Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 82881 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 414(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82881 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 414(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
“What a mighty collection you must have, Tanya,” he says dryly, and again, I find myself biting the inside of my cheek, amused.
He stops in front of a door and pushes it open, and I see a large king-sized bed in the center of the room. He walks in and sits on the edge of the mattress and kicks off his shoes as he looks at me.
“Why are you here?” he asks as he untucks his shirt and pulls it over his head, discarding it on the floor. I can’t help but take him in. His chest is covered in tattoos as well. He has an eight-pack, and his muscles create ridges under skin. Vance and Clay are large men, both with different body types but both as equally as fit as one another. River looks more along the lines of deadly, where my men look scary. There’s a difference.
He unbuckles his belt, pulls it free, and wraps it around his knuckles. When he takes his trousers off, I’m not surprised to see he doesn’t wear any underwear.
“Anya.” He says my name, and I realize I’ve been staring like a woman in heat. That’s because I am. I’m fucking craving his touch.
River has the upper hand, and it’s usually me who has the power in these types of situations. My body is rarely ever denied. I’m not used to this lack of control, and I think he knows that. Yet, here I am, without fully understanding why. To have sex with him so I can finally get rid of him, right?
“Why are you here?” River asks again, purposely making a show of the belt in his hands. A cold chill runs down my body. I want him just to scratch this itch.
“Why are you naked?” I wave a hand at him. He looks down at his body and his semi-hard cock. I avoid licking my lips at the sight of it. At the sight of all of him. River is a fucking pain in my ass, but God was generous when he built him.
“I was going to take a shower when you suddenly pulled up,” he informs me. And I know he’s fucking lying.
“You didn’t reply to my text message,” I say as I scan his room absentmindedly. “Thought I needed to remind you that a debt is still owed.”
“I might’ve not replied but I certainly made the picture my screen saver,” River says as he flashes a roguish smile over his shoulder as he strides to the bathroom. The light is automatic and comes on when he walks in. It fills me with a strange satisfaction that I can tease him from his screen saver every day. Also, with the knowledge that he’ll shoot a man if he so much as peeks at his phone. Not that I care if anyone else sees.
He reaches into the shower and turns on the water, and I know he’s taunting me. I stand there and watch as he gets in, stepping out of my sight. I take the opportunity to look around his room more thoroughly.
I find it strange that I’m a woman who takes control and dominates every man I meet. Yet now, in River’s room, with his lack of effort, I feel stubborn still trying to make him come to me. Every man does.
I search the room and notice a photo frame on his bedside table with a picture of a child in it.
Does he have kids?
Picking it up, I walk into the bathroom and prop myself on the counter. I sit on it with legs crossed, enjoying my view as a mixture of water and soap runs down his body.
“Have you come to sing to me, Anya, or join me?”
“Who is this?” I ask. He wipes a hand over his face, his muscles flexing as he does.
“My niece.”
“You have family?”
“My sister is dead. That’s her daughter.”
I look at the picture of them, my eyebrows knitting together. I think about the parents I saw today, happily playing with their children. The normalcy of lovers hand in hand.
What did I come here for? Sex. Why am I asking him about his personal life?
What the fuck am I doing? Why did I come here?
A chill runs down my spine, and suddenly I feel like I’m going to be sick. Surely, I didn’t come here for… companionship?
I’m not a woman who would chase a man, ever. It’s never been necessary. When I was old enough, I understood the power of attraction and knew I had it. So I used it. A woman has to use whatever is at her disposal to get where she wants in life. It’s easier for men. I wanted to make it easier for me. So I did.
Is River doing that very same thing to me?
“Anya, what’s going on in that beautiful mind of yours right now?” he says as he rubs soap against his body, and I know he’s doing it on purpose. Every part of me is screaming to leave. But I need to ensure that I get exactly what I came here for. Because if I don’t, then that means I really did come here for companionship.