Chapter 11

RIVER

She didn’t need to know. There was no way that telling Mariah about the threatening phone call River had received would help with anything. As much as River wanted to be honest with Mariah, he really had no idea if the caller had even been referring to the secret about his son. People made weird calls to him all the time. Sometimes what they said made sense, and sometimes it seemed like it was total gibberish.

The caller had said, ‘Secrets will kill you eventually.’

That really could have been about anything. It could have been just a prank caller who didn’t even know who River was. But when River told his assistant, she instantly thought about Jackson and that long time secret. Tensions were high because the governor had been hinting about running for president in several interviews. But there had not been a definitive decision yet, and Kimberly promised to tell River as soon as she knew.

So when Kimberly called to tell River that the decision was final, and her husband was, in fact, running for president, he knew they needed to be on high alert.

“Don’t be so dramatic Mariah, there’s no big conspiracy.”

Mariah looked skeptically at River as she tried to figure him out. He wasn’t as big a mystery as she was trying to make him out to be. In fact, there really wasn’t all that much to figure out about him at all. River cherished his business, his son, and his friends. There wasn’t much else that was important to him in his life. Even the day to day fun he had with models wasn’t at all important when he thought about the whole scheme of his life.

“You’ve got me in your house and drinking wine, I feel like you’re a little dangerous,” Mariah said softly as she moved closer to River.

“Me? I’m not the one who randomly showed up here. I think you are the dangerous one, maybe even a little bit of a stalker. Perhaps I should phone the police and let them know there’s an incredibly attractive blonde woman who broke into my house.”

“I didn’t break in; you let me in,” she said with a smile.

“Oh, yes, there is that.”

River let Mariah move even closer to him as he waited for her. This time, he wasn’t going to turn down anything she was offering. He had worked through all his trepidation, and he was one hundred percent sure that he wanted to have Mariah in his bed with him.

The idea of feeling her delicate skin against his was something he just couldn’t get out of his mind. The way she looked at him, the way she talked to him, even how she just sat next to him, it all drove River wild with desire for her.

“I’m not dangerous,” Mariah said as she leaned in to whisper in River’s ear.

His body reacted instantly to her breath so near him. River felt the blood rush through him, and as much as he wanted to wait and let Mariah take the lead, he couldn’t stop himself. He was comfortable being the one in charge, and he wasn’t about to give up that leadership for Mariah. She was his to play with now, and he couldn’t wait to get her out of the clothes she had on.

Swiftly, he grabbed Mariah and lifted her up onto his lap. Her red skirt thrust up toward her hips as she pressed against his body. River’s hands slid slowly up and down her back and finally found their way to Mariah’s ass, which he grabbed and pulled firmly up against him.

Everything about Mariah’s body felt perfect next to his body. River finally had a small bit of relief from the electric energy that had been between them. With Mariah on his lap, he felt like he finally had her right where she belonged.

“Oh, you are dangerous,” River whispered as he moved his lips in toward Mariah’s.

He couldn’t wait to feel her mouth on his, to feel her tongue as it thrust inside of him. Mariah didn’t seem nearly as shy as she had been the previous night; instead, she was very interested in teasing and torturing River with her body. It wasn’t anything River minded, though, having the delicious Mariah on his lap and her hips thrusting against his throbbing cock was about as close to perfection as he could imagine.

Without warning, River grabbed Mariah and stood up. Mariah’s legs wrapped around River, and she yelped in excitement as she held on with all that she had. She giggled as River carried her down a long hallway and to his bedroom where he stood near the bed and pulled away from her so he could look into Mariah’s eyes.

She mesmerized him with her delightful smile, and River wanted to make the moment last as long as possible. Mariah was more than just a young, cute blonde; she was also smart and witty. The way they were able to talk about both business and personal lives was so familiar that it was hard for River to even imagine that he had only known Mariah for a couple of days.

“I’m glad you stalked me and came to my house tonight,” he said with a grin.

“Better me than the paparazzi.”

“You are so beautiful,” River said as he leaned Mariah back and let her rest on the bed.

He climbed onto the bed with Mariah and settled over her as he admired the delicate nature of her body. Her skirt was still hiked up almost to her waist, and it left her black lace panties exposed to him. Of course, he couldn’t resist the allure of her sweet lace panties and soon found his lips moving up her legs as he grabbed the delicate lace and pulled it off of her body.

Mariah let out a seductive moan as River got rid of her unnecessary undergarment and then started to kiss her bare legs gently. His kisses were soft from her toes all the way up her legs.

