Hope's River

by McHeyzer , Margaret

  I move, but he waggles his finger at me. “Nope. Not until I know what you came here for.” He heads into his kitchen, takes a bottle of water out of the fridge and opens it. Bringing the bottle up to his lips, I’m mesmerized by how his mouth forms into a perfect O as his lips seal around the opening. Tilting his head back, he drinks about a third of the bottle in one go. Lowering the bottle, he brings his finger up to his mouth, and licks it slowly. Holy shit, has he got any idea of how damn sexy he is? “Hmm, I miss this taste.”

  Quickly, it dawns on me he’s licking me off his fingers. Did someone turn the heat up? I fan myself with the folder, totally turned on by River. “Um,” I squeak, unable to form any type of coherent sentence.

  He places the bottle on the counter, he holds his hand out. I reach for his hand, but he retracts his and shakes his head. “The folder.”

  Am I still holding that damn thing? Stepping back gives me a few seconds to stand down from the lust-filled wanton ho I am, to being a damned smart business woman who knows a good investment when she sees one.

  I pull my shoulders back, and walk over to the table. “Mr. Lockwood, if you’d care to take a seat,” I say in my professional this is a negotiation though really more like a hostile takeover voice.

  “Oh, it’s like that is it, Miss Sawyer?” He pushes off from where he was leaning against the counter, and saunters over to where I’m sitting.

  “Yes, it is.”

  He grabs onto my chair, and slides it over toward him. He grabs my knees, and pushes them open. “Talk.” Moving his hand, he places it on my leg.

  How the hell am I supposed to concentrate when he’s so close to me? I can’t do this. I look down to where his fingers are drawing lazy circles on my leg. Slowly, he’s inching his hand up. This feels so damned good. He notices me staring, and stops, laying his hand flat against my leg. “Why’d you stop?”

  “Because you’re not talking.”

  Shit. Okay. Talk, Hope, fucking talk! Opening the folder, I hand him the first document. His hand moves up my leg and grabs the hem of my shirt. “I’m proposing a merger,” I say. In one fluid movement, he lifts the hem and slowly peels the rest of my shirt over my head, and tosses it to the floor.

  “Go on.”

  I’m sitting here in my pants and bra, and he wants me to keep talking? I can do this. “The merger is a business partnership.” He leans around me, and unclips my bra, sliding the straps down, until it’s completely off and my upper half is totally exposed.

  “What kind of business merger?” He kneels in front of me, and takes one of my breasts in his mouth.

  “Um!” I squeak, as I close my eyes, and push my chest into his mouth while lacing my hands through his thick, luxurious hair. Fuck.

  He pulls away, and sits back on his heels. “I’ll stop if you stop.”

  “No way, we can’t have that happening,” I blurt. River laughs, but waits. “Fine. So, I’ve been thinking that maybe you and I should merge together.” Leaning forward, he takes my breast in his mouth again. Okay, keep a clear head, Hope. If you stop talking, he stops…sucking. “It would entail you and I become business partners,” I shriek on the last word as he bites on my nipple. Shit, shit, shit. Keep it together. “We’d join…um.” Closing my eyes, I thrust my breast into him while opening my legs further. “Us…um.” Please keep doing that. “We’ll tie stuff and um, I think we’ll…” What the fuck am I thinking? He kisses his way across to the other breast, and takes it in his mouth, teasing and playing, while his hand expertly rubs and pinches. “We’ll…um, together join, and I think build stuff and shit like that.”

  “Are you distracted?” he asks. I nod, then shake my head. I’m on cloud fucking nine is what I am. He undoes the button of my jeans, then unzips the zipper. “Are you stopping?” He leans back again.

  “Hell fucking no, I’m not stopping, and you shouldn’t either. But here, let me help you.” I stand and he helps me shimmy out of my jeans so I’m left in just my underwear. Thank God they’re a pretty yellow pair.

  “If you don’t want me to stop, then you know what you have to do.”

