Burning Violet

by Watson, A. P.

  But by the time the three of us made it back to my apartment, I was in serious need of a bottle of wine. Taking off my heels, I padded in the direction of the kitchen.

  “Where do you want me to set all these?” Hunter asked, his arms loaded with grocery bags.

  “On the floor is fine.”

  “I can help you,” he stated as I began putting the food away.

  “I’m going to take a shower,” Nadine announced. “You kids have fun out here.”

  “We’ll get her while she’s sleeping,” I said more to myself than to him. “She won’t suspect a thing.”

  “We will,” he called back to Nadine.

  I shot a glare in his direction. “Traitor.”

  “Come here.” He motioned to me with his finger, a sinful grin plastered across his face.

  Even if I hadn’t wanted to obey his order, my body would have moved of its own volition. As soon as I was close enough, his hands closed around my waist.

  “Why are we fighting this?” His question was barely louder than a whisper, but it seemed as if his words were echoing inside my mind.

  My chest heaved with each breath I sucked into my lungs. He bent forward and pressed his lips to my forehead. “I think we had good reasons, but I can’t remember any of them right now,” I replied honestly.

  “I can’t either,” he confessed. The tips of my fingers ran along the length of his chest. “That feels nice.”

  “You know what else is nice?”

  “Enlighten me.”

  I stood on the tips of my toes and leaned against him. “Well, you have to get really close.”

  “Like this?” His head dipped so low, our lips were almost touching.

  “That’s perfect,” I answered with a smirk. “But you loosened your hold on me.”

  Hunter’s hands slid down my back, pulling me into him. “How’s that?”

  “You certainly won’t hear me complain.”

  “Good.” Suddenly, his hands dropped to my hips as he gripped my flesh through the dress I wore. The skirt of it slid up my thighs as he lifted me into the air. My legs fastened around his waist in an effort to force our bodies closer together. “Do you ever think about the kiss we shared the first night we met?”

  I moaned as his lips ghosted down the side of my neck. “All the time.”

  “Violet! I hope you have a bottle of wine open!”

  For a brief second, Hunter stared at me intently. And something in his gaze informed me that if I wanted him to, he would have his way with me regardless of who was standing in the kitchen with us. Eventually, Hunter set me on the floor and backed away as we heard Nadine’s footsteps. Grabbing a bottle of wine, he picked up a corkscrew and got to work.

  I finished putting away the rest of the groceries. At this point, it wasn’t worth dwelling on the fact Hunter and I had almost kissed again. It was becoming a daily occurrence, and God, did I want that almost to become a reality. The mutual attraction we shared seemed to grow stronger with each passing day.

  “Here.” Hunter placed a glass of wine in my hand.

  “Thank you.” I took a large gulp and prayed the alcohol would kick in pronto.

  Nadine sauntered into the kitchen and accepted the glass Hunter handed her. “Thanks. So,” she began, taking a drink, “what is next on our agenda for the evening?”

  “I was thinking we could eat and then watch a movie or something,” I suggested.

  “Excellent! I’ll do the cooking and, Hunter, would you mind selecting a movie for us?” Nadine questioned.

  “Not at all.” He winked at me before exiting the kitchen.

  “What do you want me to do?” I asked Nadine.

  “First of all, you need to change out of that dress. Put on your pajamas, like me!”

  “And then?”

  “And then I’m going to interrogate you about that hunk of a male model currently sitting in your living room.”

  I groaned in exasperation. “Why did I want you to visit again?”

  “Shut up. We both know you love me.”

  “Yeah, whatever.”

  I changed into a tank top and a pair of shorts and then rushed to meet Nadine in the kitchen again.

  She was already elbow deep in a variety of ingredients, dicing to her heart’s content.

  “I’d ask you how you’ve been, but clearly you’re fantastic,” she stated, tossing a handful of vegetables into a skillet.

  “Nothing is happening,” I replied in a hushed voice.

  “He really, really likes you.”

