“This was the biggest size,” she says, and I almost don’t believe her. Her body is just too sexy for this flimsy material to handle.
“You are so beautiful, Red. You know that, don’t you?” I run my hands against her body, walking backwards into the rippling water. “I want to eat you up. All for me. No one else’s, understand?”
“Maybe I should cast a vote back at the hotel, get a consensus,” she jokes, but I don’t like it.
I flush her body to mine and tilt her head back. “Hell no. There is no way in hell anyone is seeing you in this.” Just imagining men ogling her gets me heated, makes my fists curl. I’ve worked so hard to get her back, I’m not letting her go so easily.
“Okay, my caveman, I get it. We’re back in those days.” She laughs and unwraps her arms from me, turning around. “Let’s have some fun, shall we?”
I want to grab her and keep her close, but I have her. The rest of my body needs to catch up; my heart’s definitely on board. I’ve just dreamed of this moment for so long, it feels like another stage in a never-ending game. Boss level after boss level, I’m stuck in a castle, defeating an angry pixel. But this…her long body swimming away from me, her lively laughter…it’s all real. And I am basking in it for as long as it lasts, which I hope is forever.
“Come back here!” I shout and begin to chase after her. She yelps and swims faster, twirling and giggling, and I am transported to that time we broke into the YMCA. God, she was so bad, but mainly wild and carefree and daring. I remember my heart beating out of my chest and wanting to feel that for the rest of my life.
“You’ll never get—Noah!” I interrupt her when I grab her waist and tug her lean body down. We plunge into the crystal water as she still laughs and twists around in my arms. I grab her cheeks and press a long, tender kiss to her lips. Sparks light up the water, and I feel the electricity through every pore in my body.
We come up for air, and the moment we get it, I kiss her forehead.
“Promise me no more goodbyes,” I say loud enough to be heard over the rushing waterfall. I lean back and stare into her eyes, churning with emotions running wild. I need her to promise me, to promise us forever. I need to hear her say it. I use one hand to tread, cupping the back of her neck with the other, ready to plead her to say it, but she surprises me.
She slams her body against me and presses her lips to mine. I taste her promise, feel it against her nose gently rubbing mine. There is nothing I would rather feel in this entire world than her lips against mine, feel her smile against mine. She is the flame and I the paper, but when we collide, we produce sparks, love, and I feel it through every beat of my heart pounding against her cheek.
When she pulls away, it’s too soon, but her whispering “I promise” against my lips, it all feels worth it. All of it, all of the heartbreak and aching and longing. It all led up to this, me kissing the very love of my life, my star, my fire, my every-damn-thing.
Chapter Twenty-One
A week has passed by painfully slow since we got back from Saint Martin. My father signed off on the deal, and now his string of hotels just got a little longer. He’s making a sound choice by building resorts on the island, but he’s also been a dick and keeping me back for most of the business behind the expansion.
Meaning I don’t have any time to actually see or interact with Red, even though she is his assistant. He finds pleasure in torturing me and has her off doing busy work while he has me squared away in the meeting room with the board members and Henry and his people on conference calls.
I want nothing more than to undo my tie and throw it in his face in the most dramatic way possible before snatching up Red and waltzing out of the glass building. I’d mail him my resignation, even though I’m not even getting paid.
I’ve been uncomfortable and static every day because I finally got my girl back, but I haven’t had any chance to be with her.
So when lunch time rolls around, I slip out of the meeting room and search high and low for Red. I find her in the copy room, a stack of papers away from blowing out her beautiful brains. I wrap an arm around her and spin her around. Her raised hand, ready to knock me out, drops at her side, and she smiles so brightly, I’m temporarily blind before I focus on her curvy red mouth.
“Hey, what are you doing?” she asks.
“Stealing you away,” I say in a low, mischievous voice. But I think my grin is tipping her off that I’m not a bad guy.
Her eyes twinkle. “Funny, I don’t feel so stolen.”
