“It’s OK.”
“I, so, the thing is, Violet…” I looked up at her again, and it was hard not to reach out and touch her. Standing so close, I could catch the slightest hint of her scent, that lightly feminine floral musk. I wanted to bury myself in it, in her.
“You shaved.” She looked up at me and moved her hand as if she were going to bring it up to touch my cheek. But then, thinking better of it, she dropped it back by her side. No, it’s OK, touch me, I wanted to say, but I didn’t.
“Yeah.” I touched my check with my own palm, instead, still getting used to the smooth feel. “Seemed like time for a change.”
“It’s so different,” she marveled.
“Good different? Or…” I shouldn’t be asking that, I should be apologizing and explaining myself, but a man had to know.
“Yes, good different,” she gushed. “I mean, I liked you with some beard, too, but this, you just look, you look really—”
I didn’t let her finish, I had to touch her and before I touched her I had some things I had to say so I resorted to getting it out all in a big rush. “I’m an ass.” I started there and went on to explain how I’d gotten a call from Sam and learned that he’d been the one to pitch the exposé. He’d been the one to trick me into to signing the consent forms.
“I swear, I didn’t know what he was up to,” she insisted and that was it. I wrapped my arms around her.
“I’m so sorry I didn’t give you more of a chance to explain,” I apologized. “That I didn’t believe you.”
“No, I should have known something like that could happen. I should have been smarter. There was no way that network would ever have gone for any of my ideas.” And better yet, her arms came up and wrapped around mine, her hands resting on my shoulders.
“I still should have listened to you,” I insisted.
“Well, you might have if I hadn’t started calling you a liar.”
“And I’m sorry I didn’t tell you more about my background, my family.” I shook my head. “It was stupid to think I could just walk away from it all.”
“I said such awful things.” She reached her hand up to my cheek and touched my face.
We had a lot more to say, but not just then. What I had to do then was kiss her, sink down to her, melting my lips to hers, feeling her moan into my embrace.
“God, I’ve missed you,” she whispered through our kisses and I felt a tear on her cheek. I kissed it away, sitting back on a kitchen chair and bringing her onto my lap. I couldn’t stop kissing her. I never wanted to stop again. She tasted like honey and sunshine and fresh starts and I sipped and licked and kissed her over and over again, my hands threading up through her soft hair, down along her slender waist.
“Violet, is there…?” I managed, kissing, nibbling her ear, tasting her down at her neck. I felt her shiver under my hands. I wanted to make her shiver more. “Can you…?” I brought my lips down to the hollow of her throat and she tilted back her chin, giving me access. I sucked, licked, bit her slightly on her tender, sensitive skin and she gasped, her hands coming up to my broad shoulders to clasp me there, hard. She looked at me, heavy-lidded and gorgeous. I rested my forehead to hers, trying to catch my breath, trying to remember what I wanted to say.
“Can you forgive me?” I asked.
“Heath!” She threw her arms around my neck, burying her face in the crook of my shoulder. “I can’t stop thinking about you! I’m so crazy about you! Of course I forgive you!”
There was nothing for it but more kissing. Her limbs twined around me like a vine as we drew closer and closer together. Her tongue, her skin, the soft sounds from her mouth, the sweet taste of her lips, I was drunk off Violet and I never wanted to sober up again.
“But, Heath.” She pushed away from me slightly, creating a small gap I instantly hated. “I said some awful things. Can you forgive me?”
“Mmmm.” I savored her scent, breathing in her hair as my hands wound their way lower, lower until I cupped her buttocks. I pressed her against my groin as she straddled me on the chair. She gasped as she felt me hard, bulging and pressing against the seam of my jeans. “I forgive you,” I murmured. “But I may need to punish you a bit first.” My large hands gripped her ass cheeks firmly.
Her eyes flew open, and she laughed breathlessly.
“I won’t do it in your mom’s kitchen,” I promised her, moving my hands back up to safer territory around her waist. Only a little bit safer, though. She felt so good under my hands I itched to get her naked, run my fingers along her curves, bare for me every inch.