Slowly, his lips found their way to her center as he looked up at her face which was filled with anticipation. River couldn’t remember the last time he looked forward to being with a woman as much as he wanted Mariah. From the very first time he had talked to her on the phone, River had imagined what it would be like to have her in his bed.

The moment had come; it was real, and Mariah was there in his bed, her breath heavy with desire for him as his tongue gently touched her wet center.

Soon, Mariah had her fingers totally intertwined in River’s hair, and her moans had increased to a fevered level. Harder and harder his tongue lapped against her as he brought her close to orgasm.

“Oh, yes, yes, yes,” Mariah moaned as her body gave in to River.

He wasn’t about to let her explode just yet, though, and he quickly released her from his mouth and started to kiss up her body toward her breasts. With one swift movement, he flipped Mariah over and unhooked her bra while letting his hands move firmly up and down her back to remove her remaining clothing.

Mariah pressed her ass back against River as her body begged him to enter her. The perfectly round mounds of her ass were calling to River, and he could have slid inside just like that, but it wasn’t how he wanted to take his sweet new woman. No, he wanted to see her face as his hard member entered her.

With a quick twist, River grabbed Mariah’s hips and flipped her back over. She laughed with surprise at how easily he maneuvered her. River again paused and looked at his beautiful specimen of a woman that was there with him. She was young, her skin firm and flawless; she was the ideal of what any man dreamed of, but River had her all to himself.

“Protection, just a second,” River said as he jumped up from the bed and pulled a condom out of his dresser drawer.

Within a minute, he had the lubed item over his throbbing cock, and he was positioned above Mariah. Perched and ready to enter her.

Slowly, he moved her hair out of her face and let his lips touch her neck with gentle kisses as he pressed his body into hers. The feeling of her body arching back as he entered her was delightful.

“Yes …” Mariah breathed slowly and let the word linger on her lips as River pressed deep into her.

Her tight body around him made everything in his body hard with excitement. It could have taken less than sixty seconds for him to release with pleasure. But he wasn’t about to let the moment end like that; instead, he moved slowly as he pressed deep and then pulled back as far as he could.

With each thrust, Mariah let out a deep sultry breath. Her body urged River on, and he couldn’t stop himself from thrusting harder and harder. To prevent his body from giving in totally, River stopped to kiss Mariah on her lips, neck, and chest. Anything he had to do to prevent the ultimate explosion that his body wanted to deliver so desperately.

Mariah wiggling under him as her hips thrust with his, and her fingers dug into his back and urged him to move deeper. Soon, he couldn’t resist the primal urge his body had to feel Mariah tightening around his member.

Deeper and deeper he thrust as his body felt Mariah’s tightening around him. With little warning, Mariah released a huge scream of delight and pushed her fingers deep into River’s back as she tightened in pleasure.

“Oh … fuck … yes …” Mariah moaned.

With her moan of delight, River finally released himself to feel the total pleasure of the moment. Quickly, he thrust fervently and deeply until he came to his ultimate conclusion with one final deep thrusting effort.

The moment was surreal to River as he lowered his body in exhaustion and lay next to Mariah. He had been with young women before, but he hadn’t wanted to be with any of those women as much as he wanted Mariah. The electricity between them surely had to die down after they had experienced such an eventful night. River couldn’t help hoping he would wake up in the morning and feel like he had finished with Mariah. He certainly didn’t want to feel the need that had been bothering him since they had met.

Mariah turned over and let her head rest on River’s chest as she tried to catch her breath from all of the excitement. River wanted to get up and shower; he wanted to leave Mariah there to sleep or even let her go home. But there was one huge problem; he couldn’t physically move his body away from her. River felt such an intense need to be there with Mariah that he finally closed his eyes and fell asleep with Mariah in his arms.

The night passed quickly, much quicker than River could have fathomed. They had fallen asleep in each other’s arms and when his phone woke him up, Mariah was still curled up on his chest.

He moved quickly to slide out from under Mariah and grab his phone from his pants pocket on the floor. It was still early, and the sun hadn’t risen yet, which meant there had to be some sort of emergency if he was getting a call that early. River was very strict with his friends and co-workers that no one should call him before 7 a.m.

“Hello,” River said as he answered the call from an unknown caller.

“When the governor announces, I will release the information I have about your son,” the caller said and then hung up.

River continued to hold the phone to his ear as his foggy morning brain tried to take in everything that the caller had just said. The look on his face must have scared Mariah because she sprang upright in the bed and watched River intently as she waited to know what was going on.

“Who was it? Is everything OK?”

