Page 32 of Learning at 40

“You think?” I tease, lowering my voice.

Her response is to chew at her smile.

“Then how about this?” I release her hips and cup her jaw, bringing her mouth to mine in a searing kiss. The last twenty-four hours slam into me as too much time apart from this mouth. It’s been forever since I’ve really kissed anyone, but River’s lips are an endless well I want to drink from. Her name is appropriate. She’s quenching a thirst I’ve had for too long.

My hands quickly roam down her body. Shaky fingers slip to her neck, cascading down each side of the column. My palms caress over her shoulders and down her arms to her wrists. Jumping to her hips, I slide my hands up the front of her, palming each breast in a needy squeeze. She isn’t wearing a bra, and the heavy globes fill my palms.

She yelps against my mouth, but I don’t break the kiss. Instead, I massage the swells, pressing them together before lowering my forefinger and thumb to pinch her nipples in tandem. The sharp nubs poke at the thin material of her dress. I release her mouth and lower for one breast, nipping at her over the light fabric.

“I need to touch you.” My voice strains. That magnetic force is so strong, and I can’t fight the attraction. I don’t want to fight it. One hand fists the side of her dress and scrunches up the fabric. The other outlines the swell of her hip before sliding forward and slipping between her thighs. Her hands clutch at my shoulders for support as I discover she isn’t wearing underwear.

“Sweet Jesus, tell me you weren’t bare down there during dinner?”

“And if I was?” she teases, kissing the side of my neck.

“I should have taken you around the house and fucked you senseless.”

The sharp intake of her breath hints she might have liked that. The warmth of her soaked center confirms my thought. Slowly, I dip a finger inside her.

Her breath catches again, but she still speaks. “I wasn’t bare, but you know me, I can’t keep my clothes on.” During dinner, my friends razzed her with their knowledge of her naked time in her yard.

“I hate that they saw you naked,” I hiss, drawing my finger back before rushing deeper inside her.

“Why?” She gasps, and her eyes lower as I retreat and stroke my thumb over the spot that will set her off.

“I want you all to myself.” A second finger joins the first, and I slam into her, filling her.

“That’s a bit caveman.” Her complaint is choppy. Her body rocks against my fingers. My thumb finds that nub again.

“Call me a scalawag,” I whisper in her ear. “This treasure belongs to me.” I nip at her neck as my fingers surge in and out of her.

She laughs, and the pleasing chuckle flips my insides. She’s so . . . fun.

“Getting your pirate on?” Her voice continues to strain, and I twist my wrist, reaching deeper within her. She groans, and the throaty sound is rough and deep like her pirate imitation earlier in the day.

“Plan to plunder the seven seas and one beautiful, ravishing River.” My mouth seeks hers as my fingers work through slick folds. Her hands slip down my chest to my waist, and she’s dipping into my shorts before I can stop her.

“River,” I warn.

“Compromise,” she whispers. Reaching into my shorts, she wraps her fingers around me. I’m hot and stiff in her eager palm, and she squeezes me with confidence as my fingers fuck her. She strokes and tugs while I slide through her channel. My hips buck forward, and hers match mine. I want to be inside her, but I don’t want to stop touching her. I don’t want her to stop touching me.

“You’re gonna make me come,” I groan, nipping at her neck again while my fingers slip through her moisture and my thumb flicks over her clit. My hand on her. Her hand on me. It’s too much. She’s a pirate seeking buried treasure, and I’m so close to exposing it. She could easily find my heart, and I’d have no way to protect myself.

Her fist moves faster, swiping her own thumb over my seeping slit, using the liquid against me. My fingers retreat to the brink of her entrance before rushing upward to fill her again and again. Her head tips to the side, and I scrape my teeth along her neck. My hips thrust, forcing my dick against her palm and my fingers deeper into her.

“Zack,” she whimpers in warning, and I love the sound of my name mixing with the catch in her throat.

“That’s it, angel.” Her legs stiffen as they did the other night, and then her knees give. Holding her around her waist, I keep her close, allowing her to lean on me. My fingers ride the tide of her falling apart, and her hand works faster over my swollen shaft. I don’t have time to warn her before I’m spewing like a geyser.

“Damn,” I mutter, making a mess on her fist and my shorts. When I pull my fingers free, I lift them to my lips, catching the scent of her, and then suck them clean in my mouth. She removes her hand from my dick and licks across her palm. My mouth falls open in shock before she smiles, and I cup her jaw, crashing my mouth over hers. I want to mix the combination of her flavor with the taste of me on her tongue. Swirling around hers, I blend us together, savoring everything about her. This woman shocks me to my core, but I love it, and I’m at great risk of falling for her.

Or flying, as Anna called it, just as Ben had. I still think they’ve both misspoken, but it doesn’t matter.

Sensing my time is almost up, I reluctantly pull back from River’s mouth and press my forehead against hers.

“River, you’re amazing,” I whisper, closing my eyes with our heads together. My hands still hold the edge of her face.

“You’re not so bad yourself, counselor. Your art of negotiation is improving, too.”