Connected (36 page)

“
Dahlia?” he questions.

I finish unzipping his pants and tug at the opening of his boxers, freeing his erection before I teasingly say, “Pull over. I’m not asking you to get off the road because I need to use the bathroom.”

I begin to sketch the outline of his ear with my tongue before biting on his earlobe. Then I come out with, “On the road, or off the road? That is your choice! But the when is now.” I am physically and verbally making my intentions known, making him unmistakably aware that this is going to take place sooner, not later. I am not waiting until we get to his house.

“
Fuc . . . he starts to say, obviously opting for my suggestion as he quickly moves from the innermost left lane to
outermost right lane, exiting the highway at the first available opportunity.

Before beginning my descent, I glance up at him. His
eyes are slightly hooded, his back is pushed against the seat, and his eyes are overflowing with desire.
Surprising myself again with what I am about to do, what I never liked to do before, I can only grin. However, deciding that his state of mind right now might hinder his driving, I opt to wait for him to safely park the car before finding my way down to his lap.

I don’t waiver my seduction in the slightest though. I reach back and unbuckle my seat belt as River pulls into an underground garage to an office building, obviously closed on Sundays. As he pulls into a parking space in the center of the lot, he unbuckles his seat belt, pushes his seat back, and grabs for my face.

“
Shit, what are you doing to me?” he pants.

Before letting him kiss me, I taunt, “Nothing yet,” but I know he’s not really referring to what I am doing to him at this moment. I know this because I often want to ask the same thing of him. He has undone me so completely, and I think he feels the same way about me.

Capturing my mouth, he passionately kisses me until I am breathless, but I am not waivered. Moving away from his soft lips, I start to trail open-mouthed kisses down his neck, over the outside of his t-shirt down his hard, taut chest. Stopping to lift his t-shirt, I find his soft skin and continue with my kisses over his finely chiseled abdominal muscles, down his deep V, finally reaching my destination.

His legs tremble slightly as my tongue darts to his very tip, circling it before running it down one side to his base and back up. He has his hands lightly gripping my head, and I can hear his erratic breathing. I clench his base with one hand, and he groans loudly as I slide my mouth over his length, moving slowly, up and down. Letting go of my head, he grabs my other hand and starts to suck hard on my thumb.

Passion is bubbling over inside me as I take him in my mouth as far as I can. When his tip hits the very back of my throat, I keep it there moving just slightly back and forth, but this time with my teeth, not my lips. My tongue continues to lick circles wherever it lands and when it rounds his base, I feel him shudder.

His body’s reaction, his groans, his heavy breathing, they’re all stoking the fire already blazing in my body. I want to make him feel good, the same way he has made me feel the past few days, so I suck harder and faster. He releases my hand and I bring it to my other one, completely wrapping it around his base.

He runs a hand down my back in a vain attempt to try to reach the hem of my skirt. However, the angle of my body and the position of my legs are not in the least bit accommodating to his wandering ways. It does not allow him free access to my sex and since this is for him, about him, I don’t move my body.

Giving up, his hands move to grip my hair as he begins to move my head to the writhing of his body beneath me. I follow, taking him all the way in and pulling him out as I bare my teeth gently against his long, hard length. His body stiffens at first before relaxing and I am sure he’s going to lose control.

Groaning loudly, he takes his right hand and slides it back and forth across my back, muttering my name. He exposes the skin between my sweater and skirt and runs his fingernails across it while his left hand continues to tangle in my hair, still guiding me to the motion he prefers.

His breath quickens as I rock my head up and down to his own beat. His right hand now slips under the waistband of my skirt and his fingers splay, and grab my ass, causing an ache to build between my legs. I can feel myself getting wetter; this extremely sensual act is not only turning him on, but me as well.

Hearing him suck in a few quick breaths through his teeth, he groans and I know he’s close to coming. I can already read his signs. When I flick my tongue across his tip, circling it, sucking it, he hisses, “Fuck,” and I moan loudly. He lets go of my head and grabs the door, his other hand still rubbing back and forth across the soft skin of my backside.

He’s nearly panting when I hear him mutter, “Yes.” Then as his body stills, his stomach muscles clench and his warm fluid pulses out of him. I can taste the salty sweetness of it flowing down the back of my throat as I swallow.

