Authors: Opal Carew
“My family is nothing like yours. I don’t have any of the things your friends do.”
He frowned. “It don’t care about that.”
“Really?” She crossed her arms over her chest. “And you wouldn’t care that my father was a drug addict … or that he was in prison?” she challenged.
“Was he?”
“Yes.”
To his credit, his expression didn’t change. “I still don’t care.”
“And my mother? Want to know what she does for a living?” Before he could respond, she said, “She’s an exotic dancer.”
River couldn’t admit to any more. Not even to herself. She couldn’t face believing that those men her mother had brought home … with River in the next room … were any more than dates. Or one-night stands. Or whatever. Surely her mother hadn’t taken money for …
“River, I mean it. It doesn’t matter.” He placed his hands on her shoulders and turned her to face him. “I told you, I like you. And who your parents are or what they’ve done has nothing to do with that.”
“I don’t understand.”
Most people, when they found out about her background, would have nothing more to do with her. When she and her mother had first moved to Ancaster, River had started making friends, but then when people found out … she’d become an outcast.
It had been a lonely existence and she’d been happy to move to a new town for college where no one knew her past. Now … oh, God … Kane already knew she didn’t fit in with the rich kids. Why had she told him the sordid details about her family? She kicked herself for saying too much.
He drew her closer and stared at her, his eyes filled with concern.
“River, I feel badly for what you must have gone through when you were growing up. It must have been hard.”
“I don’t need your pity,” she said in a tight voice, refusing to look at him.
“It’s not pity. It’s compassion.” He stroked a tear from her cheek. “I wish I had been there to help you through it.”
Her chest was so tight she could barely breathe, and her throat so closed she thought she’d choke. But the feel of Kane so close … the echo of his accepting words seeping through her … She drew in a deep breath.
“Thank you.”
He squeezed her shoulders. “Of course. I just want to help.”
His hands slid down her arms, then he took her hand and interlaced his fingers with hers. He drew her back to the path.
“You really don’t care?”
He laughed. “I really don’t.”
She believed him. And she wanted to hug him … tight … and never let him go. She’d always lived with the stigma of her parents’ behavior. With being judged by others. But knowing Kane accepted her, despite where she’d come from made her feel … special.
Well, not special really, but normal. Not an outcast. At least, not in his eyes.
And right now, that’s all she cared about.
She walked alongside him, a little giddy … as if a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
“Where are we going?” she asked, a grin creeping across her face.
“Where would you like to go?”
She glanced at his profile as they walked from the park to the sidewalk.
“How about your place?”
He glanced her way. “Really?”
“I believe what you told me last night … That you didn’t mean to push me.”
He had been sweet and caring, just as he was being tonight. He’d taken her home and had obviously been concerned about her. He’d even called her later to ensure she was okay.
“And we’ll just talk, right? And hang out?”
He smiled. “Of course.”
He squeezed her hand and she felt like she was walking on air. As they approached his building, she realized she wanted more, though. She didn’t want to be afraid of being alone with a man. Of what he might do. Kane was the first man she had ever really trusted, and that kind of trust was new to her, but … it meant something.
In fact, it meant more to her than she could have ever imagined.
He unlocked the front door and opened it for her. A moment later, the elevator doors closed behind them and he pressed the button for the twelfth floor. As the elevator glided upward, an uncontrollable urge swelled through her and she turned to face him, then gazed into his eyes. They darkened as he watched her. She leaned in and he met her halfway, their lips merging.
The kiss turned passionate, desire surging through her like a tidal wave.
She wanted him. She’d never wanted a man before … had always been repelled by the very idea … but not with him. The need reached down into the core of her and blasted through her very being.
She needed to be with him.
And why not? He made her feel like a normal woman for the first time in her life and normal was good. Normal was what she wanted to be.
And normal women her age weren’t virgins.
At least, not according to anyone she’d ever talked to.
