“Everything?” he asks, his voice dropping low and deep.
“Everything.” Gigi leans over the counter, resting her chin in her palm as she sighs. “Listen, Jett, Lily isn’t like other girls—”
“I know,” he says, interrupting her. “Fuck me. I know. We’ve talked about this. You know how I feel, but I need you to tell me how she feels. Do I chase her or back off, giving her space?”
They’ve talked about me? When? Why? What the hell were they saying, and how did I not know that they’d spoken about me behind my back?
Wait. He wants to chase me?
My eyes widen.
Oh. My. God.
Gigi smirks, nodding at me because she can see my shock and panic. “She thinks she did something wrong and that now you think badly about her.”
“What? No fuckin’ way.”
I throw the first thing I can grab at her, trying to smack her in her betraying mouth, but she ducks, coming out unscathed.
“That night—” he clears his throat and swallows so loud, we can all hear him “—was the hottest thing that’s ever happened in my life.”
I blink, staring at the phone where his voice is coming from, as if somehow, I heard him wrong.
“I told you,” Tamara whispers at me. “Man is crazy stupid over you.”
“Shut up,” I whisper back without looking down at her. I’m too busy staring at the phone on the desk.
“I want more of her, Gigi. I want all of her. Not just sexually. Fuck,” he hisses. “What am I saying? I’m an idiot to think a girl as classy and smart as Lily would want a guy like me.”
Jett thinks I’m too good for him? I blink rapidly, dumbfounded for one of the first times in my life.
“She’s scared, babe. She likes you. Trust me. The girl has been stupid crazy for you since high school.” Gigi smiles at me like she’s helping, and I cringe.
“What? No way.”
“Way. She used to stare at you for hours.”
“Hey,” I call out, finally speaking up because I need to stop her from embarrassing me anymore. “Sorry I’m late.”
There’s a click, and the phone goes dead.
“Nice going, asshole. Now he hung up.”
“You said enough.” I point my finger at her, glaring. “Why did you tell him that?”
“So he’ll chase. Now, you’ve just got to let him catch you.”
“I can’t!” I cry out, shaking my head. “He’s going to break my heart, Gigi. Don’t you get that? Jett’s not a relationship guy. He never has been. I already like him much more than I should.”
“Did you hear a damn word?”
“Oh lord,” Tamara adds. “Wish I were there for this one, but I’m late for class. You bitches duke it out and let me know what the verdict is,” she says before disappearing from the screen, leaving only Gigi and me to have it out.
“He said he wanted all of you. All. Of. You. Lily,” she repeats as if I needed to be told more than once.
“All of me?” I whisper, not really realizing what that means.
“Yes, babe.” She walks over to me and grabs my shoulders, filling my line of sight. “Now, you need to decide if you’re going to risk heartbreak for the boy you’ve always wanted or if you’re going to throw away your chance at happiness and be a coward.”
“But he’ll break me.”
Gigi tilts her head, her eyes searching my face. “There’s not a person on the planet who hasn’t had their heart broken. It’s part of life. Even if you’d stayed with Jeremy.”
“George,” I correct her.
“Whoever pocket-protector guy was doesn’t matter. He still could’ve broken your heart. There’re no guarantees in life, but we have to live for the moment, holding on to whatever good we can find because it can all be over in a second.”
“I know,” I groan, hating that I have to agree with her on anything right now.
“Do you still like him?”
I nod.
“Do you want him?”
I nod.
“Then stop being ridiculous. Let the man chase you, woo you a little, even. And when it’s time, give yourself to him freely and let yourself fall.”
“Fall?” I whisper.
She nods and smiles. “You deserve to be happy, Lily.” She squeezes my shoulders again. “Allow yourself to live without worrying and planning for the worst. Give in. Be free. And for the love of God, enjoy yourself. Take everything that man has to offer and run with it.”
“Hey,” Dad says, looking between Gigi and me. “What’s wrong?” His forehead wrinkles as his eyes drop down to her hands on my shoulders.
