River of Love

by Melissa Foster

  “Okay, lovebirds,” Dixie said. “Faith, you’re up.”

  “Thanks, Dixie.” Sam’s eyes were still locked on Faith. “Don’t worry about Cole. I promise you, he’s going to be fine with us. Okay?”

  She nodded and stepped away. Sam pulled out his phone and sent another text to Cole as Faith threw her first dart. Need to talk. Please call as soon as you’re back in town. He hated that Faith worried about anything, especially a job she loved so much, but in his heart Sam knew that Cole wouldn’t care what she did with her spare time either. He was too professional to go down that road. Sam was proud of his brother, and he knew that aside from his previous lifestyle, Cole respected him equally. One phone call would ease Faith’s worry, and he’d make a point of it taking place before she had to face him at work.

  “Your girl’s got a single and a double,” Bear said to Sam.

  Sam shoved his phone in his pocket. Faith’s eyes were focused on the board. Her breathing was calm, her body angled slightly to the right, her right foot a few inches behind her left, and her shoulders were parallel to the floor. Everyone’s eyes were on her as she drew her hand back, her eyes narrowing even further. With the grace of a dancer, her arm came forward, her right foot slid up to her toes, and the dart sailed through the air, landing on the triple twenty.

  Everyone yelled, “Shanghai!”

  Bullet swooped Faith into his arms and spun her around, laughing as Dixie and Bear joined in the group hug. Faith’s eyes sought Sam’s, full of pride, and as Bullet broke free of the crowd, carrying Sam’s smiling girlfriend to him and placing her in his arms, all thoughts of Cole disappeared.

  Faith gazed into Sam’s eyes as she pressed her hands to his cheeks, looking happy and sexy as she lowered her mouth to his. It wasn’t a kiss of unbridled passion, or a kiss that said take me now. It was an unfamiliar kiss, one he wanted to experience for infinity. It was the kiss of a couple sharing a moment, building history, minute by minute, hour by hour.

  When their lips parted, she was still smiling. “See what I can do when you’re not making me hot and bothered?”

  “You never fail to amaze me.” He lowered her to her feet and whispered in her ear, “I’d love to see what you can do when you are hot and bothered.”

  “Then maybe you should heat me up when we’re alone, Braden.”

  Invitation accepted.

  Sam settled up with the guys, keeping a firm arm around Faith. They said their goodbyes, and a few minutes later the fresh air touched his warm skin, doing absolutely nothing to cool Sam down. Before the door even closed behind them, she was in his arms. Sam backed her up against the building, their mouths fused together, their kiss ravenous. She clung to his back as his hands moved over her ribs, his thumbs brushing the underside of her breasts. She moaned, making him ache to fill his palms, his mouth, to feel her nipples taut and eager against his tongue. Her hips rocked forward, making him harder than he’d been all night. If he didn’t get them out of there now, he wouldn’t be able to focus enough to drive.

  He reluctantly pulled away. “Let’s get out of here.”

  She put her arm around his waist before he even got his around her. Man, did he ever love that. Claim me, baby. Make me yours.

  At the bike, he took her face in his hands and gazed into her eyes. Unbridled passion brimmed back at him. He took her in another rough kiss. His lips were hard, his tongue searching, his body desperate, and when she pushed her hands into his hair and held on tight, he groaned. He kissed her mouth, her chin, her jaw, and buried his face in her neck, kissing, sucking, wanting.

  “Sam. Oh God, Sam.”

  A tiny voice in the back of his head told him to regain control, but when she dug her nails into his back, it sent currents of fire through his veins. He kissed his way back up to her ear, running his tongue around the rim, then sucking the lobe into his mouth.

  “Ohmygod.”

  She panted as he nibbled and sucked, licked, and teased the sensitive skin just beneath her lobe. When her hands shoved beneath his shirt, hot and eager, clawing at his back, he reminded himself they were in a public place—and he’d promised to behave. He was so far past wanting to behave he couldn’t even spell the damn word. He fisted his hands against her hips to keep from tearing her clothes to shreds and drew back from his delicious appetizer.

  “Faith.” One look in her ravenous eyes stole his next words. “Home. I’m taking you home.” His hands shook as he lifted her onto the bike.

