Breathe Again

by Rachel Brookes

  The bathroom grabbed and held my attention. Glass featured on three of the walls, and the fourth wall was a floor-to-ceiling window that looked out over the city skyline of Las Vegas. This was the kind of bathroom that allowed for absolutely no privacy, and my cock twitched with anticipation. How the hell was I not supposed to watch her? Savannah plus glass walls plus a shower equaled me jacking off constantly.

  A large freestanding bathtub ran along the floor-to-ceiling window and many colorful bottles filled with what I could only imagine was girly smelling body washes outlined the double sink. Savannah’s eyes found the bath the same time as mine and she nervously laughed. Why the fuck did things have to be so awkward?

  “Okay, so how are we going to do this?” she asked softly from beside the bed. Lifting her suitcase onto the mattress, she sat on the edge of the bed and started shifting through the contents.

  My eyes dropped to what was inside her suitcase. Dresses, shoes, lace panties, and—holy shit, she brought the bikini. The bikini that sat perfectly in sync with her curves and cupped her tits to perfection. The bikini I had ripped off with my teeth many times before. The bikini that was the one thing that would make me lose all sense of control. “Tate?”

  “Huh?”

  “This weekend. How are we going to do this?” she cooed, her lips curved into a sexy yet sweet smile as she looked at me from across the room. She knew exactly what that bikini did to me.

  Fuck, this was awkward. I leaned back against the wall, crossing my arms tight across my chest. “Do you want my brutally honest answer or my PG answer?” My eyebrow rose in question.

  “When have you ever not been brutally honest?”

  “Okay, you asked for it,” I warned, giving her one last chance to bail out, but she didn’t take it. I strode across the room and kneeled before her placing my hands on her bare knees. Her eyes dropped to my hands and then found my eyes. I lowered my voice to a low growl. “The thought of sleeping next to you in this bed made my cock come to life the moment I saw it, the thought of you in that bath makes me want to jerk off, and the image of you in that bikini makes me want to cancel all my scheduled meetings and fuck you up against that window for all of Vegas to see. That’s me being brutally honest.”

  Her breathing hitched in her throat and the tension sweeping through her body made my confidence soar. This weekend had the potential to change the course of our standstill relationship, and if brutal honesty would make that happen, then I was all for it.

  “The thought of you was the only thing that kept me going while I was in Australia. I didn’t even feel at home because you weren’t there. Home is now wherever you are, Tate.”

  “I want to kiss you until your lips are swollen and love your body like a goddess deserves to be loved.” My heart beat furiously in my chest. Never again would we be separated. Never again would we be deciding if we were together. Never again would there ever not be a Tate and Savannah.

  “Come on, bitches! We need to start enjoying Vegas. Sav get your hot little body into that— Oh shit. Sorry.”

  Tanzi ‘interrupt at the worst possible time’ Connors decided to barge into our room just as my lips were about to touch Sav’s.

  Rising from my crouched position, I looked at Sav regretfully through needy eyes and then turned my attention to my twin. “How the fuck did you get in here?”

  “You didn’t close the door properly, you ass-wipe.” She rolled her eyes at me with a huff. “You need to get to work and I need to take Sav down to the pool. We have cocktails to drink and pool boys to flirt with.”

  I shifted my gaze to Sav in question. She just shrugged her shoulders and stood from the bed. Her hands gripped the bikini and I swallowed hard. Fucking work commitments. “Are you really going to wear that?” I groaned, my hands rubbing my face furiously. “Seriously. You are trying to kill me, aren’t you?”

  Sav’s laughter filled the room. I couldn’t stay here. There was no way in hell I would leave for the club if I saw her in that bikini, and I was afraid my sister would see something she would never recover from. I knew for a fact that she would never want to see me hammering into Savannah like the way I now wanted to. I patted my pockets, making sure I had my wallet, phone, and keys, and gave Sav one last look.

  “I need to get to the club.” My gaze traveled to the bikini in her hands. “I can’t witness you in that.”

  Tanzi’s laughter grabbed my attention and I shot a look of death at her. Laugh it up, Tanzi.

