Page 80 of Hold Me Tight

And through it all, River doesn’t touch me.

Not directly.

Not in the way that would change everything.

Even so, it already feels like everything has changed.

“You’re so close, aren’t you?” he asks.

“Yes,” I admit. “It feels so good.”

“It should always feel good. You should take your pleasure any time you need to. You deserve it, Callie. You deserve to feel good in your skin. To claim it. Own it. If you were mine…” His words darken with promise, curling around me like crushed velvet. “I’d worship every inch of you. I’d make sure you came every night, sometimes twice, until the only thing you ever craved was the sound of my voice and the feel of my hands on your body. You’d never look elsewhere. You wouldn’t need to.”

His words stroke something deep inside me, something long buried, something that aches to be seen and held. With him, there wouldn’t be any empty places.

No doubts.

Only him.

Only this.

The vibrator circles my clit before hitting it perfectly. Pleasure builds to a breaking point, and I arch, my eyes fluttering shut as a sob catches in my throat.

His arms continue to surround me, making me feel protected.

Like it’s all right to let go.

“I want to watch you fall apart.” His lips graze the shell of my ear. “I want to feel your body shatter from the pleasure you’re giving yourself.”

It’s those words that undo me.

Ecstasy explodes through me like a lightning strike, and my back bows. A raw cry rips from my throat as I come hard and fast against him. My body trembles and my thighs shake. The release is so intense it feels like I’m shattering from the inside out.

I’m floating and weightless in the best possible way.

Once spent, I collapse against his chest. My fingers go limp, the vibrator slipping from my grip as my head drops against his shoulder. My skin is damp with sweat as my legs continue to tremble.

I’ve never felt more alive or sated.

River gathers me up in his arms, as if I’m the most precious thing in the world.

“Thank you.” Emotion careens through me.

He presses a lingering kiss to the top of my head. “You have to know that it was my pleasure.” The words settle deep into my bones.

I tilt my face toward his, my gaze snagging on the curve of his mouth. My pulse stutters, each beat pounding louder as the space between us evaporates. When he leans in, his warm breath ghosting over my skin, I quiver with anticipation.

Instead of claiming me outright, he brushes against me once, then again with careful strokes that are dizzying. His knuckles skim along my jaw, steadying me, as if he knows I need the anchor. My lips part on a shaky inhalation as every nerve sparks with the need for more.

When his mouth finally settles over mine, the kiss is unhurried and deliberate. The first graze is gentle, but then his lips caress mine with more certainty before coaxing them open. Heat twists low in my belly, winding tighter as my mouth parts wider.

The slow glide of his tongue tangles with mine. It’s a soft clash that weakens everything inside me. The taste of him is intoxicating, and I can’t get enough. His hand slides along my jaw, tilting my face to deepen the kiss until the world beyond us blurs.

Every press of his mouth tells me that he doesn’t view this as something to be rushed. Everything about our first kiss is intentional, and it’s every bit as intimate as the way he guided me through my orgasm.

I sink into him completely, giving myself over without hesitation or fear.

It’s only this man and this moment.