“No, not in my mom’s kitchen,” she agreed. And did I detect a slight waver of disappointment in her voice? Oh, I’d give her what she wanted. She didn’t have to worry about that.
“Can I take you out, Violet?” I whispered, kissing her lips again, then down along her jaw.
“You mean, like, a date?” she asked, breathless again. I licked her ear, enjoying the way I made her breath hitch. I could see her nipples pebbling through her shirt, and I longed to reach my hand up and play, tease, torture her just the way she liked. But there would be a time and a place. Soon.
“Yes.” I brought my hands sedately to her hips, quieting myself. Down boy.
“Sure,” she said, looking eager and delighted. “There’s a great pizza place right down the block.”
“Violet, I have something else in mind.” I smiled at her, bringing my thumb to caress her bottom lip. I knew we’d both have a good time at a pizza place. But after what she’d been through, she needed slightly more special treatment. Plus, my brother’s fiancé had given me strict instructions on how to do this right. I didn’t want to fuck things up again.
“Tomorrow night, are you free?” I asked.
She nodded, her tongue flicking out briefly to touch the pad of my thumb. My gaze instantly narrowed to that one spot, fixated on her pink tongue and red lips and I could imagine that tongue doing so much more, licking and sucking me so good. But I had plans and I would see them through.
“Good,” I nodded, moving my finger away from her gorgeously distracting mouth. “I’ll come by around seven o’clock.”
“What are we going to do?”
“I’m not telling you.”
“Oh, you’re not, are you?” She raised her eyebrows as she looked at me.
“That’s right.” I wanted to keep it a surprise.
“Who are you? Clean shaven and taking me out for a night on the town?”
“I’m a man of mystery,” I told her, giving her a wink. She laughed and smiled, and it was about the best thing I’d seen in weeks. Since I’d last seen her, to be exact.
§
I’d never been the type of guy to spend time sprucing up for a date. But I had to admit, that night I wanted to look sharp.
“This one? Or this one?” I asked my audience. My brother and his fiancé sat on the couch watching me hold up two pairs of shirts.
“You’ve got to try them on, big guy,” Ash told me. I grumbled like a little kid getting dressed by his mom for Christmas dinner. “Hey,” he admonished me. “Do you know how much crazy shit I’ve worn for photo shoots? The costumes I’ve put on for shows?”
“That’s your own damn fault,” I told him. No one had forced him to be a rockstar.
“Try it on for us, Heath,” Ana asked nicely, trying a little sugar with the growly bear. “We’ll make sure you look amazing for your night out with Violet.”
They’d hooked me up with prime time reservations at one of the hottest restaurants in the city. All it took was one drop of Ash’s name and—bam—we had a table for two. I guessed the least I could do was let them play dress up with me.
By the time I was ready to head out, I was glad I’d let them have their way. They’d done a better job with me than I ever could. I wasn’t exactly a good judge of fashion, but even I knew when I looked in the mirror they’d cleaned me up good.
“You look so handsome!” Ana squealed, clapping her hands tog
ether.
“He is a strapping young lad,” Ash agreed, wrapping his arm protectively around his fiancé’s waist.
They let me wear some dark jeans, but insisted I pair it with a fitted collared shirt and a casual jacket.
“I can’t believe these fit me,” I marveled, pulling on the lapels of the jacket, pleased with my ability to move my shoulders and arms. Ash and I were not exactly the same size. “Wait, why do you have clothes that fit me?” I turned to him. Ash conveniently excused himself because he heard his phone ringing. I did not hear any ringing.
“He might have picked up a few things for you,” Ana confessed. “Don’t be angry with him.”
“He went shopping for me?” I asked, baffled.
“No.” She laughed, amused by the idea. “But he did ask his stylist to pick up a couple of things for you.”
I looked at her, not any less confused.
“And I might have given him the idea to ask her to do that,” she confessed as well. “Since I knew you had someone you liked and wanted to see. I thought maybe you’d want to take her out.”
Ash had sure found himself a good woman. “Thank you,” I said, for lack of better words.