  She clung to his forearms, her eyes pleading for more. He was powerless to keep his distance. He straddled the bike, facing her, and took her face in his hands.

  His emotions poured from him like liquid. “How many times have I held you like this in the last twenty-four hours?” He didn’t wait for an answer, and he had a feeling she couldn’t have answered if she wanted to. She was flushed and had a lustful, dazed look in her eyes.

  “I’ve never held another woman so possessively. A kiss was the last thing on my mind with anyone else. Your kisses consume me, and holding you like this, eye to eye, feeling your beautiful face in my hands, brings us that much closer together. If all we ever had was kissing, it would be torture, but I could live with it.”

  “God, Sam,” she said breathlessly. “Kiss me.”

  He claimed her eager mouth in a series of hard kisses. The sound of a bike roaring to life jerked him back to their surroundings. Their lips parted, but neither looked toward the noise; the current between them was too magnetic. Sam touched his forehead to hers, cupping the nape of her neck and trying to calm the adrenaline coursing through him.

  “Home, baby. I’ve got to take you home.”

  **

  THE NIGHT AIR did little to clear Faith’s mind on the ride to her apartment. Being pressed against the man she wanted so badly, combined with the vibration of the bike, didn’t help her think any more clearly. By the time they arrived, all she wanted was more of Sam, and she could tell by the tightness in his jaw and the way he fell silent on the way up to her apartment that he was fighting the same internal battle.

  The silence pressed in on her as she fished out her keys. She wanted Sam pressing in on her. The restraint in his eyes made her heart swell. He was behaving because it was what she’d wanted, but now, as they each waged their silent battles, she wished she’d never made such a big deal out of not doing more than kissing the other night.

  She pushed the key into the lock, and Sam’s arms came around her waist. His hot, glorious mouth lavished her neck with openmouthed kisses, stimulating her every ion. She pushed the door open but rested her head back against his rock-hard frame, giving him better access to anything he wanted. His hand slid up the front of her shirt and over her rib cage, causing a full-body shudder. His other hand turned her chin toward him, and he claimed her in a full-on assault of her senses. He plundered and took, kissing her roughly and filling his free hand with her breast. His thumb brushed over her nipple in a slow circular motion with master precision, just hard enough to send tingles of lust straight down between her legs. She tried to turn and face him, but he held her in place, his hard length pressing against her backside as he deepened the kiss, consuming her—body, mind, and soul.

  When he finally turned her in his arms, he didn’t break their connection, kissing her heartbreakingly slowly, dreamily, as if he had all day just to enjoy this closeness. The sound of a car door slamming jerked Faith’s mind out of her lusty delirium, and she reluctantly pulled back. Fisting her hand in his shirt, she pulled him into her apartment. He closed the door with his foot, his primal stare making her feel sexy and exposed at once as he openly studied her. His powerful body moved in silent persuasion, closing the distance between them. Faith stood motionless, nervously licking her lips, trying to keep from jumping his bones, because boy, did she want to jump his bones. His sexual magnetism made him so attractive to everyone in his path, and she was right there with all the women before her. Jealousy dug its claws into her heart, vying for blood. She tried t
o tamp down the ugly emotions, and one look in his eyes tore those claws from her skin. Sam was hers now, by his own volition, and he’d done a lot to get her to agree to be his. He closed in on her, sucking the oxygen from the room.

  His hand came heavily around the nape of her neck, drawing her to him, a devilish curve to his mouth, wicked and alluring. She loved anything he did at her nape. He could nuzzle it, kiss it, suck it, or brush his thumb over her sensitive skin, as he was now, while looking at her like she was a goddess: beautiful, sexy, and oh so tempting. She didn’t see herself that way, but Sam made her feel that way. His desire was inescapable, emanating from his face, his body, his hands as they slid beneath her shirt again and up her back. His fingers curled over her shoulders and he held her tight against him.

