Page 23 of Van Cort

RIVER

I’ve never particularly liked giving head, but maybe it’s been the men I’ve been with that made me avoid it in the bedroom.

Just like in the hotel room at the casino, his command, his tone, loosened something inside of me, and doing as instructed turned from something I’d rail against to something… sexy.

Dirty, even.

I stand in the hallway, remembering what I did just a few hours ago.

I was on my knees in the middle of his family estate.

Even the stuffed heads of the animals on the walls were judging me.

Anyone could have walked in and seen my mouth full of his cock, but slowly undoing the man standing above me with each lick of my tongue was enthralling.

Everett said he needed to tend to some business on the estate and said I should get familiar with the surroundings. So I am. I’m marvelling at this place that’s just been boxed up and left, waiting for him to visit.

It’s beautiful. Traditional. It feels like an old hunting lodge, with trophies of elk and other deer species on the walls, not just in the hall.

The downstairs has several reception rooms, including a huge dining room, with a dark wooden table that could easily seat twenty people.

But while the main furniture has been exposed, there’s still the odd dust sheet and closed door, giving away the fact that this place is barely used.

A relic from his past.

It doesn’t take me long to find my way out into the garden, and I can see that the house has been built in a large clearing, surrounded by tall trees, as if keeping it sheltered from everything and everyone. I do make out a few paths winding up and into the leafy cover, though.

The chill air nips through my sweater, and I wonder if I’ve packed enough warmer clothes. The air is cooler here, fresh and clean.

I go back into the house and continue my exploration, wondering where Everett’s working. My mind thinks over his words from earlier about being serious.

Before this trip, I felt the conviction that I couldn’t trust him start to slip with the concessions he’s been making.

Now, with words such as feelings and commitment, I might as well torch whatever’s left of it.

And whilst listening to him tell me the condition was doing as I was told made me pause, I know I struggle to stand my ground and not give in to that infuriating need to please.

Not because I want to be obedient, but because I have always wanted to fit in, and I’ve learned, rightly or wrongly, that pleasing people is the easiest and most effective way to do that.

So, while I was teasing him when I said I think we’re compatible, it was the truth.

***

“I hope you can cook? I can get the wine.”

I try and keep the shock from my face. “Um, what?”

“Dinner. The kitchen is fully stocked.”

“You want me to cook? You don’t have staff with this place?” I gesture around the huge mansion.

“Staff would be inconvenient for what I have planned for you. And I’m sure you wouldn’t have liked our arrival to be marked with members of the household walking through and watching as you sucked me off from your knees.”

“True.” My face heats. Not just at the thought, but at the edge of command and authority in his voice. It’s like he’s not afraid to say the wrong thing here. Like he’s stopped caring what he should or shouldn’t say. “You’re assuming I can cook.”

“Hoping.” He raises a brow at me, and it’s my turn to smirk.

Despite my average cooking ability, the professional-level kitchen and the fully stocked kitchen, as promised, meant that my simple chicken dish with vegetables was relatively easy to prepare.

It was, nice to be left to cook, I can’t remember the last time I had someone over for dinner. It was satisfying in an odd way.

We ate at the enormous dining table that looked more appropriate for a banquet than a simple supper. But there was something homely about it, in all that grandeur, our two place settings, tucked next to each other at one end.

It wasn’t what I had expected when Everett first suggested this. But, like the man himself, I’m learning not to take anything for granted, as it will likely change in an instant.

***

A warmth saturates and cocoons me, and I don’t want to move. If I crack my eyes, it might all be a dream, and I’ll be back in my bedroom, needing to rush off and get to work.

But as I come around from sleep, I feel the slight tightening of his arms around me, as if encouraging me not to stir, not yet, at least.

My lungs pull in a deep, satisfied breath as my body shifts.

“Stop that, or you’ll be staying in bed all day.” He grinds his hips towards me, showing me he’s ready on that threat.

I grin and turn my head and twist in his arms so I’m facing him.

“Good morning.” I tuck my hands against my chest.

This is new. Waking up next to him. I’m almost scared to touch him in case the dream really does shatter.