She nodded. “Have a good time tonight.”
She left me to admire my reflection in the mirror—something I’d done maybe never before in my life—and wonder exactly why I’d thought it was such a good idea to cut myself off completely from anything to do at all with my family. Maybe letting people in from time to time wasn’t as bad as I’d thought.
Ash arranged a car for us to use for the night and I started to protest until he pointed out the benefits of having both of my hands free.
“Total privacy in the back of a limo.” He clapped me on the back.
“My big brother knows so much.”
“About girls and limos I do,” he agreed. He had a point.
When I knocked on Violet’s door and she came out, she looked good enough to eat. Her shoulders and legs bare to mid-thigh, I found another thing to like about not being up in Vermont. Less snow meant more bare skin.
“You look amazing.” I took her hand, keeping it G-rated since her mom came down, too, to see us off.
“Have a good time tonight, you two!” She beamed, looking pleased to see her daughter heading out with me. “Ooh, a limo!” she exclaimed.
“Heath?” Violet turned to me with a look of disbelief.
“My brother,” I offered as explanation. “I got it,” I told the driver, letting him know he could head back into the front seat. He didn’t need to open the door for my girl. I wanted to do that.
The ride was too short, even though we hit lots of traffic, with Violet all to myself in the back seat. She about melted into my touch and I had to force myself to go slow, show restraint, and keep her clothes on. I almost regretted that we had any plans at all.
But then the limo stopped, and Violet exclaimed, “I’m so excited about tonight.”
The restaurant was even better than Ash and Ana had promised, with savory Asian fusion flavoring and elaborate presentations I found slightly over the top but entertaining nevertheless.
“This place is amazing!” Violet gushed. “I’ve heard all about it, but never been. I can’t believe you got a table.”
I shrugged, feeling like the man. It wouldn’t have occurred to me to head there on my own. But now that I was sitting across from Violet, I couldn’t imagine anywhere I’d rather be.
“You know, you don’t have to do all this,” she said quietly, reaching out and taking my hand across the table. “I like you. Just you.” She shrugged, and I watched a slight blush sweep across her lovely features. “I don’t need to be wined and dined.”
“But I want to,” I insisted, and I meant it. I wanted to drag her off to my cave, of course I did, and I had plans to do exactly that. But this right now, this was good, too, with her sitting there looking at me like I’d worked magic. I’d see what I could do about making her look at me that way again and again.
After dinner, I took her to a gallery show in one of the places I’d discovered over the past couple weeks and admired. They weren’t one of the larger, well-known galleries. They were up-and-coming, and I thought the pieces they had on display were true originals without going for shock value. That was difficult to pull off in the art world, with just about anything traditional dismissed as “derivative” while stupid, pointless stuff—in my humble opinion—sometimes got praised just for being different.
I found myself lost in it, an arm around Violet, talking to her about what I most liked in a large, spiral piece, the coldness of the metal shaped into something that looked so vibrant and alive. Then I realized I’d been talking non-stop for at least ten minutes, a possible record for me.
“Sorry, I’m talking your ear off,” I apologized.
“No, Heath, I love it. I love seeing you so animated like this. You have so many incredible ideas.” Her face radiated happiness as she beamed up at me. I’d thought I’d fallen hard for her before. What I felt just then made that pale in comparison. I’d almost lost her once. Now that I had her again, I never wanted to let her go.
Back in the limo, I held her to me close.
“Heath,” she said quietly as I pulled her up onto my lap. She was so much smaller than me, but fit against me so perfectly, her curves like the ultimate playground. “I’m sorry I called you Sir Heathcliff McMoneybags.”
I burst out laughing. “That was a good one.”
“No,” she apologized again, but I could hear some laughter bubbling up in her voice as well. “It was awful.”
“I don’t know,” I disagreed. “You might want to keep that name around. Use it from time to time to keep me in line.”
She laughed and turned her face to me, kissing me lightly. “Heath, thank you so much for taking me out tonight. I had such fun.”
