ChapterFourteen
River
“Let’s go.” I pull her flush against me as she raises her chin defiantly.
“I’m not going anywhere with you.”
I can’t help but smile down at her. “It’s cute you think you’ve got a choice.” I pick her up, and she squeals as I throw her over my shoulder and turn around in the crowd. I’ve got my hand over her ass so her dress doesn’t ride up, but there is no fucking way I am letting her stay in there a second longer.
Beckett is saying something to Mara’s friend, but I don’t wait to find out what. He can deal with her because I’ve literally got my hands full. When we get outside, Felipe is waiting by the car.
“Hope you had fun tonight,” he says to Mara as he opens the backdoor and I put her inside.
“You’re an asshole,” she yells at me, but I nod to my brother.
“Thanks, I owe you one.”
“Wait until my sister hears about this,” Mara threatens.
Felipe leans down, and just before he closes the door, he laughs. “Who do you think sent me?”
Mara makes the cutest growling sound when we’re alone and the driver pulls away from the curb.
“I can’t believe you’d show up and embarrass me like that.”
“There’s no way I’m letting you go out in a dress like that unless you’re strapped to my body.” I glance down at the low-cut yellow dress and shake my head. “And maybe with my mouth between your legs.”
Her cheeks flush as she crosses her arms over her chest, and all it does is push her tits up. “You don’t get to decide where I go and what I do, River. I’m nothing to you.”
“You’re wrong.” I kneel down in front of her, and she turns away, trying desperately to ignore me. “You’re everything to me.”
As I move between her legs, her already short dress rides up, and my hands trace the edges of her smooth thighs.
“No, River. I was a bet.” Her voice breaks on the last word, and I shake my head.
“Let me explain.”
“What’s there to explain? Your friend all but admitted it.”
“They’re not my friends, at least not anymore. I finally confronted them this afternoon after my fight with my dad. I was so consumed with anger, and I didn’t want to take it out on you. I knew I’d fucked up making that bet to begin with.”
“I don't want to hear it. You know how I am, and I trusted you.”
“Mara, please. Just let me finish.” She looks out the window, unable to meet my eyes. “I tried to stay away from you because I knew it would be like this. I knew I’d become obsessed to the point of insanity with you. And I also knew that I wasn’t good enough, especially if I was anything like my father. I wasn't lying when I said I was afraid to admit I love you.”
She closes her eyes for a brief moment, but she still won’t look at me.
“But now I know that there’s nothing more terrifying than losing you.” I place my head in her lap and plead for her forgiveness. “I made the bet because I was enraged at how they were talking about you, because you were mine. I said it so they wouldn’t go after you. It was stupid and immature, but in the moment when I said it, all I could think about was claiming you.” I breathe in her sweet scent and pull her closer. “I’m so fucking sorry, Mara. I’m so sorry I hurt you or made you think for one second that you aren’t my entire world.”
For a long moment, I think she’s going to push me away, but then I feel her fingers in my hair.
My hold on her tightens, and I don’t dare to hope that she’s forgiven me. “When your brother showed up, I thought you were ashamed of me. Then my father was there, and all of a sudden, I couldn’t hide anymore. Not the way I felt about him, or about you. I wanted to live my life on my terms.”
When I look up at her, I feel her fingers along my jaw.
“How we got here is a mess, but I’m finally where I’ve always dreamed of being. On my knees in front of you.”
She gives me a watery smile, and a single tear falls down her cheek. Sitting up, I kiss it away, and then our lips connect. The kiss is filled with passion so intense I don’t even realize when the car comes to a stop. All I want to do is take her to the floor and feast on her body, but she deserves better than a quick fuck in the backseat of a car.