Raising my head, I can’t help but grin at him. His eyes are still closed, but his face is full of contentment. As he opens his eyes, his breathing slowly returns to normal. I lick my lips, still able to taste him, and his eyes widen. He starts to say something, but I don’t let him speak as I crush my mouth to his.

When he has thoroughly kissed me, he pulls his lips away and presses his forehead to mine. His warm breath brushes my cheeks as he speaks. “I have to say, I really enjoy playing games with you . . .”

Sliding his lips across the side of my face, he presses his mouth against my ear. As shivers ravage my body he continues, “ . . . more than any other games I remember playing with anyone. Ever.”

Pulling back, he kisses me on the nose and chuckles; “I’m going to have to come up with a really great grand prize for you when you actually win one of these days.”

I lean my head back against the headrest as I raise an eyebrow. When I look into his beautiful green eyes, I beam, “Maybe I’ve just been letting you win. I have mad game playing skills you haven’t even seen yet.”

Leaning back and stretching his legs out forward to zip his pants back up, he shakes his head and grins devilishly while reaching over to brush his finger over my lips. “I can’t wait for you to unleash your mad skills.”

I give him a quick wink before I buckle my seatbelt. “In due time. Now let’s go check out this new house of yours.”

HOME

Hold on to me as we go

As we go down this new path

We have each other

And when we get there

It will be clear that we are home.

As we pull up to a very affluent neighborhood in the Hollywood Hills, I am a little surprised at the grandeur of the scene. There is a large iron gate and multiple guards carrying guns that are quite noticeable at their waists. I don’t see any lane designated for the residents to just pull through using either gate openers or bar codes on their windows.

We stop in front of the glass booth and a young, skinny blonde-haired woman in a uniform approaches the car. River nods his head and greets her. Giving her very little information, he flashes his sexy dimples and pearly whites. We are immediately waved through. Obviously, this guard already knows who he is.

Scrutinizing the area, I notice a bunch of young women all dressed the same. They are camped outside the gate. I hadn’t noticed them when we drove in, but I do now because they are yelling and holding up various signs. One has the words ‘autograph for a kiss?’ on it. Another sign is scribed ‘I trade fair’.
Interesting
. Pointing over at the flirtatious girls shaking their signs in the air along with other body parts, I remark, “Are they your groupies or just groupies in general?”

He glances over to where I’m looking and says, “In general I assume. I’m really not sure. I’ve never paid attention.”

Pulling away from the guardhouse, he points to the doppelganger group of girls and wryly says, “But they’re basically the reason I moved into a gated place.”

“
Oh right. You don’t like fans.”

“
I didn’t say that really. I do but in the right place at the right time. Sometimes they forget artists have personal lives too.” He stops as if contemplating what to say next. “Don’t get me wrong, I love the whole signing autographs thing and meeting new people after we perform. It’s the chaos I don’t really like.”

The screaming begins to fade as he looks in the rearview mirror. “Xander says it comes with the job, and they’re harmless.” Shaking his head he continues, “I’m sure they are, but they can be aggressive.”

Pondering that comment, his melancholy tone makes me think about his choice of residence. For some reason, I hadn’t pictured River living in one of the most famous Hollywood Hills neighborhoods. But driving through the quiet winds and turns of the paved roads, I get why he does. It not only provides privacy and security, but it’s also very quiet and secluded, just like the hotel he stayed at in Las Vegas. Like me, he must prefer the quiet and tranquil side of living. Funny, Ben loved the beach, but not the quiet of it like I did.

As River drives deeper into the community, I laugh to myself thinking buses probably stop out front as part of the ‘Homes of the Rich and Famous’ Tour. This is a neighborhood Ben would have referred to as
the homes of the irresponsibly rich and ass-famous
. Ever since he investigated Mark Hines, the famous football player who lived somewhere up in the Hills, he was irrationally biased toward any famous person from this part of LA. Ben had been the journalist on the team that investigated the money-laundering scheme derived from illegal betting. Mark was such a douche, as Ben put it, that he never confessed to his part in the ill deed but rather pushed the blame to his agent. Because of this, he was allowed to continue to play football. Ben felt Mark used his money and fame to hide his part in the scheme. He also felt it was because of his celebrity status that it worked.