Their lips parted and he gazed at her uncertainly. She took his mouth again, gliding her tongue between his lips. He groaned, and tightened his arms around her.
He released her lips and said breathlessly, “I thought we were just going to talk and hang out.”
She grinned. “We can do that.”
She grabbed a handful of his shirt and pulled him forward, capturing his lips again. Passion flared between them and when the doors whooshed open, they were both breathing heavily.
“Or we could do something much more fun.”
He laughed as she grasped his hand and led him out of the elevator. She tugged him down the hall with her.
Yes, she fully intended to lose her virginity tonight. With Kane.
Present
Kane walked into his office and set his steaming mug of coffee on his desk. Sunshine streamed in the windows on this beautiful spring morning as he started up his computer.
“Good morning,” Will said as he walked into the office and sat down across from Kane. He sipped his coffee and set it on Kane’s desk. “So how did things go on Saturday?”
“Fine, thanks for asking. How about you?”
“Come on, man. Spill. How did your little venture go with River? Is she going to go for the partnership?”
Just as they’d planned in college, Will had become Kane’s partner and he knew all about Kane’s guilt over what had happened with River in college. Kane had been an insensitive fool and he should have done something at the time. Especially when he’d found out River had dropped out of school. But he hadn’t known where to find her.
Not that he’d really tried. And to be honest with himself, a part of him had held back because, as much as he didn’t judge her for her parentage, he knew that she would always strain against normal social expectations, which would make it very difficult for her to fit into his life. He’d told himself he was doing it for her, so she wouldn’t be hurt by others’ judgments of her, but deep inside he knew it was also because he wasn’t willing to take on the challenge of those same judgments.
So he’d let her go.
He’d grown a lot since then.
He wondered how she’d changed since he knew her last. The hair she sported was closer to normal than her previous fuchsia streaks, now a deep burgundy. And she’d actually worn a soft pastel nail polish rather than something garish.
Had she mellowed since college, or was she trying harder to fit in? He’d find out if only she’d give him a chance. And that was a big if.
“I don’t know, but I intend to convince her any way I can.”
Will sipped his coffee as he stared at Kane with his insightful hazel eyes, assessing. Something Kane had become used to.
Will set down his cup. “Look, I get that you want to make it up to her, but you know you need to give her space. If she decides she doesn’t want anything to do with you, you have to respect that.”
Kane knew Will was on his side. There was no doubt in his mind. It had actually been Will who had found her Kickstarter campaign and alerted Kane to it. Kane knew that Will felt some level of responsibility for what had happened in college, too.
Kane raised an eyebrow. “Have we met?”
Will chuckled. “Yeah, I know.”
They both knew that when Kane set his mind to something, he got it. That was fact.
“Just be careful you don’t make matters worse,” Will said.
It was a fair comment. Almost everything Kane had done with River had gone from bad to worse.
But Kane fully believed that there was nothing he could do that would make matters worse than they already were.
First year of college—Spring semester
Kane’s pulse rose as River led him down the hallway. Her behavior in the elevator had his cock aching. After last night, he never would have imagined she would be willing to come back to his place again, let alone suggest what he believed she was suggesting now. But her passionate kisses and her eagerness to get to his apartment made it pretty clear.
He was going to get lucky tonight.
They reached his door and he pushed the key into the lock and turned it. As soon as they were inside with the door closed behind them, she pushed him back against it and kissed him again, her lips soft and insistent.
God, her assertiveness was fucking sexy.
He couldn’t take it anymore. He wrapped his arms around her and turned her until he had her pressed against the wall, then he drove his tongue into her mouth. His hands glided down her sides, over the flare of her hips, then back up. He felt the swell of her breasts against his fingertips, sending heat flooding to his groin, and glided forward to cup one luscious mound … then stopped.
Memories of last night … of how River had panicked … plagued Kane.
He tore his mouth from hers. “River, last night—”
She shook her head. “No, don’t worry about last night. I want this. I want to be with you.”
