by Penelope Sky
With his hands against the desk, he stared at me, like he knew something was wrong but couldn’t put his finger on it. He searched for an explanation but couldn’t find one, couldn’t figure out this puzzle.
“You think I’m giving you a break. But once I’m out of the picture, the other guys will move in…and you’ll wish you still had me.” It wasn’t a concrete threat. That might happen, that might not happen, but it was the only legitimate explanation I could give. I left it vague on purpose, so he would take it seriously. “You’ll miss me, Damien. You’ll see soon enough.”
Ten
Catalina
I opened the fridge and stared at the contents, unsure what to make for dinner. I hadn’t spoken to Heath all day, but I suspected he would walk in the door at some point, coming into my apartment without needing an invitation.
So, I should probably cook for two.
I wasn’t a talented cook like he was, only able to prepare a few simple things, like salads, sandwiches, mac and cheese, stuff like that. Maybe if I continued to wait, he’d come over and cook himself, fixing my problem altogether.
Like he could read my thoughts, the locks turned in the door, and he stepped inside. “Whatcha doing, baby?” One hand was behind his back as he stepped inside.
“Trying to decide what to make for dinner.” I shut the fridge door then turned to him. “But now that you’re here, I don’t need to worry about it.” I walked up to him, seeing those blue eyes that looked into mine in all my dreams. My hands planted on his chest, and I rose on my tiptoes to kiss him.
He grinned against my lips. “So, you need me for sex and food.”
I had no shame. “Yep.” I pulled away and noticed that his hand was still behind his back. “What are you hiding?”
“Something for you.”
“Ooh…a surprise.” I rubbed my palms together. “I wonder what it is.”
He pulled his hand forward, revealing an arrangement of sunflowers.
I stared at the yellow petals and the deep black color at the center, taking a few seconds to understand what I was looking at. It was almost the end of October, and these kinds of flowers had disappeared a long time ago.
His confidence started to wane, which was a first. “You don’t like them.”
“No,” I said quickly. “I just don’t understand… Where did you find them?” The weather had been dreary and cold, forcing me to ditch my dresses and wear jeans and sweaters, which was so depressing.
“It’s a secret.”
I took the flowers from his hand and brought them to my nose to smell them. They smelled so good, fresh, like it was still summer.
He watched me smell the petals, his blue eyes transfixed on mine. “You’re my sunflower…”
I opened my eyes and looked at him, my fingers holding the long stems.
“You’re my summer—all year-round.”
I lowered the flowers because I couldn’t believe what he’d just said. It was the most romantic thing I’d ever heard, from any movie, book, or anything I saw on social media. And the fact that this rock-hard, cold man said it made it even more romantic. “They’re beautiful…I love them.” I rose on my tiptoes again and kissed him, feeling my heart ache at the gesture. I turned around and grabbed a vase so I could display them on my counter, adding water so they would live a long time. “Thank you.”
He stood on the other side of the kitchen island, staring at me with those blue eyes that reminded me of the summer sky. He watched me shift the flowers in the vase, arranging them perfectly.
“Why is it a secret?”
He shrugged.
“Heath.”
He continued to stare at me with the same intensity, but he dropped his gaze for a moment, as if he was preparing to give his answer. “Remember when I told you I have other residences?”
“Yes.”
“I have a home in the countryside, twenty acres of land.”
I had no idea where this was going. He couldn’t grow them in the countryside because it wasn’t sunny and warm anywhere.
“I built a greenhouse…so I can grow them all year-round for you.” He didn’t look me in the eye as he made his confession, like he was embarrassed to say that out loud, even more irritated to hear himself say it.
I suddenly couldn’t feel my fingers. Couldn’t feel my own heartbeat. I watched him stare at the counter to avoid my gaze, watched him deal with the sudden intensity that had entered the room. Now I couldn’t look at him the same, couldn’t see him as the sexy piece of man that occupied my bed. He was so much more now…I knew he’d always been more. I just didn’t realize.
I moved around the counter and stepped up to him, my hands gripping the sides of his face to force his look on me, to look at me with those blue eyes that were oxygen to my lungs. I pressed my forehead to his chin and closed my eyes, my heart suddenly aching like I was in pain. When I opened my eyes again, I kissed him, kissed him slow and soft.
His arms secured around my waist, and he pulled me close, his large hands digging into me to keep me against his beating heart. He kissed me back, turning into the confident and powerful man I knew. His hands were all over me, his kiss was authoritative.
I jumped up, knowing he would catch me without even looking at me, his mind and body so in sync with mine. His strong arms caught me, and he lifted me onto the island counter, my legs circling his waist.
My hands yanked his shirt over his head, our movements speeding up now that we grew more impatient, more desperate. My nails clawed at his bare back, and I pulled him in to kiss me, my ankles digging into his ass through his jeans.
His lips moved to my neck, and he kissed me as I undid his jeans, his hot breaths in my ear.
I fell into him as he fell into me, getting lost in the storm that surrounded us both. Our dinner was forgotten because neither one of us needed food for sustenance. The only thing we needed was each other—all of each other.
His heavy body was on top of mine, his groan fading away as he finished his orgasm, filling me with his come. His hips flexed slightly, moving his wet dick inside me. His face was close to mine, and he closed his eyes as he recuperated from the pleasure he’d just felt.