“You’re right.” I bend down and cup the back of her knees. I bring her to my chest, and she bounces then settles in my arms. She’s light as a damn feather. “Hold on tight, love.”
“Noah, what the hell?” she gasps.
“Tight, baby.” I kiss her nose, and she laughs, high-pitched. I waltz out of the copy room, and a lady gapes at us. I wink at a group of suits passing by…oh, those are the board members…whoops.
“No, you have to put me down,” she hisses, head ducked, cheeks a bright red. I love to see her blush. I want to see it happen every day. So I declare it: I will make my Red blush every day for as long as I have her.
We are so close to the elevators, all I can focus on is her hiding her face in my neck and wishing they’d just open. They do. And I wink at the big man up above, he wants us together too. It’s a done deal then: she’s mine, and there’s no take-backsies.
“Noah! What in God’s name are you doing?” I hear my father yell over my shoulder. I can sense the annoyance and astonishment in his voice, but I don’t give a crap. He stored me in a room away from her, quite literally. He did so in a way that left very little time for me to spend any time with her and overworked her.
I step into the elevator as a crowd of people in suits and skirts scatter out. “You can’t keep us apart, Father! We are meant to be!” I shout before the doors slide closed. I burst into laughter and let her down. “All right there, love?”
Her face is flushed red, hair slightly tangled, and smile bright. She punches my shoulder. “Don’t do that again. I’m not Cinderella or some shit,” she barks, but her tone is light.
I raise my hands, smirking. “Sorry…and you’re more of a Rapunzel.”
She glares. “Either way, I’m not a princess in distress and you’re not my prince charming. Got it?” Her words send a chill down my spine, but I can’t take her too seriously like this. Her black heels give her about three inches, but her head stops just short of my chest.
“I’m sorry,” I say earnestly, taking her hands and staring into her intensely brilliant blue eyes. “I just missed you and thought we could get some lunch. On me.”
“No,” she groans. “I’ll pay for it.”
“No way.” I push some hair behind her ear.
“Yes way, Noah,” she insists and pushes my hand away. I frown as she spins on her heels and storms out of the elevator.
What did I do now?
I catch up to her outside. The breeze is low and warm against my skin, but it has nothing on the burning electricity when my fingertips touch her arm. My hand slides down and meets her hand. I interlock our fingers and bat my eyelashes, hoping it’ll cool her off and melt her into my arms.
But she just rolls her eyes and presses forward, fingertips losing their home. I watch her breeze across the crosswalk. I’m stumped and stunned as she strides so relaxed, you wouldn’t know she has no idea where she’s going.
I catch up to her and grab her elbow, pulling us to a stop outside of a Barnes & Noble. “What’s wrong?” I ask her over the hush of the bustling city.
“Nothing,” she lies through her teeth.
I give her a deadpan expression.
Her jaw shifts, and she crosses her arms. “I just don’t want you thinking I can’t pay for things.”
What? “I never thought—”
“Because, although I work about ten freaking jobs and help out my family and am struggling by myself, I have money, and I don’t need you thro
wing your corrupted daddy’s money everywhere we go. I am not some charity—” she rants.
My lips meeting her in a rushed kiss shuts her up. I swallow her fiery words, throw a bucket of ice cold water on her, and feel her melt into my arms. I leaned in for the kiss to shut off her ridiculous claims, but now that I’m holding her thick hair and tasting her sweet lips, I realize I was a little too Red deprived.
I pull back for damned air and look her square in the eyes. “I could be dirt poor and still be chasing after you, Rossa. I haven’t thought of you as a money-hungry girl, not for one damn second. I spend money on you and for you because…well, I didn’t think much of it. I grew up with money from birth, but please do not assume you are some charity case to me. I love you for who you are, not because you stroke my ego or whatever.”
She doesn’t respond, and I fret, thinking she’s burrowing into the self-doubt she loves to dabble in. But her jaw loosens, and her mouth softens. “I’m sorry,” she says.
“It’s okay—” I begin to assure her.
“I just don’t like coming off as soft; I have worked too damn hard to be seen as some gold digger,” she continues her rant, mouth curling in a snarl.