River wanted to tell Mariah everything that was going on, but he didn’t know if it was even necessary. Mariah was already working to minimize the media issues; what would be different if she knew that he had been getting weird phone calls?

“Nothing,” River said as he hung up the phone and put it back in his pocket.

As he climbed back into bed with Mariah, she couldn’t let it just go. There was no way that phone call had been nothing, and River knew he couldn’t hide it from her.

“Tell me, River,” she said as she looked straight into River’s eyes.

“It was a man; he said he would release the information about my son when the governor announces he is running for president.”

Mariah looked shocked as River pulled one of the blankets around her and jumped out of bed. She quickly went to the living room, grabbed her cell phone from her purse and dialed a number. River hurried behind her and stood in the hallway as he watched her make a call.

“Elizabeth, there is a man who has information. He called River and said he would release the information when the governor announces. What should we do?”

Mariah listened while Elizabeth spoke, and River took the time to slip into some clothes. He could hear Mariah and Elizabeth talking from his room, but he couldn’t quite make out what they were saying.

“I know, but there is someone,” Mariah said to Elizabeth. “Okay, I’ll see you in a little bit.”

River watched as Mariah took down some notes and then turned back to River. She looked so professional and in control, much more so than River had imagined Mariah was going to be. He didn’t know why he had underestimated her abilities so much, but it was obvious she was good at her job.

“I’m sorry, I’ve made things more difficult haven’t I?” River said as he made his way across the room toward Mariah.

“You need to be honest with me, River. This isn’t a game. One wrong move, and this guy will release whatever he has on you. But remember, it might not even be the truth. I’ve worked with my father on a lot of cases, and sometimes people think they know the truth and instead come up with a crazy and outlandish story. The problem is, even an outlandish story with a tiny bit of truth can cause a domino effect.”

“I know. What can I do?”

“First, you can kiss me,” Mariah said as she pressed herself up against River and wrapped the blanket around both of them. “Then, let me get dressed, and I need to head to the office. You let me know if you get any more phone calls. Is that a deal?”

River didn’t like the idea of sitting around and waiting for Mariah. He was a doer, and that meant that he needed a plan and had to keep moving forward. There was no way River was going to just sit around and wait for this person to release whatever it was he thought he had on River.

“I have plenty of work to do,” River lied.

He had no intention of doing any of his normal work. River was going to find out who it was that had called him and get to the bottom of things right away. He had enough money to pay someone to trace a call or track down whoever this mysterious person was. But River didn’t want to share his plans with Mariah for fear that she would tell him to stand down. Certainly going after the guy who had this secret was probably not his best plan, but River couldn’t just sit back and wait for something bad to happen.

“You can keep an eye on the tabloids and news stations to see if they have any stories about the governor announcing his candidacy. Certainly, they have to be talking about it by now. Use your resources and find someone on his campaign that we can use as an insider if we have to. Will that work?” Mariah asked as she started to get dressed.

“You make it sound like I need something to keep me occupied.” River laughed.

Mariah was exactly right; River did need something to keep him occupied, and Mariah’s plan sounded great. Of course, he was going to have to add some additional things of his own, but River really did like how Mariah thought.

“Call me around lunchtime, and we can go over what we have so far. I don’t want this thing getting legs. If there is anything that seems out of the ordinary, call me right away. And keep in touch with Kimberly if you can, she will likely have the best information well in advance of the public.”

“Of course.”

“By the way, has Kimberly received any phone calls?” Mariah asked.

“Not that I know of, just me.”

“That’s good, maybe they are just after you and not her. The story might be spun to make you look bad and her look good if that’s possible. At least, it won’t affect your son as much then.”

“That would be great. Let’s hope that is what they are trying to do. Whoever it is that knows something certainly wants me to be the casualty. I just don’t want my company to also suffer; my employees haven’t done a thing to deserve an attack on their job safety.”

River hated that his past was threatening the stability of his new product release and inevitably the stability of his whole organization. He employed thousands of people, and any major dysfunction in his company was bound to change the stability of their jobs.

“Call me later,” Mariah said as she made her way toward the door.

River ran after her and grabbed her arm gently to keep her from leaving. He wanted to say something but couldn’t quite figure out how to word it. There was a huge feeling of gratitude toward Mariah and her whole company for being there to try and fend off the media attack. River wasn’t used to showing his appreciation for people, but he needed to tell Mariah.

“Thank you, Mariah. Thank you for helping save my company.”

“It’s my job,” she said as she stopped long enough to give River a kiss on the cheek. “Now stay out of trouble so I don’t have to work any harder than I already am.”