“Nothing, Uncle Mike. Just having a girl talk.”
His eyes narrow, eyebrows up. “About?”
“You’re not a girl, silly. We can’t tell you.” She giggles, finally releasing her hold on me.
“Hey, Daddy.” I walk up to him, popping up on my tippy toes, barely able to reach his cheek. “You’re here early.”
“Baby girl,” he whispers, wrapping a giant arm around me, lifting me off the floor. “You sure you’re okay?”
I stare up at his handsome face, soaking in his blue eyes, the same ones that have always made me feel secure. “I couldn’t be better, Daddy.”
And for the first time in a long time, I’m not lying.
16
Jett
Gigi looks up from the counter, her eyes going wide. “Jett?”
I shake my head, placing my finger over my lips. “Shh. Where is she?”
Gigi pitches her thumb over her shoulder, pointing toward the back. “In the piercing room.”
Drastic times call for drastic measures. With Lily avoiding me, ducking away every time I’m near, I figured the only way to corner her was to come to her work. I knew she was here; the phone call proved it. I wasn’t about to sit at home, waiting for hours to say what I needed to say.
“She have someone back there with her?”
“Nope.” She smiles.
“When’s her next appointment?” I ask, leaning to the right and peering into the back area, but I see no one.
“In an hour.”
“Her dad?”
“At dinner,” she tells me, her smile growing wider. “What are you going to do?”
“I have a situation to correct. Just make sure no one interrupts us.”
She throws a wink at me. “Eager little beaver, aren’t you?”
“I’m sick of playing games,” I tell her, stalking toward the back and leaving Gigi in the waiting room.
I don’t knock.
I don’t call out Lily’s name.
I pull open the door and march inside, finding Lily with her back to me. She turns, eyes moving slowly from my legs to my face before she stiffens.
“Jett?” she whispers, eyes wider than Gigi’s were when I walked into Inked. “What are you doing here?”
“We need to talk.” I push the door closed, blocking her exit. Knowing Lily, she’s already plotting to run. “I’m sick of waiting for you to come to your senses, so I’m bringing you a reality check.”
“A reality check?” She wrinkles her cute little nose at me like she doesn’t understand what I’m talking about, even though she does.
Lily’s a smart girl. Maybe the smartest I’ve ever known when it comes to bookish things. But, as for real life, not so much. And men? Not a fucking clue.
“Yeah, baby. You need to face reality about what this is—” I wave my hand toward her before bringing it back to me “—and where we’re going from here.”
“What this is?” She waves her hand, motioning the exact same way as I did as she climbs to her feet. “What exactly is it?”
I stalk toward her, and she backs up, only stopping when her back hits the wall behind her. Lifting my hand, I brush away a few strands of hair that have fallen near her face, wanting to see her blue eyes more than anything. She needs to see how I feel and not just hear. “Lily Gallo, you’re the most frustrating human being I�
�ve ever met.”
She’s breathing hard, almost hyperventilating, as my body pushes into hers, leaving no space between us. “I-I…” she stutters, craning her neck back and peering up at me. “I am not.”
I cover her jaw with my palm, swiping my thumb just under her lip. “You are, baby. You so are. And I’m okay with you being frustrating to a point, but when you keep running, not getting out of that pretty little head long enough to figure us out, then I have an issue.” I lean forward, pressing my mouth to hers, tasting her for the first time in weeks.
She kisses me back, her fingers finding the hem of my T-shirt, slipping under the cotton and resting on my skin. She moans when I gently bite her lip, digging those nails into my skin like she’s trying to anchor herself to me.
She wants me.
I knew she wanted me.
That night on the couch wasn’t a fluke.
Lily overthinks everything, never acting without considering the consequences. But what happened after we made out, the way she froze me out entirely, has never made sense to me.