“Thank you for getting me out tonight.” I returned the gratitude. I wasn’t exactly going to turn into a regular on the city’s club scene, but I’d had fun out with her, too. Maybe it was good to get the bear out of his cave every now and then.
She leaned down and kissed me again, our lips and tongues meeting, the flame between us sparking bright and hot in an instant. I reached a hand down her upper back and found the zipper at the back of her top that had been taunting me all night. Easing it down, her breasts spilled out.
She gasped and clasped a hand over her chest, casting a nervous look up toward the front of the limo.
“Complete privacy, Violet,” I assured her, reaching my hands around to cup her breasts. “Do you think I’d share you with anyone?” She closed her eyes and sighed as I massaged her, caressing her mounds, then dropped my lips to her peaked nipples. Licking, teasing, I told her, “You’re mine.”
“Yes, Heath,” she groaned out as I took her stiff nipple into my hot, wet mouth, sucking her sensitive tip. Her skirt had worked up far along her thighs, and I brought my hand down between her bare legs. She parted them eagerly as I moved my fingers up her thighs.
“Uh,” I groaned, as my finger finally grazed her panties. Stroking her, I could feel her slick heat soaking through the silk. “You wet for me, baby?” I asked, reaching up to pull her panties down.
“Yes,” she moaned, helping me get access. The panties off, the skirt up around her waist, she pressed her pussy into my hand. I watched her face as I began touching her, sliding my fingers along her clit, starting to finger fuck her as she rode my hand. Her eyes half-closed, she lost herself to the pleasure, pushing her clit against my thumb.
“Oh, you need to come, don’t you honey?” I asked her, bringing my other hand up to cup her breast and play with her aching nipple. She bucked against my hand, making needy sounds deep in her throat. Nothing drove me more wild than Violet losing control, watching a toe-curling orgasm build up and wash over her. She was so slick and wet on my fingers as I fucked her with two fingers, keeping up a steady rhythm on her clit just how she liked.
“You’re
close,” I murmured, feeling her thrusts become more urgent, her thighs tense and quiver. “I want to feel you come, Violet. Come all over my fingers.”
She exploded, gripping my shoulders, her fingernails biting into me as she screamed. She pushed her clit down onto the thick pad of my thumb, and I pushed right back, giving her all the pressure she needed, in exactly the right spot. I thrust into her deep again, then again, slowing down, letting the waves of pleasure ease but not abate, making her shudder and whimper and coo as she came on my hand.
“So good,” I murmured, wrapping a hand around her waist. She sank down on my shoulder, sighing mightily with deep contentment. “You’re coming back with me tonight,” I told her, deciding it for the both of us on the spot. There was a time for consulting, discussing and mutually agreeing upon next steps. And there was a time for simply stating the obvious.
“Yes, I am,” Violet agreed.
CHAPTER 23
Violet
If I’d thought mountain man Heath was sexy as hell, What. The. Fuck. Clean cut, no beard, hair trimmed up, the man I met in New York was more gorgeous than a movie star. And, believe me, I knew what I was talking about. I’d met a bunch of them, and they never measured up in person. But Heath? I could hardly take my eyes off him.
Don’t get me wrong, I still loved my wild and wooly mountain man, but something about this clean-shaven and spruced up Heath made my pulse pound. Maybe it was how massive he still looked, and the way I knew the wild man still lay there within. He hadn’t changed. He was still the same huge, sexy beast I’d fallen for back in Vermont. Only now he was taking me out on the town!
Wrapped in his arms in the limo, I barely knew what was happening I was so filled with joy and relief and disbelief in seeing him again. I’d spent much of the past three weeks trying to move on, move past, certain that chapter of my life was closed forever. I’d toyed with the idea of getting in touch with him, apologizing for the angry words I’d hurled at him when we’d last spoken. But even in my most hopeful moments, I hadn’t expected a response. Heath was a strong man, inside and out. He had an iron will and resolve. Though I hadn’t known him long, I had a feeling he didn’t exactly flip-flop easily in his opinions.
Untamed: (Heath & Violet) (Beg For It) Page 24