  “You might have to jerk off before you go out in public.” She walked towards Sav and wrapped her arm around her shoulder, pulling her close to her body. Sav burst into fits of giggles. “Oh and, Tate. I’ll be sure to enjoy seeing Sav in this.”

  “Fuck you, Tanzi.”

  Savannah

  IT WAS official. I was in love with Vegas.

  I had barely been here two hours and I was already throwing my love around the place. Some things never changed. My body felt like I was finally succumbing to the effects of relaxation as I stood in the inviting coolness of the pool that had made me gasp upon seeing it.

  “So what’s happening with you and my brother?” Tanzi asked from beside me. Our backs were flush against the cool tiles and we both held a cosmopolitan in our hands as the refreshing water cooled our bodies under the Nevada sun. “I know I interrupted a moment upstairs.”

  I pulled the straw to my mouth and looked up at her, willing myself to make her stew for a bit longer. I’d known this question was going to come the moment I had agreed to come to Vegas. To be honest, I was surprised at how long she had waited.

  “Well I’ll be sharing a bed with him.”

  “And?” Tanzi prompted eagerly.

  “I hope to sleep.”

  “And?”

  “I’ll probably shower at some stage.”

  “And?”

  “I guess I’ll have to eat as well.”

  “Savannah! Are you getting back together with him or not? I don’t give a fuck about your shower and eating routine.” Tanzi glared at me, the corners of her lips shaking as a smile threatened to appear. I loved messing with her head, but it was a question I had no answer to.

  “I’ll always be in love with him, Tanzi. What the future holds...? I can’t answer that.” I turned and put my empty glass on the edge before signaling for another. Seriously I could get use to this kind of life.

  “If he kissed you, would you kiss him back?”

  “Well we would know if you hadn’t barged in.” I winked at her before diving under the water, allowing the cool water of the pool to caress my heated body. I wanted nothing more than for his lips to be on mine, to feel the cushion of his lips devouring every inch of mine. I missed the sweetness of his taste and the way his tongue would massage mine one minute and then completely own it the next.

  I rose from beneath the water as a shadow formed above me. When I held my hand over my eyes to shun the glare of the sun, my breath caught in my throat at the sight hovering in front of me. Standing at the edge of the pool, observing me with a panty-melting smirk, was a six-foot man of pure sex. His tan body, ripped with muscles and covered in tattoos, was stopping girls in their tracks. Who was he and why was he looking at me like that?

  “You must be Savannah.” His voice oozed roughness and raw need. I looked around, trying to work out what the hell was happening.

  “And you are?” I asked with a raised brow.

  “Colby, get the fuck away from her. She is Tate’s girl.” Blake came into view and glared at who I now knew was Colby.

  Just hearing Blake’s voice caused my cheeks to ache from smiling so hard. Blake was now one of best friends, a friend who would call me out on my shit and would mock me until it ended with me jumping on his back and a rendition of UFC happening. That was Blake to me. His life was now about his band and traveling the world. Seeing him on television was surreal.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Colby, and it’s about time you got here, Blake.”

&nb
sp; “Believe me, the pleasure is all mine.” Colby zoned his eyes into me hard and dangerously before he took off towards the bar, leaving me to stare at his retreating figure in confusion.

  “Drummer or bassist?” I asked, turning my attention back to Blake, who was sitting at the edge of the pool with his legs dangling in the water and a beer in his hand. His usually cheery face was shadowed with something I couldn’t put my finger on. The Blake Ryan spark that was always on display was mimicked by dark circles and frown lines.

  “He is our fearless drummer, but don’t mind him. He is on a self-imposed celibacy bout and he has this crazy idea that he can go without sex for the entire tour. I guarantee he will lose before the end of the day. He’d fuck anyone at the moment.”

  My eyebrows shot up. “So I’m just anyone, am I?” I scoffed. “And here I was thinking I was something special.” Tauntingly, I pouted and folded my arms across my chest.