  I’m such a shameless hussy. “This merger will be a business partnership between River Lockwood and Hope and Charlie Sawyer.” He grabs my hips, pulls me toward him, and opens my legs. River pulls my panties to the side, and he lowers his mouth down to my pussy. “We’ll have an equal partnership,” my voice is incredibly high pitched as I struggle to keep my head out of the clouds. God, he’s gotten really good at this. “We’ll rebuild houses, starting with five houses the county is giving me in Faith Haven.” His tongue expertly flicks, and licks. Jesus, if he keeps doing this, I’m going to come on his face. “We’ll um, split everything three-ways. And we’ll um, call the business Vision Construction.” Shit, I think I’m about to have a vision right now. He opens my legs further, as he absolutely feasts on me. Oh shit. I relax back into the seat, unable to keep talking.

  River’s mouth is a godsend. River himself is a damn godsend.

  “And there’s also another merger, where you’ll be my wife, and I’ll be your husband,” I say as I grind my hips further on his face. What did I just say?

  River pulls away, his mouth glistening from…well, me. “What?” he asks.

  “What? Can you not stop, like not now? Maybe, when I’ve come.”

  “Did you ask me to marry you?”

  “What? Who? Me?” He nods. “Yeah, I want us to be together.”

  “But you asked me to marry you.” He points to himself, then to me. “You said you want me to be your wife and for you to be my husband.”

  Did I say that? “It’s quite possible I was distracted. Your tongue was doing something pretty damn awesome to my lady parts. What I meant to say is I want you to be my husband, and me to be your wife. But if you can go back to finishing what you started, I’m happy to discuss this further after I’ve come…on your face…and on your cock.” He tilts his head. “Please, can you come back and finish fucking me with your mouth?” River laughs. He stands, leans down and throws me over his shoulder like I’m a ragdoll. “Hey, what are you doing?”

  “I’m doing what I should’ve done a long time ago.”

  As he carries me into his bedroom, my boobs jiggle, hitting him on his back. “My boobs are hitting you in the back.”

  “Shut up.” He moves his head to the side, and he bites my butt cheek.

  “Hey!” I protest. But in reality, I like it. “Do it again,” I say.

  “Kinky.” He bites again, this time harder. He chucks me on his bed, and my boobs wobble in the most unflattering way, as does my stomach. He strips completely, and like a horny demon, tears off my cute yellow panties.

  “Hey, I really liked those.”

  “I prefer them off anyway.” He climbs up on the bed, positioning himself between my legs. “Yes,” he says.

  “Yes, what?” I ask.

  “Yes, I’ll be your business partner.” He pushes into me, and I gasp with the sudden, welcoming stretch. “But no to the marriage proposal.” He thrusts into me, slow at first, then his tempo increases.

  “Why not?” I ask as he keeps pushing into me.

  He stops, slings my leg up over his arm, and keeps going. “Shut up for a minute.”

  “Tell me why you won’t marry me.” God, how deep is he? I twirl my hips in counterpoint to the motion of his plunging, causing a delicious friction.

  “Just shut up.” He closes his eyes, and keeps thrusting.

  “No, I want to know why!” I demand. He brings my leg up higher, making him go deeper. This feels so good. He stops again, and in one fluid movement, he rolls us over so I’m positioned over him. I move my hips, increasing the feeling I’m craving. “Why won’t you marry me?”

  He snakes his hands under the pillow behind his head, closing his eyes and biting on his lower lip. Sexy. “Hmm,” he moans as I keep swiveling my hips on him. “Hmm.” He licks his lips, then purses his mouth together.

  Oh my God, what is
he doing to me? I can’t think if he keeps doing that thing with his lips. My concentration is quickly slipping, because I’m completely consumed by his mouth, and those sexy as fuck moans. I lower my top half so I can kiss him. The moment my mouth meets his, everything is different. Better.

  I reach under the pillow where his hands are to entwine our fingers. He fumbles for a second before I feel it. “What’s happening?” I mumble against his lips before pulling away. I tug my hands away from his, and find a square diamond ring on my fourth finger on my left hand. “What?”

  “I bought this ring for you the day I found you were in Hope River. You’re the only woman I’ve ever loved, Hope. I knew when I saw you in that café all those years ago, that one day you’ll be my wife. Marry me.”

