liquid sugar.
My fingers curl into a fist. “You have to give me permission, darling. I promised I wouldn’t touch you like that until you asked me to,” I remind her. Safe words are never to be taken lightly, and I won’t lay a finger on Freya until she’s told me explicitly that is what she wants, even if it kills me.
I’ve already hurt her once. I refuse to do it again.
29
FREYA
For the first time in a long time, I feel in control.
River’s gaze is a physical caress and the way this dress binds my body like silken ropes has me burning for him. I don’t have to think about it, the words fall from my lips with ease because for once I know exactly what I want.
“Touch me, River.”
Despite asking for it, I’m not prepared for the ferocity with which River’s lips take mine. His hands cradle my head as he imprints his kiss on my skin, his teeth tugging at my lower lip so he can force his tongue inside. He takes my mouth like he owns it but when my hands loop around his neck he hesitates.
He breaks off the kiss, his forehead pressed against mine as he holds himself back.
“River?”
Deep brown pools sink into me when he opens his eyes. “I love you, Freya. I need you to know that. I want to love you like you deserve. I want to worship you.”
The words are too soft for River but desperation dances at his edges and I want to give him what he needs so I nod.
He lifts me up into his arms, my legs escaping through the long slits in the dress as I hook them around River’s waist. We kiss again, this time gentler, more tender, before he carries me upstairs to his room.
River sets me down in front of his bed and I glance around to see this room too has been decorated with fairy lights.
The little white stars twinkle against the navy walls and dark oak furniture. It’s so not River and I know he did it for me, just like he lit the kitchen with candles and cooked food his mother taught him, all for me. I was half-way to forgiving him the second I walked into the living area and saw how much effort he’d gone to.
Amusement twitches my lips as I take in the decorations. “Confident, were we?” I’m only teasing but River shakes his head, his expression somber.
“Hopeful,” he corrects, stepping up to me. His fingers hook under the black material on my shoulders. “May I?”
My brows dip softly because River never asks for permission, but I nod.
He draws the dress off my shoulders and down my chest, my nipples pebbling as the tension-laden air hits my skin. Just the feel of the dress catching on the hardened peaks has my knees trembling.
River brings the dress down to my waist but leaves the skirt in place. His hand cups my cheek, again, so gentle. “Wait here.”
He walks over to his chest of drawers and strips off his shirt before coming back with two lengths of black rope. He traces the dress at my hip, his finger dusting my bare stomach. “I should be punishing you for not wearing the dress I left out but the one you chose has given me ideas.”
My stomach flips.
River takes the ropes in his hands and ties a small loop knot before laying the black strands over my shoulders. The knotrests between my shoulder blades, the material softer than I expected. He walks behind my back and comes to a stop. His hands drop away. “I’m going to fucking kill Eli.”
My mouth parts as I remember the initials cut into my shoulder and I spin to face River, my hands fluttering to his chest. “It’s fine. River, I asked him to. I wanted it.”
His nostrils flare as he works his jaw in a circle. “You’re okay?”
“I’m fine.” I tilt my head. “If it helps, I gave him my initial too.”
