by L. J. Woods
That makes his jaw twitch, the grip on his glass tightening. “Bullshit, Rowland. The look in your eye when you saw me on that ledge says otherwise. You wouldn’t have attacked Marion like that if you didn’t want me. If you didn’t need me.” His nose touches mine and it makes me jump at the same time goosebumps rise on my skin.
Swallowing hard on a gulp of hard air I finally ask, “Did you mean what you said? When you called?”
“Did I mean what?” He wants me to say it and no matter how hard I try, the words just won’t come.
Tipping the rest of the contents down my throat, I slam my book closed and get up from my seat. “I need the bathroom.”
“You running away again, Medusa?” he taunts. “Stop being a fucking coward.”
“Something I learned from you!”
SLAM!
Nine
Damien
Shit.
I pushed too hard.
I always do.
Knocking my drink back, I head to the bar and pour up another. I’m listening for sounds from the bathroom, wondering what the fuck she’s doing in there.
She’s hiding from me again and I’m getting sick of it. She wanted space and I gave her that but I’m not letting her spew that shit about us not belonging together.
Enough is enough.
She’s mine.
The water runs in the bathroom while I take the bottle to the dome, working up some liquid courage. This cocky attitude is fuelled by something, and that’s mostly scotch.
Allie must be dead tired because she’s splayed across the couch, phone on her chest like it’s her life support. Lea’s likely passed out in the same way. I’m happy they’re finally owning up to whatever it is they have and I wish we could do the same.
It’s been ten minutes and she’s still not out. Time’s up, Medusa. I’m owning this too. No more hiding. No more bullshit.
It’s me and you.
Walking to the bathroom, I lean an ear against the door.
Silence.
My eyes land on my scar, my heart beating faster. “J—”
She opens the door at the same time, her eyes blurry, cheeks red. Jo never does a good job at clearing her face from tears. She thinks she doesn’t wear her heart on her sleeve and while she’s strong, she does. When Jo looks up at me with those catty eyes, that helpless look, her brows knit. I know that sass is coming but I do what I should’ve done earlier.
My palms against her cheeks, I pull her close, placing those lips where they belong. On me. My whole body goes numb when our lips press together and she doesn’t fight it, that soft sigh coming from her mouth.
“I meant what I said, Jo,” I say between our kisses, her arms wrapping around me with a hold I can never get enough of. It’s tight, strong and it’s hard not to push my hardening shaft against her.
She pauses, her eyes locking with mine and that’s all it takes for me to push her back into the tiny room. Locking the door behind me, Allie’s SOL if she needs to use it. I’m doing her a favour and keeping this party locked in here.
Jo tastes like bourbon and sweet vanilla when her tongue moves over mine. She’s always been a contradiction to her words but putting up a fight only makes me want her more.
“Why don’t you admit it, Rowland?” Turning her around so she faces the sink, she pokes that plump ass out to me. Pulling on her hair gets her to moan, it always does, my hand pushing into the band of her joggers. “You want this as much as I do.”
When I find her folds, pushing her panties to the side with my cold fingers, she’s already soaked. That makes me growl, pulling her pants down and pushing her head against the mirror, her pretty fucking face in my view while that ass sticks out for me.
“Say it,” she says, my fingers inches from her slit.
Teasing her entrance with the two tips of my fingers I ask, “Say what?”
When she looks back at me, the urge to kiss her is overwhelming. I need to feel her entire body on me starting with her pussy. “Don’t play dumb, King.”
Fuck. My cock throbs when she calls me the royalty I am and now I know she’s no longer playing fair. Good, neither do I. Pushing my fingers into her, wet and warm, she bites her lip and reaches back, grabbing my wrist. “Say it.”
“You want me to stop?” Curling my fingers I’m looking for that spot and when her eyes widen I know I’ve found it. She lets me pump into her, her grip on the sink. “That’s what I thought.”