God, he couldn’t resist. He cupped her soft breast. Immediately, her breath caught, and he saw a spark of anxiety in her eyes. He pulled back.
“River…?”
She shook her head, her eyes wide and pleading. “I’m sorry. I’m not too good at this, and I am a bit nervous, but…” She pressed her hand to his cheek. “I really do want to do this with you. If you could just move slowly and be patient…” She bit her lip.
Okay, so she wasn’t very experienced. He could do what she asked.
“Of course I’ll be patient. And I’ll go as slow as you want me to.”
She nodded and smiled shyly. “Thank you.”
He took her hand and led her to the couch.
As soon as she sat down, he said, “I’ll be right back.”
He went to the cabinet where he kept a small selection of wine and grabbed a bottle and a couple of glasses then turned on some soft music. He poured her a glass of wine and handed it to her.
He sat down beside her and lifted his glass. “To us.”
Then in a corny gesture, he linked arms with her and they both took a sip.
He set his glass down. She took another sip. Then another as she watched him.
“I’m not trying to get you drunk,” he said.
She sipped again, and put her glass on the table. “I know. It’ll just help me relax.”
“I don’t know,” he said with a smile, sliding his arm around her waist and drawing her closer. “We seem to be working at cross purposes, because I plan to get you
excited.
”
She grinned and leaned against him. “Oh, I think we’re on the same page.”
Then she nuzzled his neck. Heat washed through him as her fingers played over his shirt and he realized she was undoing the buttons. Her hand glided down his chest as the shirt opened.
He pulled the shirt off and tossed it aside. She leaned forward and her soft lips pressed against his skin. She kissed across his chest then—Damn! His cock jolted to attention as she lapped at his nipple, then sucked. He glanced down as her neon-green-tipped fingers found his other nipple—which was hard as a bead—and toyed with it.
God, he wanted to touch her, but he wasn’t quite sure how to do that without spooking her. She leaned back and unfastened the small buckles holding her black vest closed. She shed the garment, grabbed the hem of her bright, multicolored T-shirt, and pulled it over her head. Underneath she wore a simple bra, but it was black and lifted her breasts nicely. And her breasts were larger than he had imagined. He’d had a hint of their size last night with the brief touch, but her clothing certainly hid their fullness.
He couldn’t drag his gaze from them. When she reached behind to unfasten the bra, his breath held. She drew the straps from her shoulders, and with a blush on her cheeks, she slowly drew the garment away.
He stared at her naked breasts, so full and round … the nipples a deep dusky rose … swelling under his gaze. He wanted to touch them so badly. His cock ached with need. But he made no move.
She gazed at him uncertainly, then finally reached for his hand and, to his delight, pressed it to her warm flesh, her hard nipple pushing into his palm. He tightened his fingers around her, cupping her in his hand.
“Your breasts are so beautiful,” he said in awe.
He caressed the other one, loving the soft fullness in his hand. And the silky feel of her skin.
She stroked her hands up the sides of his neck. Then cupped his jaw and kissed him. Her lips hesitant on his. He slid one arm around her waist and pulled her closer. She shifted onto her knees and pressed tighter against him. Her tongue glided into his mouth, then led his back into hers, then she sucked.
He groaned and turned her, pressing her back onto the couch, then he prowled over her. He dragged his mouth from hers, and stared down at her perfect breasts. He lowered his head and captured one puckered nipple in his mouth. He suckled and she moaned, her hands curling around his head, her fingers threading through his hair.
He reached for her other nipple and stroked it, then rolled the hard bead between his fingertips. Then he switched. She arched against him.
He ran his hand down her flat stomach and found her jeans, then unfastened the metal button. He couldn’t find the zipper, and realized there was another button, then another. He undid them all, and slid his hand inside the denim. He felt her soft skin, then her silky curls.
All the women he’d been with were either totally bare, or had just a small patch or strip of hair, but she seemed to be untouched. As he stroked, he realized she’d stopped moving and he glanced at her face.