Authors: Denise Townsend
When he knew she was desperately close, close enough that he could feel her walls shuddering around his fingers, grasping at him hungrily, Fen moved so that he loomed over River, his mouth close to her ear. His fingers never left her however, and his thick thumb took up his tongue’s former position rubbing her clit.
“Because you’ve trusted me, I can make you come,” Fen murmured, as River moved her face blindly, seeking out his lips. He let her catch him, and she ran her tongue over his mouth, tasting herself, before rising up to kiss him fiercely.
Fen’s desire poured over her as he kissed her back, but then he pulled away, wanting to finish what he had to say.
“And you trust me, don’t you, River. You always knew you could trust me.”
River whimpered, her hips rising as her cunt pulsed, and he knew she was right on the verge.
His thumb moved faster, pushing her over the edge. Her come-cries rang in her small kitchen as she let herself go, let herself fall into pleasure.
Meanwhile, over her cries, she heard Fen’s calm voice speaking in her own ear.
“You knew you could trust me, because you can trust yourself, River.”
Aftershocks hit hard as his thumb and fingers kept working her, so powerfully it was like another tiny orgasm. But again, despite all her own cries, all she could hear was Fen.
“You can trust yourself,” he repeated, until she silenced him with a kiss.
Then she sat up, ripping the blindfold off as she did so. She didn’t speak to her selkie, and he could feel a thousand emotions raging underneath under fevered flesh.
But then all he could feel was her pushing him backwards, into the kitchen chair behind him. And then the soft skin of her thighs on either side of his as she straddled him, and her hot wet sheath as she mounted him.
Lost in his own pleasure, Fen didn’t notice River’s tears. And then they were gone, wiped away as she buried her face in his neck and rode him till they both found their release.
Chapter Seventeen
“Large iced coffee,” Leo said, passing Fen his drink. “And a corn muffin.”
Then the paramedic turned to River, divvying out her treats from the bag he carried.
“Large coffee and an everything bagel. Here’s your sweetener and your extra cream cheese.”
“Thanks, Leo,” River said, accepting her breakfast.
“No problem,” Leo said, digging out his own bagel before taking a sip of his iced tea.
The three were sitting around the little table in the back of River’s shop, enjoying breakfast before she opened for the day. Jason should already be at his adult day care, so they didn’t have to worry about him.
But worried they were, for Rick had been let out of jail three days ago, and he’d promptly sworn vengeance on River for putting him there. Of course, Rick’s threats had only caused Sheriff White to lock him up for a few more hours. Eventually however, mommy and daddy had sent a lawyer, and White had to let the boy go.
This time, the lawyer had also obviously counseled his client to keep quiet on his way out of the jail, and not continue with the behavior that had landed him there in the first place. But no one was dumb enough to think he’d changed his mind about getting back at River.
Which was why, if Rick paid any attention, he’d see he had a less than discreet police escort. Tyrone and another deputy had spent the past evening trailing the kid around, and they’d keep at it until he decided to leave Eastport for good. A constant police presence was an age-old way of getting rid of undesirables, and Sheriff White saw no reason to fix what wasn’t already broken.
Meanwhile, River had enjoyed three days of being escorted around town by Leo and Fen.
I never knew being guarded would be so much fun
, River thought, watching the two men fondly. They were talking quietly as they ate, Fen questioning Leo about his job. They were so physically different, one dawn and one dusk, and yet she sensed the same, steady gentleness in them both.
Leo caught her watching him, and gave her a little wink, smiling affectionately. She returned his grin as her heart skipped a beat.
He’s dealing with all of this so well
, she thought. The fact was that Leo had more than impressed her by how well he dealt with Fen’s presence in her life. She knew it wasn’t entirely Leo, and that Fen had his own ways of helping to reassure the paramedic. But he’d reacted to Fen’s continued presence with a generosity that astounded her, treating both her and the other man with total kindness.
Not a lot of people could do that
, she acknowledged.
I know I couldn’t.
Just imagining Leo with another woman made River’s claws come out, even though she knew that was ridiculous. She’d never revealed to Leo that she was at all interested in him, and by this point he had to be completely reconsidering any feelings he may have had for her.
It’s one thing to rescue a damsel in distress, but it’s another thing entirely to rescue her again, and again, and again…
And until the situation with Rick was resolved, that’s what would happen. She’d always be watching over her shoulder, worried about both her safety and Jason’s. And who would want to be a part of that, especially when there was obviously something seriously wrong with the Walton boys. The thought of another person, especially Leo, getting hurt because of his attachment to her made her cringe.
So as much as she’d enjoyed Fen and Leo’s company over the last three days, she was equally sick with worry.
If they suffer because of me, I’ll never forgive myself.
Fen, feeling River’s emotions shift, looked up to see her watching Leo. She reflected the concern she felt, and he knew she was fussing internally over their involvement in the Rick situation.
So Fen reached out, and took River’s hand where it rested on the table.
“We’re here for you, River, because we want to be. Not because of any other reason. We want to be here.”
Leo looked startled for a split second, until Fen pointedly looked at River’s free hand. Leo cottoned on quickly, and a shiver of pleasure traced up River’s spine at the touch of the paramedic’s callused palm fitting into her own.
“Yes,” Leo said, that affectionate smile returning to bow his full lips. “We’d be here no matter what the problem.”
“I don’t know if I deserve that,” River said. She included both of them in her words, but Fen knew she was really talking to Leo.
The paramedic only squeezed her hand in his. “Nonsense. We’re friends, River.”
Horrified, but unable to control her reaction, River felt tears well up in her eyes.