I pull away, gazing at her face, her eyes closed, lips still puckered. “Tell me what you want,” I growl, knowing what I want is right in front of me and not willing to stop until she tells me to. “Use all those fancy words you know, Lily.”
Her eyes snap open, blazing with fire and need. “I want you, Jett. I’ve always wanted you,” she admits. “It’s always been you and only you.”
I slide my hand around the back of her head, grasping her hair in my fingers. She stares up at me, mouth open, looking so fucking hot with her lips bee-stung from our kiss. “Then what the hell, babe? Every time I try to talk to you, you run away.”
She squeezes her eyes shut. “I’m scared,” she admits, pain marring her beautiful features. “Scared of this.”
I loosen my grip, careful not to hurt her and definitely never wanting to make her afraid. “Of me? Baby, I’d never hurt you,” I promise truthfully. I’d cut off my own arm before I’d ever let anyone, including me, hurt Lily.
“I know,” she whispers, finally opening her eyes again. “I know you’d never hurt me.”
“Then, what? Tell me how to make you feel safe,” I beg her, wanting nothing more than for her to open up to me.
“I’ve never felt this way about anyone before, Jett. I’ve never worried about someone breaking my heart. I’ve never been afraid that I wasn’t good enough for them or that they’d find someone else they wanted more.”
I release her hair completely, moving my hand to her face, gripping her chin gently. I force her eyes to stay on me, knowing she needs to look at me when I say what I’m about to say. “I want you to listen and listen good.”
“Okay.”
“Don’t interrupt.”
I smirk as she draws her bottom lip between her teeth like she’s trying to lock herself down. “I won’t,” she says, the words coming out garbled and almost unintelligible.
I shake my head, holding back the laugh because, goddamn, she’s cute as fuck. “I know you think of me a certain way. You know my history better than anyone. But—” I suck in a breath, never having spoken these words to anyone before “—I’ve never felt this way about anyone else either. I’ve never allowed myself to feel much of anything for anyone. I made that choice, knowing I wasn’t ready to fall in love and never wanting to do so with the wrong girl.”
Her fingers press into my sides and her eyes widen, but she doesn’t speak. I’d call that progress.
“You’re the type of sweetness that could wreck a man like me. I know you don’t have any experience when it comes to sex, but none of that matters to me. I want the silly, clumsy girl who wears pajamas to bed and still has a teddy bear on her pillow. I’m happy you’re a virgin. Fuck, I’m thrilled.”
“You are?” she whispers, sealing her mouth shut again as soon as the words slip out.
I lean forward, brushing my lips against hers for only a moment. “I am. I want to be your first. I like that this girl I have feelings for hasn’t been with another man. I love that she’s waited, keeping that special gift for someone she trusts. It’s an honor, Lily. One I’m not entirely sure I deserve.”
“You do.”
“I keep going around and around in my head, wondering if I should back off, let you be free. But then I think about you with another man, and my blood boils, my skin crawls, and all I want to do is beat the shit out of the imaginary guy.”
She smiles up at me, sliding her hands to my back, splaying her fingers against my skin. “Don’t back off. I don’t want anyone else. I don’t want freedom.”
“Neither do I,” I tell her, sweeping my eyes over her full lips before going back to her eyes. “I want whatever’s been happening between us to grow. I know when you’re not around, I find myself thinking about you, wondering what you’re doing or if you’re okay. I’ve never worried about anyone but myself. This is as new to me as it is to you. I’m scared, Lily, and that’s some hard shit to admit for a guy like me.”
“I won’t break your heart.”
“You already did,” I tell her, referring to the last two weeks when she shut me out. “What was that about?”
Her eyes soften, and her fingertips press into my back like she’s holding me. “I was embarrassed. So, so, so embarrassed.”
I crinkle my forehead at the absurdity of her statement. “About what?”
“What I did.”
“Again, babe. What did you do that was embarrassing? We kissed, I touched you in a way you’d never been touched, and you came.”