  I couldn’t stop the smile pulling at the corners of my mouth. “I like him too. He’s incredibly kind and sweet.”

  “How so?”

  I sucked down another mouthful of wine. “Well, Ted showed up here one night.”

  She nodded, her hands working with the skill of a practiced chef. “I remember you telling me about that.”

  “Hunter made me stay at his place until a security system and new locks were installed here. And then, he refused to let me pay him back for it.”

  “That’s so sweet.”

  “He just . . .” I glanced over my shoulder to make sure Nadine and I were still alone. “He makes me feel safe.”

  At my words, her expression softened. “You’ve never had that before.”

  “I know.”

  “I say fuck the rumors; you only live once. Because if I were you, I’d climb that man like a fucking tree.”

  “Believe me, the thought has crossed my mind more than once.”

  “I don’t blame you.”

  “What about you? How is culinary school treating you?”

  “It’s amazing. I’ve learned so much at The Art Institute. Next week, we’re covering how to make soufflé.”

  “I’m so glad you’re enjoying it! You’ve been wanting to be a chef for so long.”

  “I know!”

  “Are you still thinking about opening up your own restaurant when you’re done?”

  “I’m definitely considering it. I also thought about getting some experience working at one of the big hotels in the city too. Honestly, I’ll take a job wherever I can get it.”

  “I’m so proud of you. I can’t believe my best friend is going to be a chef soon!”

  “And you will be starting the paralegal studies program in January. It feels like we finally got our lives together.”

  “Took us long enough.”

  Nadine laughed. “No shit.”

  Nadine finished adding a few more ingredients to the shrimp stir-fry she was cooking before shutting off the stove.

  “It smells really good in here,” Hunter said from behind us.

  “Thanks,” Nadine replied. “You came just in time to eat!”

  Nadine, Hunter, and I loaded up plates with stir-fry and relocated to the living room. Hunter had picked The Shining for us to watch. Nadine and I weren’t horror movie fanatics, so while Hunter started out sitting on the floor, he wound up on the couch nestled between the two of us.

  “How the hell does Stephen King come up with this shit?” Nadine asked. “I mean an elevator filled with blood? Really?”

  “I guess some people are really gifted with macabre things,” Hunter replied.

  “There was an elevator filled with blood?” I questioned.

  “Yeah. You had your face pressed against my arm, so you didn’t see it,” he answered, trying his best not to laugh.

  “Oh.”

  “We can change it to something else since the two of you aren’t fans of the genre.”

  “We’ve lasted this long, we might as well tough it out,” Nadine stated.

  I increased my hold on Hunter’s arm and nodded. “What she said.”

  “I brought another book for you to read,” he whispered in my ear.

  Immediately, I perked up. “Which one?”

  “The Count of Monte Cristo.”

  “I can’t wait to start it! Thank you.”

  His hand squeezed my knee gently and stayed
there for the rest of the movie.

  When the credits began rolling, Nadine stood from the couch and yawned.

  “I don’t know about the two of you, but I’m spent,” she said, stretching her arms over her head. “I’ll see you guys in the morning.”

  “Good night,” Hunter replied.

  “Night, Nadine.”

  She waved and headed down the hall to my bedroom.

  “I should grab an extra pillow and a blanket for you.” I retrieved both within a matter of seconds. I handed them off to Hunter and noticed he had removed his shirt. Sitting next to him, my attention zeroed in on the script inked into his flesh. I knew his tattoo was intricate, but most of the time, I tried my best not to stare at it. However, as of right now, I couldn’t look away.

  “Here,” he said, lifting up his arm. “You can see it easier like this.”

  “When did you get it done?”

  “Nine years ago.”

  “Oh,” I whispered. My fingers reached out, desperate to touch his skin. “May I?”

  “Yeah, feel free.”

  I traced the branches of a tree until it merged with the black feathers of a bird. A few lines of text existed between the raven and the tree, beautifully tying together the entire image. I read over the script twice before I recognized its source. “This is from ‘The Raven,’ isn’t it?”