Saved by the bell, she thought, as her phone rang. She reached for it with grateful alacrity, flipping it open with a practiced motion after she noted who was calling.
“Sheriff White?” she said as greeting, hoping it was good news. Maybe the Walton family lawyer had finally convinced Rick to leave, and move back home to his parents in their main house in Boston.
“River. I’m calling to give you a head’s up. Rick slipped his tail. We’ve got no idea where he is right now, so watch yourself till we track him down.”
“Oh,” River said, feeling fear’s cold knife plunging into her breast.
“I don’t want you to panic. We’ll send Tyrone over to your shop, and another deputy over to your brother’s day care. Why don’t you give him a head’s up too, so that he doesn’t get too excited when my deputy arrives.”
“Good idea, I’ll do that. Thanks for calling.”
“No problem. Don’t worry, we’ll find Rick shortly. In five minutes, all of Eastport will know to call me if they see him.”
“Thanks, Sheriff,” River said, noting with detachment that her lips felt numb. Then she flipped shut her phone, turning to her bodyguards.
“Looks like you two might earn your keep,” River said. “Rick’s missing. He got away from his police guard and nobody knows where he is.”
Immediately the two men dropped their relaxed airs and snapped to attention.
“What? When?”
“Just now. I’m supposed to call Jason at the day care. He should be there by now.” River said that as much to calm herself as to be informative. After all, she’d only gotten to work about twenty minutes ago, and she and Jason left at the same time. Meanwhile, the walk to the community center housing his day care was another fifteen minutes longer than hers was to work.
He would have made it way before Rick got loose
, she told herself.
If he left on time. If he didn’t sleep in. Or have an extra breakfast. Or…
River cursed herself for not insisting they take him directly to day care, as they’d tried to do. Or at least made him leave with them, so they knew he got off on time and they were with him half the way. But walking himself places was one of her brother’s biggest responsibilities, and therefore one of his most fiercely guarded pleasures.
Rick and Trevor had already taken so much from Jason that taking away his morning walk when Rick was safely being watched had just seemed cruel.
Ignoring the fact her hands were trembling, River scrolled through her phone contacts till she found the center’s number. She pressed send, and waited.
“Hi, Daisy? It’s River. Can I talk to my brother, please?”
Fen and Leo leaned in to listen, concern tracing over both their faces. They’d been part of the decision to let Jason walk to day care alone, and they were also regretting it.
“He didn’t come in? Are you sure? Look, I’m sorry, this is very important, but you have to be sure… Yes, please check the building.” River’s eyes flashed up to meet Fen’s, then Leo’s.
“Daisy doesn’t think he came in, she’s checking… Daisy? Yes, I’m here. Are you sure? Okay, listen, please call the police. Tell Sheriff White that Jason didn’t show up. Tell her we’re going back to the house to look for him. Rick got away and… Yes, exactly. Thank you.”
River flicked shut her phone, standing as she did so. Leo and Fen were already on their feet, and Leo had his jacket on and the keys to his car in his hand.
Looking back on that day, River would never be able to remember walking to the car. Instead, one minute they were in the shop and the next minute she was in the front seat, with Leo leaning over to buckle her in.
“Just drive,” she wheezed. Fen tried to calm her with a mixture of an empathic wave and reaching forward to stroke her arm from where he sat in the back seat. But River wasn’t to be calmed, at least not until she saw her brother, safe and sound, in front of her.
Leo peeled out of his parking spot across the street from her shop, heading at a sharp clip towards River’s house. It was only a few minutes away by car, but River had never felt time move so slowly. Once they were on their way, Leo reminded River of the obvious, which she had forgotten in her panic.
“Try his cell,” Leo said, his voice calm but firm.
“Of course,” River said, fumbling open her phone with numb fingers.
Scrolling through her numbers again, River found Jason’s seldom-used cell, and tried that.
“It’s ringing,” she told the men. That was good—chances were usually fifty-fifty that Jason’s phone hadn’t seen a charger that week, or even that month.
“Voice mail,” she said, and then swore vehemently.
“Try your house,” said Fen, his turn to state the obvious.
River did so. “No one’s answering.”
“Still want to head there?” Leo asked.
“Yeah. We’ll start at the house and work our way out, if he’s not there.”
And already, they were close. Close enough that Fen…
“Wait, stop,” the selkie said, sharply.
“Stop the car,” Fen repeated, putting the force on an empathic shove behind his words.
Only then did Leo do as Fen requested, and pulled to the shoulder of the road. They were only a few driveways away from River’s own home, although with the size of the lots that meant they were still a safe distance away.
“River,” Fen said, radiating calm, “Rick has Jason.”
“How do you…?” Before River could finish her question, Fen was already answering it.
“I can sense both of them.”
“Oh my God,” River said, leaning back in her seat, her face drained of blood.
Leo, meanwhile, was looking at Fen like he was mad as pancakes.
“What’s going on?” The paramedic asked, trying to keep his voice neutral.
“It’s a long story, Leo, but you have to trust me. I can…sense things. And right now I know that Rick has Jason, and that they’re at River’s. We have to get there now, but not by car.”
“How do you know that, exactly?” Leo asked, unable to believe that Fen could know something for which Leo had seen no proof.
“Leo,” River said, turning to the paramedic. “You just have to trust Fen. Trust us. If Fen says Rick has Jason, then he does.”
Everything in Leo’s training, which demanded hard evidence before any procedure was done, went against what his instinct was telling him: that Fen was telling the truth.
But River trusts him
, Leo thought. And the paramedic knew, then, what he was going to do, even if he didn’t understand why.
“All right,” Leo said, moving his car another few feet off the road before switching it off. “What’s the plan?”