Strutting over to the couch, walking that walk I love so much, he sits down and pats the couch. “Xander outdid himself,” he says, patting the couch. “He picked this out for me and had it delivered.” He glances up at the picture and points to the TV and guitars. “He said these are house-warming presents.”

“That’s really nice of your brother,” I comment while walking over to get a closer look at the picture.

While stretching his arms out on the back of the couch, River says, “He can be, sometimes. You can be the judge when you meet him.”

“Well if he’s anything like you, I’m sure I’ll like him.” I almost said love but quickly caught myself. My emotions are running away from me; I have to rein them in.

“When was this taken?” I ask, still looking at the large photograph on the wall. “A while ago, maybe four years. It was our first official released band photo,” he says while laughing quietly. “It was a big deal for Xander. It was his first accomplished task as band manager.”

“Having your brother looking out for you must relieve a lot of stress. I don’t have any siblings, but always wanted a brother and a sister.”

“I love my brother and my sister, but they can both be a pain in the ass.”

“Well, since I am an only child, I would have loved to have had even one pain in the ass growing up with me,” I teasingly respond.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” he says, trying to reach for me, but I am already walking over to the large glass doors that seem to go on for miles. Gushing when I reach them, I am in awe. The view is out of this world. In the distance I can see each letter of the Hollywood sign. It’s truly amazing. I wish I brought my camera up from the car because this is an incredible photo opportunity. Opening one of the doors, I step outside to an equally amazing outdoor living area that spans the entire length of the house. The upper deck has a wooden table with twelve chairs around it, along with a built-in barbeque grill. To the right and left are modern spiral staircases. Each circles down to the lower deck containing a large rectangular pool and hot tub. Several cloth-covered benches line the half-wall made of plexiglass.

I turn to River, who hasn’t said anything, and he’s watching me intently. “This is your view?” I sputter out. “You can see the Hollywood sign,” I whisper, spelling out the word instead of just saying Hollywood.

In the time we've spent together, River certainly hasn’t given me any indication that he’s as wealthy as his surroundings suggest. Sure, he stayed in a nice hotel and spent plenty of money over the weekend, but he’s just so laid back and down to earth.

After seeing this house, with this view, I start to wonder what I’ve gotten myself into with him.

Snapping me out of my reverie, he comes up behind me and wraps his arms around me. “Hey, you okay?

“Yeah, I just had no idea.”

“No idea of what?”

“That you’re one of the rich and famous.”

Chuckling, he says, “Hardly. Just in the right place at the right time.”

River presses his body into mine and adds, “And I had no idea either.”

“No idea of what?” I parrot back.

His body moves as he laughs, and I feel his hardness behind me. “That you’re one of the enamored that has to spell Hollywood instead of saying it.”

Pouting my lips, I turn around and give him a slight shove. “You’re an ass. I’m just surprised. It seems like something you would have mentioned. That’s all,” I say motioning to the sign, the view, and his house.

“You mean like, hey I just moved into a really sweet new place, and by the way, you can see the Hollywood sign from my backyard?” he mocks, turning me around and pulling me back in for a tight embrace.

“Well, when you put it that way, I guess not,” is all I can say because he’s leaning into my neck, caressing it with his tongue so hard I know I’m going to have a mark. My body shudders from his touch, from his warm breath, and I giggle. “What are you doing?”

“I think you know,” he chuckles against my skin.

I sigh and breathe deeply.

“I’ve had enough show-and-tell for now, and I have one more room to show you,” he says as he leads us back into the house. “Let’s finish what we started in the car, in here,” he continues as we cross the living room and walk down a hall to an open door at the end.

“Your bedroom,” I manage as I look into the very large empty room. There are multiple closed doors inside it. One most likely opens into a bathroom and the others are probably closets. The room also has the same large glass doors as the living room, and I can see the sign and the city from here as well. Everything is just so beautiful.

I laugh when I look into the actual room. In the middle is an air mattress with pillows and blankets thrown on it. Turning to face River, I smirk at him and he smirks right back. He really does light up my insides. So much so, I know my darkest days are behind me.

“What are you smiling about?” I whisper while running my hands firmly up his chest.

“I don’t know. What are you smiling about?” he responds while moving some of my hair aside.

“I can’t believe you were telling me the truth. We really are camping.”

“I never lie,” he says, suddenly very serious.

Grabbing his hand, I lead him to the center of the room and turn to face him. “I never meant it that way,” I whisper into his ear before sucking on his upper lip.

He mumbles something I can’t comprehend, but for some reason, I don’t ask him to repeat it. He lightly shakes his head and runs his finger over my lips.

The sun is shining so brightly into this room, there is no hiding myself. I cannot cover up what I once didn’t want him to see.

Never taking my eyes off his, I break our embrace and peel my shirt over my head before pulling down my skirt, letting it fall to the floor at my feet. I’m now standing in front of him in the lingerie I bought for his eyes only, and I smile at him as I run my own hands down my body and he gasps loudly.