  The anticipation was merciless. She was wet and panting, fisting her hands in the back of his shirt so tightly she was sure she’d leave marks on his skin. His heart was beating as rampant as hers, and he searched her eyes so intensely she wondered what he was looking for. Reassurance? She went up on her toes and kissed the center of his chin. His scruff was rough against her face, and his intoxicating musky scent overwhelmed her. So masculine, so Sam. She lingered, placing more kisses along his jaw, feather-light kisses and openmouthed kisses. He made a sexy, wanton sound deep in his throat, and she wanted to hear more of that sound, to feel it rumble in his throat and through his chest. She nipped at his lower lip, then slicked over it with her tongue.

  His fingers tightened around her shoulders as he hissed out a breath and swept her into his arms, taking her in another exquisitely torturous slow kiss as he carried her to the living room and lowered her to the couch. He came down over her, kissing her lips, her neck, her mouth again. His hips ground sensually against hers as his arms enveloped her.

  “So beautiful,” he whispered against her cheek. “So sexy. How am I supposed to behave myself?” His hand moved over her ribs and palmed her breast.

  Faith sucked in a sharp breath with the intense pleasure of his touch, combined with the friction between her legs as he ground his arousal against her swollen sex.

  She didn’t want him to behave and forced herself to respond. “We’ll just behave a little.”

  His lips curled up, but his brows slanted together. “I’m not sure what that means.”

  “Me either,” she admitted. “But I don’t want to stop.”

  She pulled his mouth to hers and surrendered to the passion burning inside her, pushing her hands through his hair, over his shoulders, down his back, wanting to feel every inch of him. She tugged at his shirt, lifting it up so she could feel his flesh. He reared up and pulled it off, staying above her long enough for her to get an eyeful and then a mouthful as she rose and kissed his chest. He leaned on one hand, the other still toying with her nipple. His pecs jumped and flexed against her tongue. She ran her hand over his chest, lingering over his nipples, and followed her hand with her mouth, stroking the hard tips with her tongue.

  “Christ,” he growled.

  His eyes were closed, his jaw tight, neck muscles straining. She loved knowing she was the cause of all that restraint. What would he be like when he let loose? She kissed his neck, dragging her tongue along the length of it. Another growl vibrated through him. His head dropped forward and his eyes came open, pleasure wading in their dark pools. He rose onto his knees with a predatory look in his eyes. She was his most willing prey, panting as her eyes dropped to the thick erection pressing against his jeans. His eyes turned serious, roaming over her—all of her. He closed them for a beat, as if he were trying to regain control, and she sat up and pressed her hands to his sides, kissing his stomach. She felt every breath against her tongue, felt the restraint in his muscles.

  His eyes locked on her. She reached up and played with his nipples, continuing to taunt him with her mouth.

  “Faith.” He clenched his jaw tight.

  She lifted her eyes but didn’t stop kissing, licking, or touching. He reached down and gathered the sides of her shirt, lifting it slightly.

  “Okay?”

  She nodded, unwilling to give up even a second of tasting him. He lifted her shirt over her head. Her necklace fell between her lace-covered breasts, and he carefully removed that, too, setting it on the coffee table beside the couch. He moved painstakingly slow, his normal confidence hindered by her self-imposed limits. She loved that he respected her enough to take things slowly. She desperately longed to feel him untamed and wild, but not now. Now this was perfect, and somehow he must have known that.

  He eased her lace bra strap down her arm. His eyes locked on hers as he kissed first one shoulder and then the other, as he lowered the other strap, unhooked the clasp, and tossed her bra to the floor. Her breasts fell heavily against her skin. She waited for her skin to flush with embarrassment beneath his carnal stare, but there was no room for that wasted emotion when her body throbbed and ached for the breathtaking man before her.

  Chapter Fourteen

  FAITH LAY BENEATH Sam, unguarded and trusting and so beautiful she made his heart stutter. Her dark hair fanned out around her. Her eyelids were heavy with desire. Her full, perfect breasts were untouched by the sun, creamy, silken against her tanned skin. The dark peaks beckoned him. He lowered himself to her, savoring their first skin-to-skin contact, feeling like he’d been given a gift.

  “Feel that?” he whispered. The answer was in her quickening heartbeat and the look of entrancement in her eyes. “That’s us. So right. So perfect.”