Pushing her ass hard against me, it pushes me back out of surprise, my drenched fingers sliding out. She turns around, stepping out of her joggers before she drops to her knees. My bulge threatens to break through the fabric, her face by my cock damn near making me weak.
“You want this to be real?” she asks, warm breath on my cock as she pinches my joggers, yanking them down with my boxers. “Say what you said to me on the phone.”
My back against the door, my hard cock sways at her face when she gets it free. It points right at her mouth and I’m inching closer, remembering how she works that tongue.
“Say what you said when you thought you were gonna die.” Jo sticks her tongue through her teeth, looking up at me from her knees. “When you thought you’d never see me again.” She’s so close to it, but every time I move an inch, she moves back. “Did you say it when you were on that ledge? Did you say those three words?”
“I—shit.” She flicks her tongue against the tip and it makes me pause. If I were to speak right now she’d hear the quiver in my voice. It doesn’t help when she slides her tongue along the vein on my shaft. Lightning fires up my core, abs twitching. “Fuck, Jo. Just suck my cock if you’re gonna be down there.”
“Say it,” she demands. “Say what you thought when your aunt was gonna drive a bullet through your head. What you felt when she almost pushed me off that rail.”
This is the most morbid foreplay I’ve ever had and this is exactly why I fucking lo—
“Thought so.” She rises to her feet, pulling on her pants.
“You don’t call the shots, Jo.” When she pushes around me, opening the door, my hand reaches for her before it’s too late. “I do. Remember?” I’m asserting my dominance because it’s the last thing I know how to do to get her by my side tonight. There’s nowhere else I want her.
Pulling her to me, she slams against my chest before we stumble back onto the bed. It’s easy for me to pin her arms above her head. “Sleep with me,” I whisper.
I can feel her warmth against my cock and it’s taking everything for me not to plunge into her. With a glance at Allie, I make sure she’s sleeping before I set my gaze on those Medusa eyes.
“You can’t fuck me if you can’t even say how you feel,” she whispers back, her breath heavy. But I don’t miss the lift of her hip when she rubs against my hardon.
“Shut up, Rowland.” Laying beside her, I wrap my arms around her, pulling her back onto my chest. Now we’re spooned like some idiots but I just want her close, her words reminding me of the only thing that really matters. Her. “You’re staying right here tonight.” Then I give her an inch. “I want you by my side, Jo.”
It takes a minute but her body relaxes. So does mine. It’s not long before she’s fallen asleep.
And I’m at peace.
* * *
A pillow hits my head, launching me awake like a fucking vampire, the bed rocking beneath me.
Blinking at the window, the world going by, it takes a second to get my bearings.
“Wake up,” Allie’s voice is next. “We’re almost there and I swear if you guys fucked while my head was just feet away, I’m getting my own ride back to Eden.”
Right, we should be in Montreal any minute. The sun’s rising, a head of hair to my side, just the way I like to wake up.
A pillow hits her head. “Wake up!” Allie yells again.
“The fuck.” Jo stirs, her ass backed up against me giving me the mother of all boners.
After a few seconds, she rises off the mattre
ss, squinting her eyes. Swooping her hair out of her face, she looks over at me, her eyes widening before she looks down at her clothes. Then she’s up before I can hold onto her, cold taking over my body.
How she looks this good after a night on a train is beyond me, her curls squished against her head as she scratches at it, looking around. The red on her cheeks tells me there’s more going on in that head than she wants us to believe, but I know her better than that. Heading over to the sofa, she fixes her clothes, pulling her jacket over her arms. No eye-contact at all.
Like my boner, I don’t let her see it, but this shit fucking kills me.
Will she ever be able to trust me? Will she ever be able to trust us? At least we both got some sleep. I haven’t slept all week. I can only let go of this world when I have her in my arms.
“What time is it?” Jo mumbles.
“Six-thirty,” Allie says, tapping at her phone. “We still have about three hours before Lea’s in the Port.”
“The Port?” Jo asks, settling into the sofa and like me, she’s not gonna talk about what happened last night. For now.