  “I’m surprised it took you this long to figure it out.”

  “Well, I haven’t had the chance to sit down and examine your body before.”

  “Do you want to?” he questioned, breaking into a grin.

  More than he could possibly know.

  Heat creeped into my cheeks. “What made you decide to get Edgar Allan Poe’s words tattooed on your body?”

  “I made Derek and Alex go with me. Neither of them got a tattoo, but I let them pick part of mine. Derek chose the tree, Alex the bird, and then I settled on a quote from ‘The Raven.’”

  “It’s beautiful.”

  “I’m glad you like it.”

  “I swear, only you would get Poe tattooed on your body.”

  “What can I say? I’m a fan of literature.”

  “Or you could just be a nerd.”

  “True,” he agreed.

  “Either way, I love it.”

  He stretched his arm behind me and brushed my hair away. I inhaled sharply as his fingers rubbed the back of my neck, gently stroking my skin. “When did you get your tattoo?”

  “The day I turned eighteen.” I leaned into his hand, allowing him to continue massaging my flesh. “I landed a waitressing job at the strip club, met Nadine, and got a tattoo all in the same day.”

  “Sounds epic.”

  “It was,” I answered. “I wanted a way to honor my mother’s memory, to establish myself as her child and not my father’s.”

  “It’s lovely.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Oh, I almost forgot about this.” He reached for the coffee table and picked up a copy of The Count of Monte Cristo.

  “I’m not ready to go to sleep just yet. Would you read with me?”

  “Of course.”

  Hunter and I stretched out on opposite ends of the couch as he began reading to me. I loved listening to the sound of his voice, and over the past few weeks, it had become a source of comfort for me. Although, I found everything about him comforting. He always knew exactly what to say or do to make me feel better, and that fact made me consider an offer he had made last night. He professed that he wanted to carry my burdens for me. If I hadn’t fallen for him before, that suggestion would’ve won me over. I wanted to take him up on it, but forcing my problems onto another soul was selfish, especially someone as kind as Hunter. Eventually, a secret of this magnitude would seep into your conscience, rotting you from within.

  And I couldn’t inflict that kind of suffering on him.

  I made it through three chapters in our book before my eyelids began to droop. All the new clients Mr. Beakman was adding had really taken their toll on Hunter and I. We’d both been working through our lunches and staying late just to keep up with everything. If Tomlinson had still been my boss, I would’ve been pissed at putting in so many overtime hours. But not with Hunter. The exhaustion was worth it because I got to spend more time being around him.

  Muscular arms lifted me off the couch and carried me down the hall. I was half asleep, yet my brain still recognized the man holding me.

  “You’re taking me to bed,” I announced.

  He chuckled and glanced down at me. “That I am.”

  “You can lay down with me if you want.”

  “I’d like to, but I’m afraid it might be a little too crowded.”

  I let out a long yawn. “Oh, that’s right. Nadine is here.”

  “Yeah, she’s already asleep.”

  “She’s ruining my life.”

  His brow furrowed. “And how is she doing that?”

  “Well, for starters, she keeps calling us out on our shit.”

  “True.”

  “And now you can’t lay down in my bed and cuddle me because she’s in there.”

  His hold on me tightened slightly. “We can do that another night if you want.”

  “You promise?”

  “Absolutely.”

  I nuzzled the side of his neck with my nose before softly pressing my lips to his flesh. “I’m holding you to your promise.”

  “Please do. I’ll be in the living room if you need me.”

  Hunter kissed my forehead, and my eyes closed in response. I was safe. He’d protect me from my father, Ted, and anyone else who would try to do me harm. “I always need you,” I breathed.

  Chapter Fourteen

  I always need you. That was the first time I’d ever heard those words from Vi–from anyone really. And it was music to my ears. I was beyond the point of exhaustion. After barely any sleep last night and the breakneck pace we’d been keeping at the office, my body needed rest. Yet, as I stared up at the ceiling, my mind wouldn’t stop racing. Sure, maybe Vi didn’t realize what she was saying because she was half asleep, but the feeling of contentment surging through my system couldn’t be quieted.