  “Fuck, shit, no, Savannah. I didn’t mean that. You aren’t just anyone. Every single guy here wants to fuck you. I just meant he wouldn’t care whose pussy he dipped his cock into. Fuck, I didn’t mean that either. Sav you’re—”

  Laughter roared from within me, so intense that I lost my footing and fell beneath the water. Choking and gasping for air as I rose, I focused on Blake and shook my head. “God, you crack me up, Blake. I’ve missed you.”

  “I’ve missed you too, but enough of the sappiness.” Blake slipped into the water beside me and got straight to the point. “I need to know whether you and Tate have stopped being stubborn.” What the hell was it with this family and their lack of subtlety?

  Tanzi floated towards us, hugging Blake quickly and then turning to me with a grin. “See? It’s not just me, Savannah. Seriously though, you are both so happy when you are loved up together. I miss the spark that I see when you two are together. I miss the happiness that I feel from both of you. You are the most perfect couple in every sense of the words. You just need to realize that.”

  “I suddenly feel like I am being ganged up on.” I looked at Blake and Tanzi with a sly grin. “And for your information, I don’t kiss and tell unless I have copious amounts of tequila in my body, and if that’s the case, you’ll probably hear things about your brother neither of you wants to hear.”

  Laughing at the looks on their face, I pulled myself out of the pool and walked towards the lounge to grab my sheer dress. Throwing my dress over my bikini, I headed to the bar for another cocktail. My eyes latched on to Colby’s tattooed back as he sat at the bar, leaning over a beer.

  “So I hear you have a bet going with Blake?” I laughed, taking the vacant seat beside him. “You reckon you will win this little bet?”

  “Lady, if you weren’t shacked up with Tate, I would be breaking all the rules with you right now.” His confidence was overwhelming yet refreshing. “But between you and me, I’ve already lost the bet. I’m just stringing Blake along for a bit.”

  Colby turned towards the guy behind the bar and ordered me a Cosmopolitan and a Whiskey Sour for himself. I sat with Colby at the bar for a good hour. He told me how he met Blake, how long he had been playing drums for, and why he was a self-proclaimed pussy destroyer.

  My attention faltered from Colby as my eyes landed on Blake, who sat on the edge of the pool, his eyes glued to a stunning brunette wearing a black bikini with the most impressive back tattoo I had ever seen. Blake’s complete focus was on her. His eyes were narrowed on her with an ownership I had seen so many times in the way his brother looked at me. His eyes followed Miss Stunning Brunette as she walked through the pool area towards Colby and me.

  “Colby, do you know what time the club opening is?” Miss Stunning Brunette asked, her eyes quickly darting to me and then back to Colby.

  “Ask Savannah. It’s her club.”

  “Really? You own Red Velvet?” Her eyes widened as she held out her hand to me. “My name is Violet.”

  “Hi, Violet. I’m Savannah. I don’t own Red Velvet my, um… Tate Connors owns it.”

  Tate

  WHEN I’D decided to invite Blake’s band to play at the opening of Red Velvet, I’d never expected to be now looking at a photo of their drummer with his hands all over Savannah. The photo my lovely and ever-so-kind sister had decided to send to me showed Sav in the arms of who I had learned was Colby. Luckily for my jealous streak, she looked somewhat uncomfortable and not enjoying it at all, but it did make my jealous streak rear its ugly head nonetheless. I wanted no one touching her. The caption ‘Do something about this before someone else gets her’ was all Tanzi had written and I knew exactly what her intentions were.

  My day had been spent attached to my laptop working strenuously on the final details for the grand opening of Red Velvet Las Vegas. I had been working on this for months. I couldn’t even begin to think of how many times I’d signed my signature today or how many times I had said yes or no. It had been exhausting, and now, as the clock turned over to another day, I decided that I needed to call it a night.

  As the cab drove through the bright lights of Vegas, my heavy eyes strained under the impending sleep that was tormenting me. Thankfully tomorrow I had some downtime and maybe I could finally talk to Savannah. I needed her to know that she owned my heart completely. I was sick of the distance, the games, the looks across the room, and the innocent brushes of our hands. That wasn’t us. I missed the intensity, the passion, the flirting, the argumentative streaks, I missed us. I wanted us again.