  Lifting my hand, I look at the beautiful ring. “Why was this under your pillow?” I ask.

  “Seriously? Instead of saying yes or no, you’re asking me why it’s been under my pillow? To answer your question, because one day I knew it was going to be on your finger.” Oh, right. “Is that a yes?” he asks after a moment.

  I smash my lips against his. “Yes,” I say.

  “About time,” he mumbles.

  “This is a good thing you’re doing, Hope,” Gran says as I drive her to the house. “To turn it into a bed and breakfast is wonderful. Hopefully that’ll bring more visitors to Hope River and some will want to stay. I’d love to see more families move here.”

  Driving toward the house, I’m so pumped to show Gran what we’ve done. I just hope she loves the room I’m busting to show her. “Thank you. It really was an honor working on the house.”

  Gran clutches her bag on her lap as I near the home. I notice her hands tighten around the handle when I turn on the street. Jake and his team have closed off the road, but the moment he sees my truck approach, he motions for me to enter. “Wow,” Gran says as she looks around.

  There’s a flurry of people, and the street has been set up the way it usually is when there’s a festival on Main Street in town. I’m careful to park the truck in one of the neighbor’s driveways three houses away from Old Roger’s house.

  Parking, I jump out, and run around to the passenger side to help Gran out of the car. “Shoo! Away, girly. What do you take me for? Old?” With normal May spirit, she slaps my hand away when I try to help her.

  “My apologies,” I offer as I step back and let her get out of my truck.

  Gran is headstrong, because I can see she’s slightly struggling, and I’m careful to be right there in case she loses her balance, and falls. But, she’s also the most stubborn woman I’ve ever met.

  “Hi Gran,” Jake says as he walks to the truck, and tries to help her out.

  “I’m capable of doing this myself, Jake. I’ve been walking way before you were an itch in your daddy’s crotch.”

  Jake smirks, and I turn my head so she and Jake don’t see me grinning. She gets out of my truck, and Jake closes the door behind her. “I can’t wait to see what you think about what Hope’s done with the house.”

  “When do you open for business?” Gran asks.

  “The house is finished, but now that I’m turning it into a bed and breakfast, I need to get a few small things done. So, we’ll be open for business by next weekend.”

  “Hope, the home is wonderful,” a random man says to me.

  “Thank you.” I kindly smile, having no idea who he is.

  “Gran, glad you could come,” Murray says as he approaches us.

  “I wouldn’t miss it for the world, Murray. I want to see what this girl’s been doing all these months.”

  “Hi Hope,” I hear come from a soft, little voice.

  Turning behind me, I see Rose walking with her parents, holding their hands, and she has the biggest smile. “Rose. Your dress is super pretty,” I say as her parents slow their pace to keep up with us.

  “I’m really looking forward to seeing what you did with the house,” her mom says.

  “Thank you.”

  “Mommy said she wanted to buy it, but now she can’t,” Rose blurts honestly.

  “Rose!” her dad scold.

  “Maybe one of the next houses I flip.” I look at her mom.

  Her mom narrows her eyes with a questioning gaze. “Is there another house like this in Hope River?” she asks. Judging by her vacant expression, she’s trying to recall where the house would be.

  “I’ve got five houses on Oak Tree Parade, over in Faith Haven.”

  Her mom grimaces, and sucks in a breath. “Those abandoned houses?” I nod confirmation. “Eww, I don’t think so.” She shakes her head.

  “Challenge accepted,” I say with a smile.

  “You think you can make those houses into homes?” her father asks.

  I smile cheekily. “Oh, I don’t think I can, I know I can.”

  Rose’s dad’s face gleams as he keeps walking forward. “I can tell you, we’re both looking forward to seeing your next project.”

  “Daddy, can I get cotton candy?” Rose asks when she spots the machine in front of the house.

  “Sure can. Come on. Nice talking to you, Hope. Bye Gran, Jake.” He tips his head graciously as the three of them walk ahead of us.

  “I’ll leave both you ladies here, because I have work to do,” Jake says. “But I’ll be in to take a look at the house when I get back.”