His fingers trace the skin above my push-up bra and moves down to my ribs before tracing circles on my almost non-existent stomach muscles. “You’re so beautifully sexy, perfect really,” he whispers as he leans to kiss the same trail he just etched with his finger.

I stand there, unable to move, his touch is searing, my heart is racing, and I really don’t know what is happening to me. Every time he touches me, the feeling becomes more of a need and less of a want.

As he stands back up, his powerful green eyes scan the length of me—slowly. Grinning, he runs his hands down to my garter belts as he says, “I’ve been wanting to see what these look like since this morning.” Then unsnapping, first one, and then the other, he continues, “It was certainly worth the wait.”

He leans back a little, catches my hand, and turns it over. Bringing it to his mouth, he gently kisses each fingertip, stopping to suck on them for just an instance before kissing my palm.

“I’m glad you like the outfit,” I pant out. My eyelids are fluttering as he breathes on the sensitive spot of my wrist and I continue, “I bought it just for you.”

I brush my fingers along his cheekbones and rub my thumbs underneath his eyes. As I jump into those eyes, I kiss him deeply before nipping at his lower lip then tracing my tongue along the inside of his mouth.

Groaning, he threads his fingers though my hair then runs them down my back, unhooking my bra but not removing it. I pull his shirt over his head and he rips his jeans off before I push him down on the mattress. As I stare into his eyes, so full of desire, I straddle him as he grunts, “I’ve wanted to do this since your little ‘name that tune’ game.”

I hover over him, wearing nothing but my lingerie, and I let his eyes devour me; I can feel our connection growing even stronger. And today, in the early hours of the evening, on the absolutely brightest and most beautiful day of the year, we slowly do what we haven’t done before. We begin to make love.

Chapter Eighteen

PINBALL WIZARD

How does she do it

I wonder how she is so good

She doesn’t even watch

As the ball whizzes by

She’s always happy to win the game.

Despite having slept on an air mattress, I wake surprisingly rested. Rising, I make my way to the bathroom. I look back over my shoulder and grin at the sight of River sleeping so peacefully. I notice again we don’t seem to have sides of the bed. I quietly pad over to his closet and find a white button down shirt on top of a bunch of boxes. While slipping it on, something grabs my attention. The top box has River’s boxers in it and Pac-Man catches my eye immediately. Pac-Man? Really? I love Pac-Man! When I was younger, my father used to take me to an old-fashioned arcade down the street from The Greek at least once a week. Still grinning, I slip on the boxers and make my way through the empty house to the kitchen in search of coffee.

Walking down the hallway that leads to the living room, I think about how we spent the remainder of yesterday’s daylight hours in his room getting to know each other in a more intimate manner. I’m surprised by how comfortable I feel with him; the ease and playfulness we experience together is simply intoxicating. It keeps me wanting more, and I’m pretty sure it keeps River wanting more as well.

When the darkness fell upon us last night, the Hollywood sign glowed in the distance. After stepping outside to take it all in, we made our way back inside to the living room where we ordered pizza and bottles of water. We ate and talked, then we laughed outrageously watching Letterman discuss his version of Fifty Shades of Grey while we lie together on his new couch. Finally, we made our way back to his bedroom and continued our most intimate discovery of each other.

Entering the kitchen, I don’t see a coffee pot anywhere, so whether or not he has coffee is irrelevant. He actually has nothing in his kitchen. No food, no small appliances, not even silverware.

I stand in the doorway to the bedroom and look around at the blank canvas. It gives away nothing about the person River is. But I am not looking for it to do so; I already feel like I know him so well. Yesterday, I may have been a little taken aback by my surroundings and the whole LA feel, however, as I think about it now, I know that where River lives is not an indication of who he is. And besides, I actually love this house, especially the incredible view. In fact, I’m pretty sure that I actually . . . I dare not think it, not yet anyway.

As I watch him sleep so soundly, I can’t help but think about how the sound of River’s voice melts my insides, how his gaze makes me quiver, and how his touch drives me wild. Everything about him, about us, feels so right. These feelings I have are unknown to me. I’ve never felt them before, not even with Ben. Suddenly, guilt washes over me with the reality of this situation. The culpability is beaming through my mind like the bright sunlight streaming through the windows. What is the difference? Why are my feelings for River so much more explosive than they were for Ben?

Squinting my eyes while looking out the sheer covered glass doors, I try to squash the remorse I am feeling. I stare at the scenic view and try to think about River, the man I am enamored with now and not Ben, the man I loved for so long. But the guilt won’t stay at bay, and I’m racking my brain trying to remember if Ben ever made me feel the way River makes me feel. I can’t recall having the same feelings for Ben.

Breaking me free of those stray, unwanted thoughts and questions is the voice that liquefies my insides. “Good morning sexy girl,” he says, and I glance his way. Stretching and yawning, he looks ever so sexy himself. “Whatcha doing way over there?” he asks, holding his arms out for me to join him.

“Good morning yourself,” I respond, smiling while I walk toward him and almost jump into his arms. “I was looking for coffee.”