Page 21

DEAN

“You two kissed.”

I glare at my annoying little sister. “Shut up, Holland.”

“Is that a confirmation?”

“That’s a shut up and mind your own business.”

“That’s totally a yes.”

We make our way down the hall to the elevator and press the button for the car.

“You know, I always thought you might have a thing for her.” She bumps her shoulder into mine.

I grunt, and she laughs.

“It’s not what you think,” I say.

“So something is going on between you two?”

Is there? We kissed and it felt amazing, but I’m not entirely sure what it means…or if it means anything at all.

It’d be absurd to think there could be something between us…wouldn’t it?

It’s River we’re talking about. We’ve been enemies since the moment I moved my first box into my apartment and Morris got out, snuck into my place, and clawed up my couch. There hasn’t been a moment after when she hasn’t hated me.

How could something between us actually work?

“I’m not sure,” I tell Holland.

“Do you want there to be?”

“I’m…not sure.” She nods like she understands, though there’s no way she does because I don’t understand. “I think I like her, but we’ve not always been on the best of terms.”

“I hear hate sex is good.”

I glance down at her. “I thought we agreed we’d never discuss our sex lives.”

“I said I heard , not that I was speaking from experience. But now that you mention it…”

I shake my head, covering my ears. “No. Nope. Don’t even think about it.”

She rolls her eyes. “But you did kiss her though, right?”

Irritated, I toss my head back. “Yes, we kissed.”

“Ha! I knew it!”

“It was just once.”

Lie.

It was more than once. Hell, it was a full-blown make-out session.

It was more than a kiss, but it hasn’t happened since then.

Not for lack of wanting, but because I don’t know how she’d react if I gave in to the urges I have when it comes to her. I don’t know what River wants out of this. I don’t know what I want out of this.

I just know I want to touch her again.

I want to taste her again.

And soon.

“Ew. You’re totally thinking about kissing her right now, aren’t you?”

Yes. “No.”

“Liar.”

“Shut up, Holland.”

She laughs, and I know it’s going to be a long night.

My jaw drops when I push open the door to River’s apartment.

Ass.

That’s exactly what’s on display. River’s bent and twisted in some pose I couldn’t tell you the name of if my life depended on it.

She’s wearing nothing but a camisole top and a pair of that underwear that looks like boxer briefs for ladies.

A man could get used to coming home to a sight like this.

“You’re home,” she says as she maneuvers herself into an upright position. “I thought you’d be out much later.”

“I thought so too. My sister talks a lot,” I tell her, closing the front door and toeing off my shoes. Morris runs over and starts to sniff at them. He’ll likely run off with one of them before the night is over just to spite me. “Duty called though. Holland had to bail early.”

And by duty, I mean our father and some asinine request that could have waited until morning.

But I don’t want to think about my asshole father.

I want to focus on what’s right in front of me.

River.

More specifically, River in her panties, ass in the air.

“Doing some yoga?”

She nods. “Had some…tension to work through.”

“I see.” I saunter into the apartment, taking a seat at one of the stools at the kitchen island. “Well, don’t let me stop you. Please, continue.” I don’t even bother hiding my smirk.

Neither does River.

No, she bends again, sticking her ass out just for me.

I physically bite my knuckles to keep from reaching out to her.

And I want to reach out. Bad.

I want to run my fingers over her curves. Want to feel the weight of her under my hands. I want to see if she’s as flexible in bed as I’m guessing she is.

My cock gets hard just thinking about it.

I spread my legs, adjusting myself.

“Perv,” she says.

“Tease,” I counter.

She’s not wrong. I am being a perv right now—but I don’t see her running away or making any attempts to hide herself.

No, she’s not doing any of that.

River likes my eyes on her just as much as I like watching.

She finishes her session, and I don’t dare move from the stool the entire time, though it’s hard to hold back.

When she’s done, she pads into the kitchen for a glass of water.

I watch the entire time she does that too.

“How was your dinner?” she asks, eyeing me over the rim of her glass.

“Is that really what you want to talk about right now?”

“No.” With a sigh, she sets the glass in the sink and rests her hands on the counter behind her. “Why’d you kiss me, Dean?”

“I already told you why.”

“Not really. You said you did it because you couldn’t not kiss me. That’s not a real answer.”

“Isn’t it?”

“No. It’s a cop-out. You almost kissed me at the roller rink too, didn’t you?”

I nod. “If Lucy hadn’t interrupted us, I would have.”

“Why?”