  “Sure thing, Jake. Thank you.” Jake walks back toward the barriers blocking the street off. I turn to look at Gran, who’s staring up at the house in awe. Her hand comes up to her chest, and she takes a small backward step. “Are you okay, Gran?”

  Her eyes widen as she sucks in a sharp breath. “My goodness, Hope.” Her lips part slightly as her smile grows bigger. “This is amazing.”

  “Would you like to see inside?”

  “I love the door. The green is just beautiful.”

  “It’s the perfect match to the earrings.”

  “Oh.” She covers her mouth with her free hand while she keeps her bag tightly clutched against her chest. We slowly walk up to the house, and I move my arm out so she can use me for balance on the steps. She stops at the door, and looks at the sign I’ve had made. “McGrath’s Bed and Breakfast,” she reads. She turns to me, and grabs my arm. “Perfect.”

  “Thank you. I wanted you to see what you helped create.” We enter the house where Elle and Tabitha are cooking together in the kitchen.

  “Oh, my goodness. This is massive. I had no idea it was so large. And oh my. Look at that view,” Gran says when she sees the massive sliding doors open to the back. “I never thought this house could be salvageable, Hope. But I suppose it just took the right person to have a vision.”

  I find myself standing taller, and prouder. What a wonderful thing for Gran to say. And ironic really, because Charlie’s, River’s and my business is called Vision Construction. “Thank you. But I do have something I want to show you. It’s upstairs, do you think you’ll be okay getting up there?” Gran turns and scowls at me. “So that’s a yes.”

  “Hi Gran.” River appears from the back, dressed smartly in tailored pants, and a white shirt. He approaches us, gives Gran a quick kiss on the cheek, then he kisses me softly on the mouth. “Do you like the house?”

  “It’s perfect,” Gran replies.

  “Have you shown her upstairs?” he asks as he places his arm around my waist and squeezes.

  “We just got here. Everything okay out back?”

  “Yeah, I just finished the lights. Rookie mistake, I didn’t have enough. Anyway, it’s all good.”

  “Are you two going to stand there making googly eyes at each other, or can I go upstairs and see what this big surprise is?”

  “Sorry.” Both River and I lower our chins.

  Gran walks ahead to the staircase. “If I remember correctly, the stairs were over there.”

  “We moved them,” I say.

  Gran begins her ascent, and River leans down and whispers, “Meet me in the bathroom upstairs in one hour. W
e need to christen it.”

  Before I can even ask which bathroom, he kisses my neck, and takes off out the front door. Bastard. Now I’m going to be thinking about the fun we’ll have in an hour.

  “Hurry up!” Gran snaps. Man, she’s great value. I love her short, direct sassiness.

  “Sorry,” I call as I trudge up the stairs to find her standing in front of the closed door to the room I’m eager to show her.

  “This says May’s Room.” She points to the plaque beside the door. She then looks over to me, and widely smiles. “And the door is the same green as the one downstairs.”

  “It is. Each of the rooms are named after someone. There’s Roger and Jean’s Room.” I point to the open yellow door. “There’s Carl’s Room.” I point to the open orange door. “There’s Henry’s Room.” I point behind me to the open blue door. “And there’s May’s Room.” I pointedly look at the closed green door. “And downstairs, there’s the McGrath’s room. But, when you’re ready, Gran. I’d like to show you the room I created for you.”

  Gran stands in front of the door, her hand nowhere near the door knob. She sees the black square above the door handle. “Do I need a card to get in? One of those fancy ones?”

  “It’s unlocked.”

  She hesitantly reaches for the handle, and slightly pulls away. Skeptically, she turns to me. With tears in her eyes, I give her an encouraging nod. A small smile tugs at her lips, before she turns, and pushes on the door. She steps in, and I hear her gasp. “Oh my,” she says as she stands in the room, looking around. Gran walks over and places her bag on the bed, before taking a slow step forward. She sees the massive frame ahead of her. When the moon is in full view of my window, I wonder if you’re looking up and watching it with me. Are you, my love? Gran reads the writing aloud. She reaches out and touches the frame. “That was written in the letter from…” she stops, and bursts into tears.