“Hey, hey—I get it.” I smooth my fingers over her heated cheeks, and she huffs but doesn’t look away. I smile. “Let me pay for this one last meal, then the rest is all you. Won’t even lift a finger. It’s a gentleman’s gesture.”
Her eyes narrow and she pushes at my chest, but I don’t budge. I smile wider. “You are insufferable,” she groans with a smile, eyes darting to my lips. I bet I have some red lipstick on me. I swipe my tongue across my lips, and she makes a throaty sound.
“Just trying to keep up with you, babe.” I wink at her and she shakes her head. I lean off of her and hold out my hand. “Now let’s go eat before I end up eating you.”
“I wouldn’t mind,” she murmurs as she takes my hand.
“Now that you mention it, I’ve been keeping a secret.” I yank at her hand, and she stumbles into my chest. I tip her chin up and lower my voice. “I’m secretly a seven-hundred-year-old vampire with skin that glitters. And I’m desperately thirsty for you.” I bend down and kiss her neck.
“Noah!” She laughs, pushing me.
I chuckle and wrap my other hand around her waist. “Just kidding. You’re so not my type.”
Her hip bumps into me. “Hey!”
“Sorry, I was lying, my love.” I hiss and peck kisses all over her face and she squeals, and I continue to make lame vampire jokes the entire way to the nearest restaurant.
When we arrive to the fancy restaurant, a young girl behind a post greets us. “Hello, my name is Raine, and welcome to—”
Red grunts, cutting her off.
Chuckling, I pat her shoulder, calming her and her hate for the ritzy stuff, and tell the nice enough girl whose smile didn’t crack at my girl’s snarl, “Table for two…” I lower my voice and tell her the rest.
She nods, brunette ponytail swaying. “Right this way, Mr. and Mrs. Wells,” she announces, grabbing two menus.
“Noah,” Red groans and pinches my stomach as we follow the girl to the back of the restaurant.
“Sorry, I couldn’t resist.” I chuckle, and even though she turns away, I see her blush clear as day.
We sit down in the booth, opposite each other. Raine informs us our waiter will be here soon then leaves us alone. The lights are romantic and low back here.
I’ve been here once or twice; the food’s great, but people who come here are a tad too snobby for my liking. But with this lighting, I bet we won’t have a problem with their presence. In this booth, it’s just her and me.
“Vervain,” she suddenly says as we’re looking over the menu.
“Huh?” I set my menu down, but she holds hers up just under her eyes. The effect is astounding; she looks like a minx on a mission to completely obliterate my heart. Blue eyes sparkling under the dim lighting, she watches me smile and play with my silver tie.
“I’ve been drinking vervain tea ever since I started watching that vampire show,” she says, and I blink, surprised.
“You watch…” What was it called again?
“The Vampire Diaries,” she answers for me.
I laugh. “Wow.”
“What?” She kicks me under the table, and her face scrunches apologetically. Reflexes, I’m guessing. I just wink at her, telling her it’s fine, and her eyes dart to a random spot on the table, the top of her cheeks pink.
“I’m not making fun of you; I just never thought you’d watch shows like that,” I assure her, and her eyes flitter to mine. And she finally puts her menu down.
“Well, I do. It gets boring living alone,” she huffs out, clenching her jaw.
My heart controls my mouth as I blurt out, “Then live with me.”
Her eyes go wide, and her mouth parts slightly. But before she or I can say anything, a waitress by the name of Brynn stops by and gets our orders. When she leaves, I wish she’d stay so I don’t have to face what I stupidly blurted out. But then I think: why is it so stupid? I love this girl, and I think I want to live with her, and she just admitted to being lonely. Not lonely, but she is alone when I can fill that void.
“I’m sorry, but I think it’d be nice to live together…don’t you?” I choke on my words and flood the invisible drought with a huge gulp of water Brynn dropped off. I’m halfway when she speaks, shakily.
“I would love that, Noah…but I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because…” She draws short and pushes some hair behind her ear. “Because we’ve only just gotten back together.”