  Their mouths came together with a sense of urgency belying his tender tone. Tongues tangling, breath mingling, lips burning. He’d never get enough of kissing her, touching her. His hands moved feverishly along her curves, from her hip to her breasts, then back again, feeling her body tremble. He caressed her breasts, their hips moving together in perfect harmony, his arousal aching for release. He drew back, giving her lower lip a gentle tug and earning a sexy moan from Faith. He rained kisses along her jaw, her neck, and finally—finally—her breasts, her body bowed beneath him. He drew the tight bud up against the roof of his mouth, and she fisted her hands in his hair, holding him in place. Oh yeah, baby. Show me what you like.

  She arched against him, urging his mouth open wider. Taking more of her luscious breast in, he cupped it with both hands and loved it fully.

  “That feels so good.” Her words came fast and heated.

  He gave the other breast the same attention, adding a teasing graze with his teeth. Her hips bucked with pleasure. He wanted to taste every inch of her gorgeous body. He dragged his tongue in slow circles around her nipple, avoiding the peaks, even as she tried to lower his head to them.

  “God,” she hissed.

  He laced her hands with his, holding them beside her head, and continued teasing her. Her eyes closed, and she bit her lower lip. He moved up and claimed her again in a rough kiss.

  “Don’t hold back.” It came out as a command, and he softened his tone, meeting her heady gaze. “I’m greedy. I want to hear every little noise you make for me.”

  She bit her lip again, and he used his teeth to tug it free.

  “Only I get to bite that lip tonight.”

  Her eyes widened a little with the demand. He kissed her softly, then traced her lips with his tongue.

  “Okay?” he asked, giving her control again.

  “Yes,” she whispered.

  He lowered his mouth to her breast again, swirling his tongue around her nipple while grinding his cock against her core. He sucked her breast hard, and she gasped with pleasure. As he sucked he lifted his eyes to hers, loving the look of untamed passion in her eyes. He released her hands and moved down her body, licking and kissing each of her ribs, the curve of her waist. He rolled her nipples between his fingers and thumbs, squeezing just hard enough to hear her gasp with pleasure again. He ran his tongue around her belly button, dipping inside slowly and sensually. She moaned, her hips bucking with each stroke of his tongue. He gave her nipples another sque
eze as his tongue dipped inside again and she fisted her hands in his hair, sending exquisite shocks of pain through his scalp. He lifted his eyes to make sure they were on the same page, and hers were slammed shut and her head was back as she panted out each breath.

  Using his teeth, he unbuttoned her jeans. Her body stilled and her eyes came open.

  “Tell me to stop, baby, and I will.”

  “Don’t stop,” she said quickly.

  Fuck. She was so damn sexy. He moved swiftly up her body, framed her face with his hands, and kissed her greedily.

  He moved down and unzipped her jeans, carefully taking them off. His mouth went dry at the sight of her in nothing more than black lace panties. Her skin was flushed, her lips glistening from their kiss, and her hands—those delicate, feminine hands—were pushing her panties off. He helped her slip them off, then came down between her legs. He ran his hands over the tops of her thighs, then brushed his thumbs over her damp, dark curls. He kissed her inner thigh, noticing her hands fisting in the couch cushion as her hips bowed up. God, what she did to him, wanting him so much it made him ache.

  His thumbs slid to the creases between her legs and her sex, opening her for him. Her flesh glistened, and the scent of her arousal was intoxicating. The first stroke of his tongue brought her sweet, divine taste. She moaned, her thighs falling open further. He teased her with his tongue, tasting and taunting, reveling in her quickening breaths and arching hips. He licked circles around her swollen clit and slid two fingers deep inside her velvety heat. A long, low moan escaped her lips. He sucked her sensitive nerves into his mouth, his fingers furtively seeking the pleasure point that would send her over the edge. Her heels dug into the cushions and her thighs tightened. He pushed them open wider with his elbows, allowing him to use his fingers and mouth more adeptly, stroking her up, up, up.

  “Sam!” she cried, her body thrusting and shaking.

  Her sex pulsed around his fingers as she rode out her climax. As it began to ease, he replaced his fingers with his tongue, and teased over her clit, sending her right back up to the peak.