I go over, sitting in front of him on the desk. He looks up at me. God, he’s beautiful. Every single inch of him. “When you’re ready, you’ll tell me about Lillian and why there is that darknessin your eyes, but that doesn’t change the fact that I want you, Violet. Always have. Always will. The question is, do you want to be mine? Do you want to be wanted?”
I hold my breath, then exhale. “Yes.”
“Then that’s all there needs to be.”
He leans up, capturing my mouth in a kiss while his hand pushes up my skirt and peels my panties down with reverence, standing up in between my legs and staring at me with an intensity that makes my pulse race.
“Last night, I messed up. I was angry. I wanted to punish you. That’s on me.”
I shiver. “I deserved it.”
He shakes his head. “No. You didn’t. I made you suffer, now, I will make that better.”
Then he’s on me, every move slow and deliberate, his mouth undoing me piece by piece. No roughness, no game—just a kind of worship I never imagined I’d get from a man like him. He coaxes me to the edge, waits for my body to tremble, to break, to come apart in his hands. When I do, he lets me savor it, lets me ride it out, leaning up to catch my mouth as I gasp.
Once he’s done using his mouth and his tongue, he makes love to me. This time, it’s slow, every stroke measured, the desk creaking under our bodies. He keeps his forearm hooked around my back, his hand tangled in my hair; every time I moan, he grins like he’s never heard a more beautiful sound. When I come again, he follows, face buried in my neck.
God damn him.
“Promise me something?” I say, voice muffled by his chest.
“Anything.”
I tilt my chin up. “When you have to go on stage and make out with someone else, just tell me in advance?”
He laughs, kissing my forehead. “Deal. But I think after last night, the world’s figured out who I’m really obsessed with.”
Maybe this is dangerous. Maybe it’s fragile enough to break with the next hurricane. But for the first time in years, I believe in the idea of another day.
Maybe even another tomorrow.
With him.
With Travis Phoenix.
9
TRAVIS TEXTS ME MID-afternoon the next day, and my heart nearly jumps out of my throat. I have that stupid giddy smile that you get when someone you’re crushing on texts.
T - My place. Tonight.
V - Your place?
T - I bought a house. It’s a surprise. I’ll send a car.
V - I can drive, you know? And you bought a house? Are you joking?
T - You’re not driving that bucket of shit. Yeah, I bought a house.
V - So casual.
T - Haha. Don’t eat, either. I’m cooking.
V - Cereal?
T - Funny. No. You’ll see. Wear something sexy.
V - Yes boss.