My nails were deep in his back, and my crossed ankles were deep against his ass. I kept him close to me because I never wanted him to leave, to pull himself out of me and break this unbelievable connection.
He opened his eyes and looked at me, giving me that intense expression like he wanted to claim me again, even though he already had so many times.
Then my phone started to ring on the nightstand, the noise piercing our silence.
He stared at me.
I didn’t reach for the phone, tuned out the sound of it altogether.
“Are you going to get that?” he whispered.
“No.” My hands slid up his back and into his hair. “I couldn’t care less who’s calling me.” This man was the only thing that mattered right now. Nobody ever called me, so it was probably spam. But even if it wasn’t, I didn’t care.
He started to pull out of me.
My ankles tightened, and I secured him against my body. “No…”
His dick had softened inside me, sheathed in his come as well as mine. He brought his face close to mine again, looking into my gaze.
“I like it when you’re inside me.” I raised my head and kissed his soft lips above mine.
He kissed me back, his hands grabbing mine and pinning them above my head.
Good. I didn’t want to go anywhere.
He held himself on top of me, looking into my face. “We’ve been at this for hours… I need some time.” His dick was always hard for me, but after several sessions and many climaxes, he was done for a while.
“I know. I still like you inside me.”
His eyes turned affectionate.
“I’m hungry…”
He smiled slightly. “I can make something.”
“No.” I squeezed his waist.
“Alri
ght, then I guess we’ll starve.”
“Let’s order a pizza or something.”
“I really don’t mind cooking.”
“I know, but that means you’ll have to leave…”
He continued to look down at me, his hands around my wrists. “I’ll have to leave to answer the door when the pizza arrives.”
“Yeah, but that’s not for at least thirty minutes.”
That slight smile was still on his lips, finding my clinginess endearing rather than annoying. “Alright, let’s order a pizza.”
I pulled out of his grasp and grabbed my phone. There was an app on my phone, so I opened it and quickly ordered something before I tossed it aside.
His eyes hadn’t left mine. “Now what?”
“We just stay like this.”
He leaned down and kissed me on the mouth, rubbing his nose against mine. Then he pulled out of me and rolled over, moving to his back beside me.
I turned to him, snuggling into his side.
He rolled in my direction and hiked my thigh over his hips. We were still close together, lying in my dark apartment because there was nothing else we’d rather be doing. I could do this every moment for the rest of my life, just live in this beautiful bubble.
“What did you order?”
“Margherita.”
“Sounds good.”
My hand moved up his chest until it cupped his cheek, feeling the stubble on his chin. My fingers rubbed across it, feeling the resistance of the thick hair. My fingers touched his lip, stroked his jawline, memorized every detail of his face. “That was really sweet of you…” It was probably the sweetest thing he’d ever done in his entire life.
His eyes didn’t react, but he knew exactly what I referred to.
“This winter won’t be so bad.”
“You’ll never be cold, I can tell you that.” He turned his lips into my hand, kissing the center of my palm.
My hand slipped down to his chest, and I looked into his eyes, so comfortable that I could fall asleep without having dinner at all. My heartbeat was slow, slower than it was when I slept, and I felt like the sunshine was hitting me right in the face, blanketing me with warm light. There were butterflies in the room, a pleasant breeze from the summer season, a glare from the horizon. I was in a different place, lying in a meadow with this man beside me, watching me, holding me.
“What are you thinking about?” His deep voice came out as a whisper, as if it were an apparition in a dream.
“It’s stupid…”
“Nothing you think is stupid.”
My hand moved over his chest as I smiled. “For a second, I thought I was in a meadow…in the sunshine…with butterflies and tall blades of grass. Maybe I fell asleep for a second and fell into a dream.”
His fingers glided up my stomach, his hand outstretched so it covered me entirely. “Your eyes have been open the whole time, baby.”
“Then it wasn’t a dream…it was real.”
After he showered and got ready for the day, he headed to the door. “I have to go, baby.”
The flowers were in the vase on the kitchen island, bright yellow and still blooming, filled with the memory of summer. When the sun was out, those flowers helped me believe it wasn’t sixty degrees outside, but swelteringly hot instead. “No.” I moved in front of the door, blocking it with my body.
He tried not to laugh at my pathetic attempt to keep him here. “You know I would stay if I could.”
I moved into his chest and wrapped my arms around his neck. “Please…”
He sighed deeply, like he might abandon everything just to stay with me. “Don’t make this hard for me.”
“No, I’m going to.” I kissed him good on the mouth, giving him openmouthed kisses that would entice him to come back to bed with me.
He almost fell for it, but he pulled his lips away and saw reason. “Nice try. You almost got me.” He cupped my cheeks and kissed my forehead before he moved to the door. “I’ve got a lot to do today. Come over later tonight.”
“When will you be home?”
He shrugged. “Sometime after seven.”
“Alright.” Sometimes I wished he lived with me. That way, I would see him every single day; I would never have to go long until he walked through the door again.
His hand moved into my hair, and he placed his forehead against mine. He kept it there for a long time, closing his eyes as he held me in my entryway. Then he kissed me goodbye, a gentle kiss that didn’t linger and turn into more.
“Bye.” I watched him walk out and shut the door behind himself.
I stood there, devastated, as if he’d just walked out of my life for good.
Patricia let me inside. “Hey, Catalina. I’ll let your father know you’re here.”
“Actually, I’m just here to see my brother. