Joanna Kimber

“Move in with me,” River says, his eyes locked onto mine through the mirror on my ceiling. My lease ends in a month and I’ve been apartment shopping. Truthfully, I knew he was going to ask me eventually…and I was waiting for it. 

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I roll onto my belly, shivering against the heat of his solid body. His scent invades me, his spicy, clean, musky scent that has engraved itself into my lungs. His eyes are still in the mirror and I hope my curly mane is hiding my movements. I try to undo the clasp of my necklace as discreetly as possible but he must have caught the movement from the corner of his eye. His eyes dart to the diamond-encrusted key swinging from left to right as I dangle the dainty necklace between us. 

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The bed shakes as he sits up with a jolt, his eyes bounce from the pendant back to me, and his mouth falls open then closes again. His entire head goes red and I can’t restrain the smile that grows across my lips. 

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“Does this mean what I think it means?” he asks, his voice heavy.

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I nod, not taking my eyes off his. 

I don’t just want to move in with River, I want him to ask me to marry him. 

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I wondered for a while when I would feel ready, how would I know? Would I wake up one day and feel different? A buzz under my skin from the sudden urge to be barefoot and pregnant? It wasn’t anything like that, though. Honestly, I think I was ready the day he took me to see our land, I would have said yes if he asked me then and there’s not a moment between then and now where I would have changed my mind. 

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Gently, he lets the pendant sit in his palm and he watches it with awe. “Why are you so surprised?” I giggle. He shakes his head and releases a ragged breath. “Baby…I thought you were going to make me wait forever,” he says. My chest heats at the term of endearment that’s become my new name. “It’s only been 6 months since you gave it to me,” I giggle and roll my eyes. We’ve been together for a total of 9 months, and still, I get butterflies whenever he’s near. My skin still tingles when he looks at me the way he’s looking at me now. 

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Giving him the necklace doesn’t mean anything, I have no idea when he’s actually going to propose, and knowing River, he’ll make me wait until I’m about ready to crawl out of my skin with anticipation. Actually, I think that’s how I know I’m ready. I was waiting for the honeymoon phase to end, for him to stop treating me like I shit gold…only he hasn’t. There’s no honeymoon phase for us, the honeymoon is us. 

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“What are you thinking about?” he asks, running a palm up my leg and squeezing my thick thigh. I sit up on my elbows and level him with a stare, I lick my lips and catch that familiar fire catching behind his beautiful eyes. He knows what I’m about to say, I would bet my life he does. While he waits for me to respond, he places the necklace on my side table and leans against the headboard. Then, he grips my ankle and drags me closer, lifting me so I straddle him. His eyes trace every curve and line of my face and body, setting a fire under my skin. Goosebumps glitter my skin where his hands grip my waist, he rubs them away with his thumbs, skating them under my camisole and just touching the bottom of my breasts. A soft moan escapes me as I lean into his touch. 

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“What are you thinking about baby?” he repeats, his voice low and raspy. I sigh with satisfaction, closing my eyes against the sound. I could listen to him talk forever, I will listen to him talk forever. My arms rise above my head as he peels the top off my body. Immediately, he leaves gentle kisses along my chest and breasts. I run my hands up his broad shoulders and into his hair. 

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“Delayed gratification,” I finally say.

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His fingers dig into the plump flesh of my hips as he flips us. My gasp is swallowed by his kiss, and his tongue immediately finds mine. I’ll never get tired of the tug and give of his lips on mine, the way he tastes. He makes quick work of the elastic on my shorts, pulling them off and tossing them onto the floor. It’s not lost on me that he’s still fully dressed, or that those two words probably unlocked something desperate inside him. I want to regret saying it but, it’s been so long since we’ve played this game, and…I kind of miss it. 

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He uses his knee to spread my legs, leaving my center exposed. His other knee is planted at my side and he sits back on his heels with a smug look on his face. 

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Okay, I’m starting to regret it now.

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His smirk grows ever so widely, he’s going to have way too much fun torturing me. 

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A warm palm caresses my face, traveling to my chin - his thumb skates over the soft flesh of my lips. Meanwhile, his other palm skates up the inside of my leg - stopping just at my center. 

After a heavy minute, when my chest rises and falls dramatically with anticipation, he drags his fingers over my heat and strums my lips like a guitar. The subtle movement sends ribbons of pleasure through my entire body. A terse breath flares from my nostrils and I flex my toes from the sensation. River’s tongue darts against his lower lip and an amused spark glints in his eyes. He loves that he can do this to me, he loves how well he knows my body and he loves reminding me. 