I push off of my stool and stalk around the island until I’m standing opposite her, mirroring her position. “For the same reason as when I finally did kiss you.”

“Wh—”

I shake my head, and her mouth stops moving.

“Stop asking why, River. I don’t know why. I’m not one to dance around crap. If I had an answer beyond what I already gave you, I’d tell you. Can’t we just let this happen how it’s happening and stop questioning it?”

“Can we? Because I don’t know about you, but it freaks me out. Does it not weird you out that suddenly we want to jump each other’s bones when we’ve been at each other’s throats for the last year?”

“It definitely interests me that you want to jump my bones.”

“Dean…” she grumbles.

I laugh. “I’m kidding. Kind of. But, also, is it really all that surprising?

I mean, we’re living together now. We’re seeing more of each other, in close quarters and with close contact.

Last I checked, we’re two single adults who have been single for quite some time.

We’re under stress and likely undersexed.

It wouldn’t be completely insane for us to take advantage of the situation we’re in and relieve some of that tension. ”

She chews on her bottom lip, mulling my words over as she stares at the floor in the space between us.

I don’t believe what I’m saying is far from the truth. It’s what I came up with during dinner with Holland. She was yammering on about something to do with work, and I didn’t have any interest in paying attention.

My thoughts drifted to River almost immediately.

I’m not wrong. We are spending more time together, seeing each other in a whole new light. There’s bound to be a discovery of new desirability.

Besides, if we’re truly being honest with ourselves, there’s always been some level of attraction between us.

What’s that saying? Love and hate are two sides of the same coin?

If there’s one thing that’s become clear to me since living with River, it’s that I don’t hate her.

Not at all.

“Do you think I’m wrong?” I ask her.

“No. That seems like a fair assessment of our situation.”

“I agree.”

“And you kissing me is, what? Relieving tension? Is that what you want to do? Be make-out buddies?”

I laugh.

Kiss her?

Oh, kissing is just the beginning of what I want to do to her.

I want to see what makes her scream. What makes her toes curl. What causes her to beg and plead. I want to see her climb to the highest peaks and fall back down over and over again. Want to see how she looks at her most vulnerable.

I want to do a whole lot more than just relieve tension with a quickie.

“I want to fuck you, River.” Her throat bobs at my candidness, and I take a step forward. “It won’t just be a one-off thing, because I’m kind of greedy like that.” Another step. “I want to take my time. Learn your body. Your quirks. Your weaknesses. I want to learn you .”

Her breaths are coming in sharper, chest heaving with… anticipation ?

She likes the sound of this as much as I do.

“Are you proposing friends with benefits?”

I pull my lips up. “Did you just call us friends?” Reaching out, I brush my fingers along the skin that’s peeking out between her shirt and underwear. Her skin pebbles at the light touch. “Told you you’re getting a soft spot for me.”

“And I thought we agreed you’ve gone temporarily insane.”

I must have, haven’t I? Here I am suggesting to the girl who hates me that we start some sort of sexual arrangement while she’s allowing me to live in her apartment.

She laughs, probably thinking the same thing.

“No labels then,” she says. “No pressure. It just is what it is.”

“Just a thing we’re doing, not making a big deal out of it.”

“Right. And no butt stuff. No sleeping around with other people either.”

“We can circle back around to that butt-stuff conversation later.” She grins, shaking her head. “And when my apartment is ready…?”

“This is done. No attachments. We go back to being neighbors. No making it awkward. We’re just relieving tension is all.”

I nod. “Agreed. So, is this your way of saying you want to do this? I need a clear answer on this one, River.”

She blows out a deep breath, then closes the distance between us. I wrap my arm around her waist, and she sighs when I pull her close, like she’s been waiting all night to feel me again.

“I’m either completely desperate or just as insane as you…” She tilts her head back, looking up at me. “Yes, I?—”

I kiss her.

She moans and kisses me back with just as much force.

Is it crazy to say I’ve missed this? Missed her mouth on mine. Missed the way her body feels under my hands. The sounds she makes. Her eagerness.

Her.

Yeah, buddy, that’s pretty damn crazy.

Ah, fuck it. I like a little crazy.

I sweep my hands down her curves, slide them under her ass, and pull her up, spinning her to set her on top of the island.

“What are you doing?” she asks, breaking the connection between our mouths.

“Trying to kiss you. Stop talking.”

“No.” She pushes on me and I step back, heeding her request and giving her space. She laughs, then grabs my shirt, pulling me back to her. “Not no . Just not in here no.”