“Good morning,” The low rumble of his voice reverberates through my body and reminds me of everything he did to me last night. There’s no sign of the suited-up, pristine businessman here, it’s like he’s showing me who he might be beyond that. Underneath it.

“What’s the plan for today?” I ask. “More cooking?”

“If you want breakfast. I have some work to get to this morning.” He plants a kiss to my forehead as if in apology. A flash of disappointment hits me at the mention of work.

“I’d better get the coffee started then.” I kiss him back and pull out of his arms, but he squeezes me for a second longer, preventing my escape. “Hey, you’re the one that said work. Then you can show me around some more.”

He relaxes his arms on a growl and I throw back the covers and leave the warmth of the bed.

“I’ll be back with coffee.”

***

After occupying myself all morning, I finally head into the dining room where Everett has been holed up since leaving the bedroom earlier this morning.

“Why did you bring me here under the pretence of work if you’re the one who’s busy all the time?” He bites into an apple, crunching it.

“Would you have preferred I tell you I wanted to see just how amenable you are to my tastes? How compatible we are?”

“No, I—”

“This way we all get what we want.” The crack of the next bite punctuates his words.

“Remind me again what I want?”

He tosses the apple core in the trash and walks me towards the back deck, which almost equals the length of the house. “Well, aside from the obvious. I’ve also done you another favour in the eyes of your asshole boss. We all win.”

“It’s very annoying when you’re smart like that.”

“Did I give you any indication I wouldn’t be?”

“No. If you’re going to keep working at the weekend, I might go for a run. Get some exercise and fresh air.” I can’t keep the smirk from my mouth, remembering how out of breath I was after sex last night.

“If you’re going for a run, stick to the marked paths.” He points over in the direction of one side of the lawn. “They run along the drive and through the woods. The main track is circular so will bring you back. But keep focused. It’s a wild place. It’s not like taking a run around Seattle.”

“It’s safe, though?” I check, not sure if his warning is meant to scare me off.

“Yes. If you stick to the paths. How long will you be?”

“You know the paths better than me. You tell me. An hour?” I smile and leave him to his work and go back upstairs to our room and change into my leggings, sports bra and long-sleeved zip-up top for warmth.

Grabbing my running shoes, I trot down the giant staircase to the hallway, grinning at the memory of when we first arrived, and when I’m at the door, I shove my feet inside and lace them up before setting off along the driveway.

Taking a few minutes to warm up my muscles, I look out at the vista in front of me, the lake gleaming in the glassy sunlight. Trees line the driveway we took on the way in, and I mentally plan the start of my run, and hope there’s an obvious and clear path into the treeline, as Everett said.

I’ve been running around Green Lake for as long as I’ve lived there, so I enjoy the change in scenery. The sheer scale and beauty of the place is a little overwhelming, though, or maybe it’s the fact that it’s all Everett’s that’s the overwhelming part.

My legs start to ease into a gentle run along the road, and I settle into a familiar rhythm. It runs up alongside the drive we arrived in on, although I was sidetracked by the mansion at the bottom of the drive to pay much attention.

With every step, I think back over our time here so far.

There’s nothing that’s similar to Seattle.

My mind is struggling to construct the suited businessman with the vast and rural emptiness of this place.

And yet he mentioned this place as a possible future.

Would I be okay with living somewhere like this?

This remote? I think about my parents and how involved my mother, in particular, likes to get. Would they be okay with me moving here?

Oh my god, stop! I mentally chastise myself for where my head has spun to.

But, isn’t this what Everett brought me here to do? Review our compatibility? To see if there could be a future?

Urghh.

I push my muscles harder and pick up the pace until I see a large, gravelled path leading into the trees. It’s obvious and clear, so I veer off, following it.

As soon as I’m out of the watery sun, the temperature dips and the warmth of my body begins to chill, even with the exertion.

For the next twenty minutes, I keep my pace, my mind free to roam through possibilities, as if unleashed by being in such a vast and open place.

My toe catches on a branch camouflaged by the crunchy carpet of leaf debris built up from the trees shedding their cloaks each year, and I fall to the ground. “Shit.” My hands spring out to catch me, and I skid to a halt on my belly.

I pause, my palms throbbing as I push up, sitting back to my knees, and I brush the dirt and sticks still clinging to them.