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He repeats the motion until I’m panting, until I feel my wetness dripping from my center. The next time he repeats the motion, he slides a long, slender finger down my sensitive middle. The swollen bundle of nerves at my apex sings with pleasure as he repeats the motion. The next time, he slides his finger inside me and uses his thumb to draw circles around my button of pleasure. My mouth falls open in a moan as I arch my back into his palm. Using the new leverage, he places his other thumb in my mouth and when it falls closed, I instinctively suck as I writhe myself against him. A satisfied groan escapes him as he pops his thumb out of my mouth. 

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I feel another finger inside me and another as I stretch around him. He replaces his thumb with the other, wet and warm with my saliva. I feel an intense demise brewing at the base of my spine and I’m almost afraid to let it wash over me. Still, I know it’s too early. River’s still fully clothed and we have nowhere to be. This is only the beginning. 

3 denied orgasms later and there’s a pool of sweat gathered in the nape of my neck. I’m so slick I can barely feel anything other than the intense pressure that’s built up inside me. I whimper when he finally pulls his t-shirt over his head and tosses it with the rest of the discarded clothes. Surprisingly, he shrugs out of his sweats too, leaving only his briefs. 

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Maybe I’m closer than I thought. 

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“Come here,” he orders, pulling me off my back. My skin is hot against his and, with my heightened senses, I almost come when his hand grazes my back. When he sucks the tender flesh beneath my ear it brings tears to my eyes. He falls back onto the mattress in the spot he just pulled me from, then he positions me so my center is hovering just above his pouty lips. My breathing is so loud, I barely hear what he says. I only feel the vibrations of his voice coursing through my body. Smiling, he wraps my hair around his fist and tugs my head back so I’m watching us through the mirror. Another whimper escapes me. 

“Look at my wife,” he commands. A shaky moan is all I can manage. His hold is firm around my hair, I can’t do anything but watch. I grip the headboard so tight that the whites of my knuckles show through my caramel skin. I jerk forward with the slap of his palms against my ass, and he drags a languid sniff from one corner of my pelvis to the other. 

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“River,” I moan. 

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At the same time, he places his mouth over me and sucks, moaning with pleasure at the taste. I tremble, and he stops, then he repeats the motion. This time, I don’t stop trembling. When he puts his mouth over me again, he drags his stiff, flat tongue from my center to my clit and my legs vibrate violently on either side of his face. He pushes me off again and I have to gasp for air, I have to remind myself to breathe. 

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He smiles something cunning at me before sitting me on his face again, this time, with the simple flick of his tongue, my mind turns to static. I feel an effervescence from the top of my neck that travels through my entire skull. My limbs go limp and my entire body trembles ceremoniously. 

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“River!” I scream, “I’m-” But before I can finish, he sits me down on his hard length. 

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I feel him throb around me as I come instantly from sitting on him. My head falls back in a garbled moan or scream or cry or maybe, it was all three. My body goes completely stiff as I convulse around him. He gives me no time to recover, instantly thrusting deeper into me. A primal growl wrangles itself from his throat as all his restraint falls away. With one hand pushing my shoulder down and the other lifting my waist, he drives into me with such fervor, you would believe he was starved of sex. 

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His head falls back onto the pillow behind him but he doesn’t relent. My ragged breaths, his staccato grunts, and the squishy slapping of his skin on mine make up some kind of lewd symphony. Another orgasm rips through me as I continue to scream his name. His responding groan is so loud it echoes, still, he doesn’t stop, he rides me from below, happy to do all the work.

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“Tell me,” he grunts, his hips moving in sharp, jerky motions. 

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“T-tell you what?” I ask, waiting for the mental fog to go away. “Tell me you’re ready - shit, Cleo…I can’t-” he pants, sitting up and pulling me into his chest. His movements grow slow and dramatic as he continues grinding into me from below, his forehead pressed to mine, his lower lip trembling. 

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“I’m ready River. I want to be your wife,” I confess, breathless.

 

He presses his lips against mine, moaning into my mouth as he fills me up. His dick twitches and throbs deliciously inside me as he finally releases himself. 

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The bed shakes as he collapses into it, splayed like a starfish in its center. I chuckle as I regard him, his skin hot to the touch, his heart racing mercilessly. 

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I always forget that this is just as taxing on his body as it is on mine. 

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I move to slip off him but his hands fly to my hips, holding me in place. He winces, “Wait, wait, wait.” He pants, “Just…stay here for a minute.” His eyes are closed but he still pulls me down onto his chest, smoothing my hair with his heavy hand. 

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I smile into his warm skin, kissing him tenderly in the middle of his chest. 

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“Forever?” he asks, his voice heavy and wet. 

“Forever.”