  Slipping quietly into the hotel room, my eyes were instantly drawn to where I had hoped to find Sav. Every hope I had escaped my exhausted body the moment I found the empty bed. There was no sign that she had even been in the bed—the cover wasn’t turned down, the pillows weren’t showing the effects of someone lying on them. Nothing.

  Shrugging off my jacket, I threw it on the floor and slumped down on the edge of the bed. My head hung in my hands while my mind took off in all directions of what-ifs and wicked scenarios. This was my one chance, my one fucking chance to make things right with us, and now somewhere in Las Vegas was the one person who had finally made me the man I wanted to be but she wasn’t with me. Welcome to Fucked-Up Town—population one.

  “I was wondering when you’d get back.”

  My head shot up from my hands as her voice floated through the air. In the darkness, in a whisper of candlelight, and in the lights coming through the windows, my eyes landed on a pure and honest beauty. Savannah lay bare, covered by bubbles in the freestanding bath. I stood from the bed, walked towards the glass wall, and leaned against the doorframe. My gaze roamed her face, untainted and clean, without an ounce of makeup, her hair pulled up on the top of her head like I’d always loved.

  “I didn’t think you were here,” I admitted softly.

  Her lips pouted as she slipped into thought. “Where did you think I’d be?”

  “To be honest, I have no idea.”

  “I’m not going anywhere, Tate.” Her eyes burned into mine with a promise of a thousand meanings. Her words echoed in my ears, repeating over and over again. She was here.

  My fears of her leaving were unjustified. Her promise of a future cemented by five simple words was what I had to focus on. For once I didn’t think of who she could be with. For once I trusted her completely, without reluctance. The Tate of old would have been belting down Blake’s room demanding to know where Colby was, but that hadn’t crossed my mind once. Savannah wasn’t my past. She was my present and would be my only future.

  “I figured it out,” I whispered.

  The black and white of Savannah and Tate was being shattered by the hope of color. I saw what it was like now. We were far from perfect, but we were perfect for each other. Why strive for a perfection that wasn’t us? Our perfection was in the way we frustrated each other like no one else and in the way I missed her the second she wasn’t in my sight. Our perfection was in the way my heart hadn’t truly been beating until she had come into my life and in the way our demons tried to bea
t us but our angels joined as one to save us. That was our perfection.

  “What have you figured out?”

  “Us, I’ve figured us out.” I didn’t say another word. I spun on my heels, walked through the hotel room, grabbed my wallet, and escaped through the door with one focus taking over my thoughts. Midnight in Vegas didn’t mean a thing. I had something special to buy and I knew exactly where I was going.

  FINALLY, AT one a.m. under the lights of Las Vegas I walked back into the foyer and made my way back to the confines of our room. Slipping out of my clothes and leaving on my boxers, I slipped under the covers and rolled to my side towards Sav. Sav’s lips were parted slightly as she slept, her hair sprayed out on the red sheets. My eyes fought the flirtation of sleep as long as I could before my eyes closed to the warmth of Sav’s body next to mine.

  I woke to a jolt of sudden movement of the bed. Sav’s whimpers and her thrashing arms grabbed my attention and I fumbled for the bedside light switch. As light flooded the room, I grabbed her as panic filled me.

  “Sav, wake up.” I shook her slightly desperate to pull her from her torment. “God damn it Sav.”

  Suddenly, her tear-filled eyes shot open and she looked at me in fear. Her arms circled my waist as she clung to me for dear life. Without a word, she covered half my body with hers and buried her face into the crook of my neck, and within seconds, wetness from her tears greeted my skin.

  “Talk to me, Sav.” My fingers ran through her hair, trying frantically to comfort her as she shook in my arms. “What’s going on?”

  “I keep having nightmares about my parents and Mr. Davenport. They are always lying in coffins and I can’t reach them. I can’t bring them back to me.” Her head lifted from the confines of my neck and looked at me as if something had suddenly dawned on her. “But this one was different because you and Max were there.” My face must have showed my fear of her words. “No nothing like that. You were both calling out to me, begging me to come to you, trying to take me away from what I was looking at. You and Max were trying to protect me.”