  Natalie, Talia, and all the other women I’d dated never once said those words to me. They wanted my cock, my attention, my money . . . not me. That isn’t to say I didn’t use them back—I did. However, that was before I knew something better existed. A genuine connection with another human being was incomparable. And now that I’d experienced such a thing, I didn’t want to let it go.

  If I’d been forced to endure everything Violet had, I would be done with the world. I’d retire to some miniscule corner of the country and tell everyone else to fuck off. But not her. Part of her was haunted, tortured, and the other was optimistic. The world had beaten her down and she survived in spite of it.

  Not surprisingly, her face was the last thought I had before submitting to the call of sleep.

  “Hunter.” Vi’s voice wafted into my ear and seeped into my consciousness. “It’s time to get up.”

  “What time is it?”

  “It’s just after eleven. Nadine and I made you breakfast.”

  The fragrant aroma of food forced my eyelids open. Sitting up, I popped my neck and pushed off the blanket I’d been using. Vi had on a pair of tight jeans and a low-cut sweater. Her hair was pinned on top of her head with a few loose strands hanging down, perfectly framing her beautiful face.

  “God, you’re gorgeous.”

  Her blue irises brightened at my observation. I quickly grabbed the coffee she handed me and took a sip. If my mouth was full, then stupid shit couldn’t come pouring out of it.

  Vi’s gaze dropped, briefly scanning me from head to toe. “You’re pretty easy on the eyes too,” she said in a hushed voice.

  “What did I do to deserve that kind of compliment?”

  “Nothing. I’m drunk,” she answered with a wink. “And you better eat that turnover before Nadine comes in here and shoves it down your throa
t.”

  “Yes ma’am.” I shoved the pastry in my mouth and bit off half of it. The buttery crust melted in my mouth like a dessert from Vito’s. “It’s delicious, like really delicious.”

  “Did you hear that Nadine?”

  “Success,” Nadine shouted from the kitchen.

  “So, what kind of Thanksgiving dinner are we having?” I asked. “Is there anything I can do to help with the cooking?”

  Nadine’s head popped into the living room. “You cook?”

  “I know my way around a kitchen; although, I’m not nearly as good as my brother Alex. He’d never tell anyone, but sometimes he likes to pretend he’s an amateur chef.”

  In an instant, Nadine’s face lit up. “Really?”

  “Yeah. Our mom taught us how to cook, and Alex enjoyed it ten times more than Derek or I did.” Not a second later, my phone lit up, Alex’s name filling up the screen. “And that would be him calling me,” I announced with a quick glance at Vi. “Alex?”

  “I take it your absence at brunch this morning means you aren’t going to make Thanksgiving with the family,” Alex said.

  “Didn’t feel like hashing it out with Dad in front of everyone.”

  “That makes two of us.”

  “You’re not at Mom and Dad’s?” I asked, completely surprised.

  “Nope.”

  “And you’re not going to have Thanksgiving dinner with them?”

  “Fuck no.”

  “What happened?”

  “I showed up, and Dad made one fucking derogatory comment about me turning down his offer to come work for him, and I just couldn’t take it anymore. I’m tired of pretending I still look up to him.” He sighed heavily, pausing for a moment. “So, I decided to come to your place.”

  “And you called because I wasn’t there.”

  “Yeah. Where the hell are you?” he questioned. “And please say you’re not at work.”

  “I’m spending the holiday with Violet and her friend Nadine. They’re cooking a big meal.”

  “Oh.”

  Suddenly, Vi tapped me on the shoulder and motioned for me to hand over my phone. “Hey, Alex, it’s Violet,” she said. “Why don’t you come over and eat with us? We have more than enough food.” She laughed slightly and nodded. “Of course I’m sure. My address is 1620 Crestwood Lane. I’m in Apartment 2. Just knock when you get here!” She ended the call and handed the phone back to me. “He said he’ll be here in a few minutes.”