“I know,” she whispers, closing her eyes. “I remember every second of it.”
“And the embarrassing part?”
She swallows, opening her eyes slowly and peering up at me. “How I moved against your hand.”
I level her with my gaze, sliding my hand back around her head, gripping her hair. “Babe, that shit was hot. I’m not talking a warm summer breeze. I’m talking so fucking hot, you have to run across the sand so you don’t get burned.”
“You liked it?” She blinks rapidly.
“I fucking loved it. Only thing hotter would be to look up and find you riding my cock that way with your tits in my hands, watching you come apart because I’m buried so deep in you, you can’t fuckin’ breathe.”
The blush that covers her face is darker than I’ve ever seen. Her mouth opens and closes, but she says nothing. The one thing she does do is dig those damn fingernails into my skin the same way I’d want her to if I were inside her.
“You…” She swallows hard, blinking slowly. “I…” Her breasts move closer to my face as she leans into me, tempting me. “You…”
Clearly what I said has scrambled her brain, and if I’m being honest, mine is too. The very thought of Lily Gallo sends my body into overdrive.
“Would you like that, Lily?” I ask, needing her words and confirmation.
She nods, sliding her hands lower on my back but stopping when her fingertips touch the top of my pants. “Yes, but promise me you’ll go slow.”
“Baby, we can take as long as you want.”
“How’s your…” Her gaze dips down. “Is it okay?”
“Say the word, Lily.”
She bites her lip, eyes snapping back to mine. “How’s your penis?”
“No, sweetheart. Say ‘cock,’” I breathe against her lips, wanting to hear all the dirty things from her.
“Is your cock healed?”
I nod, my dick getting harder when the filthy words slip from her lips. “As healed as I need to be.” I smirk, wishing I could bury myself in her now.
There’s a pounding at the door, followed by the sound of footsteps. Not one set either. “Lily,” Izzy says from the other side. “We brought you back some food. Come eat, baby girl.”
“Coming!” Lily yells out.
I pull her hair, bending her head back, giving me a full view of her neck. “You will be,” I murmur as I lean forward, pressing my mouth to her skin.
Her pulse quickens under my lips as her fingernails dig back into my skin, liking what I’m doing to her.
“Can you sneak out of here when I go out?”
I lift my gaze, staring at her as I straighten. “Why?”
“My dad,” she whispers. “If he finds you in here, he’ll…”
“Are you going to tell him about us?”
Her eyes widen again. “Not yet,” she tells me.
“You’re going to have to tell him sometime. You won’t be able to hide what we have forever.”
“I will. I swear.”
“Sometime I’d like to come by, bring my girl dinner, spend a little time with her. I can’t do that if her family doesn’t know we’re more than just roommates.”
“I’d like that.” She smiles, pulling that lip between her teeth again. “I’d like that a lot.”
I release my grip on her, needing some space and a moment to get myself and my dick together before I even try to leave this room. “Go,” I tell her, motioning toward the door with my head. “I just need a minute.”
She peers down, no doubt spotting the wood I’m sporting through my jeans. “Looks like you are all healed.” She giggles softly.
“There’s only one real way to find out.” I waggle my eyebrows as she stares at my dick.
She blushes again. “Wait up for me?”
I want to tell her to crawl into bed with me, but I don’t want to do anything to scare her off. I’m not fucking her tonight. Not yet. I will not rush her or this, whatever it is and will be. For the first time ever, I want to make sure everything is perfect, leaving no room for her to be embarrassed again.
“I’d wait an eternity for you, Lily Gallo.”
Her face brightens as if my words are exactly what she needed to hear. “Stay here one minute and then go,” she tells me, pushing me to the side so she can get to the door. “You’re no good to me if my father gets his hands around your neck.”
“I’m not worried about your pops.” I wave her off. “I think he’ll be happy you found yourself a real man and not the type who wears a pocket protector.”
Blaze: Men of Inked Heatwave #4 Page 15