“The Old Port,” I explain. That pain in my head is dull but it’s still there, so I head to the bar, reaching for another refill of scotch. On second thought, gin’s better to fill an empty water bottle.
“They’re going on a field trip and we thought that she could just come with us.”
“How do you plan on doing that?” I ask, an eyebrow raised her way. I don’t go through with a plan without knowing every step. There’s no such thing as luck. It’s all about being prepared. No magic. No folklore. Taking the bottle to my mouth, Jo twists her lips and I give her a smirk. “Want some?”
Rolling her eyes, she avoids my bare chest, focusing on Allie.
“I mean, that’s it. That’s the plan,” she says with a shrug.
“What’s the plan?” I ask again.
“We meet her in the Port.”
“That’s not a plan.” I shake my head. Should’ve known better than to leave any planning to Allie. Walking over to the bed, I reach in my leather pocket for my phone, the sheets still warm from her body. Texting Lea, I ask her where she’s headed. She doesn’t question it when she answers back, telling me about the Science Centre along the harbour. “Jo and I will man the mission from a rooftop along St. Paul.”
“We will?” Jo asks.
“Allie, you’ll meet her by the harbour, but not until I say. We’ll do it at nine-thirty.”
“That’s still three hours from now, what are we gonna do until then?” Jo asks. “Breakfast?”
Pulling on my jacket, I give her a wink. “You know the only thing I wanna eat.”
We pull into the station not long after we’ve all made ourselves a little more presentable. The girls go ahead along the platform, ice-cold air seeping in as Jo whispers something to Allie. I’m not sure what she’s saying but Allie keeps looking back.
Weed is legal in Canada. It’s one of my favourite things about visiting. The shop will be open in an hour so after I grab a coffee, it’s my first stop. If I’m gonna keep my energy I need to eat breakfast, and if I’m gonna eat breakfast I need to work up an appetite. Nothing does it better.
“That’s not a bad idea,” Jo says when I tell the girls the plan. “Might make this less of a trip from hell.”
“Seeing my cock last night was hell?” My hand comes to my chest, over my heart. “Ouch, Medusa.”
“Wait, what?” Allie asks, but I leave Jo and Allie to squabble while I duck inside to grab a few grams of some legal Canadian shit.
We roll up not too far away and I tell the girls to hang on while I grab some coffees. This gin could use some caffeine. When I get back, they’re huddled close, the Quebec wind harsher than Eden. But when Jo sees me, she straightens up as if I was the topic of conversation. I hand Allie a cappuccino and give Jo her filtered coffee, the way she likes it. Straight up like the badass she is. I like to tease her about her choice but she just doesn’t know the difference between good beans and sewer water.
Allie heads out to grab us breakfast while Jo and I walk along the waterfront.
“It’s beautiful here,” she says, her eyes on the glistening water, her curls swaying in the wind. “Cold. But beautiful.” She shimmies in her boots, shifting her weight as if she’s trying to work up some heat.
That smirk settles on my face, gin letting the words come out as smooth as she looks. “I know one way we can warm up.” Taking her hand, she pulls away, walking over to a long rail in front of the river.
So fucking stubborn.
Following her, I lean against the rail, moving closer to her ear. “You sure you don’t want me to keep you warm?” I ask. “You didn’t mind it last night.”
“Stop.”
“Alright.” Pulling on the rail, I hop over, balancing on the narrow ledge on the other side.
“Damien!” Jo calls, reaching for my arm. She latches on, tugging on it. “The fuck are you doing?!”
The tip of my boots over the edge, my eyes drop to the water below. Blue waves crash against the concrete and I don’t have to jump in to know it’s freezing. Inching further, I let go of the rail, Jo’s grip tightening. She’s the only thing keeping me from diving in.
“If you hate me as much as you say, let me fall, Rowland.”
“What the fuck, Damien? Get down!” She tugs harder, using the rail to help her. “I mean it!”