“Only more reason for you to move in, to solidify us.” I reach over and gently take her small palm. I flash her a smile and my dimples, green eyes nearly pinched closed in a grin. Her mouth curves up into a smile, but something flashes across her eyes, and she pulls away.
“Not yet,” she says, and my heart cracks, but I maintain my painful smile and nod. She chews on her full lower lip, voice small. “I’m really sorry, Noah. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I want to do it, I do…but I think it’d be too much too fast, you know?”
No. I know that I’m in love with you and want to wake up to your beautiful face every day…
“Yeah, I understand.” I nod, and she smiles, relieved. I feel unreasonably hurt. Of course she’d be hesitant to drop her stuff in my home and make it her own. I mean, the last time she was there, she was in tears and I was so angry at her. A few weeks later, we’re back together, yes, but that doesn’t constitute super glue between us.
We have a long way to go to build everything back together. Noah’s ark wasn’t built in a day, nor will our relationship be.
Noah’s ark, I snort to myself as I see our waitress approach with our food. How freaking geeky.
“So, what shows do you watch?” Red asks over her plate of steak and spaghetti. She slurps the spaghetti like the snooty couple at a table next to us isn’t eyeing us with disgusted expressions. I slurp my spaghetti even louder and glare at them until they flush and look away.
Bitches.
When I look back at my girl, she’s grinning at me. Chuckling, I straighten and shrug. “I like Sherlock.”
“Boo!”
“Excuse me?”
She shrugs. “You’re excused, I guess.”
“Well, I am stunned, Vampire Girl.”
She kicks me in the shin. “Whoops.” Now that was not a reflex. I growl at her, and she giggles and cuts into her steak.
I’m laughing harder now, and she’s smiling bigger. And for the next hour, we trade favorite movies and favorite books and things like that. She once told me the big picture about her, but now I know the tiny holes in her story. There’s still a great amount I don’t know, but those are the dark parts, and I want to know the lighter stuff, the things that make her shine like a damn beacon of happiness in my eyes.
I’m telling her my least favorite music genre when a phone’s song int
errupts me. It’s not mine, so I watch her flush and dig in her suit jacket. She fishes out her phone, and her face falls. Our waitress whisks away our plates and glasses, and after I take out my wallet and set down the money, she still looks pale.
“Red? What’s wrong?” I ask her, my voice low.
Her head shakes, and she gives me an half-hearted smile. “Nothing.”
“Red,” I groan. I hate when she lies. I hold her hand and rub her knuckles. “Come on, tell me what’s wrong.”
Her mouth parts…but she closes it and gulps. “Nothing, seriously.” I give her a look, and she laughs a breathless laugh as she pushes to her feet. “I just realized I have another job to get to.”
“What about this one?” I stand up and reach for her hand, but she pulls away and turns around. Heart moaning in pain at her slowly distancing from me, I follow her out on the sidewalk.
“You can cover for me, right?” she says over her shoulder, and I shrug. Turning around, she stops in front of a bus stop and stares past my shoulder, then stares at her screen and grows even paler.
“Red, what is—” I begin to question her.
“Say I have the flu or something,” she suggests, standing on her toes now, searching for a bus that isn’t coming.
“It’s not flu season. Tell me what’s wrong,” I demand but gently; I don’t want to push her so hard she just clams up. “And tell me why you want to ride the bus.”
“My car’s in the shop for maintenance,” she tells me.
“Well…if this job’s so important, let me drive you,” I offer.
She looks at me, ready to decline like she usually would, being the hard-headed girl I know and love, but something must speak to her in her head, because she gives me a hard nod.
I lead her to the parking lot of my father’s building. My black BMW she and I fell in love with months ago awaits us, and although she’s acting seriously weird, her eyes light up and her mouth curves up in a silent, reminiscent smile. I smile too, remembering our second date. Those were good times…and I want to make even more good times, perfect times with her.
Red: Fiery Finale (Spectrum Series Book 8) Page 14