“Why?” I ask.
A whistle blows in the distance before someone yells our way. He speaks in French, telling me to get down and I assume it’s an officer.
“Are you fucking crazy?” Jo asks, my weight suspended over the water. “I’m not going to Canadian jail for your murder!”
“Why?”
“Damien!”
The whistle blows again before I decide she’s had enough. I’ve made my point. Placing my arm back on the rail, I hop back over to see Jo’s cheeks red, her brows furrowed.
I smirk. “For some reason that sounds better than American jail.” A policeman shakes his head at us before continuing along the trail. “Why didn’t you let me go, Jo?”
She pulls her hoodie over her head, turning on her boots. “Because I’m an idiot.”
“Alright! Egg sandwiches for everyone.” Allie jogs up to us with a few brown bags, reminding me why I’m here. “You guys good? It’s almost time.” She hands one to me and Jo grabs hers, walking ahead without another word.
“We will be,” I say, walking behind her.
To kill time, we stroll through the old town of the city, sandwiches in hand. Jo looks beautiful under the morning sun with the backdrop of old buildings and vintage signs. It’s hard to take my eyes off her and it makes me more determined to man the fuck up and give in to this thing.
Allie’s phone goes off. “Shit,” she says, looking at the screen then at the path behind us. “They’re early. Are you guys ready?”
Perfect. Some alone time with Jo is just what I need.
“I’ll text you when we’re in position.” Taking Jo’s hand, I ignore the spark on my skin, leading her to the hotel I had in mind. They have a rooftop that’ll give us a clear view of the action.
All it takes is giving my name to the front desk attendant for her to give us access. Riding up to the twentieth floor, Jo’s trying not to make eye contact but I see it when she glances my way. I also notice the way her mouth moves when she chews on her cheek. She’s as nervous as I am.
“Woah.” Jo’s face brightens when we make it to the top, the view almost as breathtaking as she is. “Well, hello Montreal!” She turns around, the wind whipping her hair across her face. Church bells ring in the distance like the universe sets the stage.
“My mom loved it here.” This stone-tiled roof is empty, except for us, chairs and benches tucked away to the side for the winter. Approaching her on the rail, it’s hard to take my eyes off that ass but she’s right. It’s beautiful here. “Said she felt like she disappeared to another worl
d without leaving the continent.”
“I mean, we are in another country.” Smartass. She smiles and the rooftop gets brighter. “But I get what she meant.”
Scanning the harbourfront, I’m keeping an eye out for any sign of Lea or her school. Leaning over the rail, I glance at Jo, her gaze on the water, the light making her look like the angel she was to me that night. The angel she is to me every day. She’s a big fucking distraction, but maybe it’s not in a bad way.
“So what the fuck was that last night?”
“Me?” Her eyes shift to mine before they’re back on the city. “You’re the one that came onto me the minute Allie fell asleep.”
“So you didn’t kiss me last night is that it?”
“And still, you didn’t say it.” She turns to me.
“You think that’s all it’ll take, Medusa?” I inch closer. “A kiss? You can’t even say what you want me to say.” I call her on her own bluff and she chews her lip, pushing her hand through the top of her curls.
“You said you loved me.” It startles me when she says it, my muscles freezing. “Why can’t you say it now? Huh?”
You’re weak, Damien.
I can’t get his goddamn voice out of my head.
Don’t be a sucker.
“Does it have to take us both dying to feel that?” she asks. “Because if so, this is all a fucking twisted joke of a relationship. A deadly fucking joke.”
My hand slides over hers on the rail, the chilly wind doing nothing against the warmth she brings me. The pain in her eyes is like a bullet to my gut but I don’t know if I can be the one to admit this first.
“Give me a reason to want to stick with all this,” she says, golden eyes boring into me like she’s pleading. “Give me a reason to know you won’t just leave like everyone el—”
“Jo.” I cut her off before I swallow hard. This is it.
Time to man the fuck up.
Ten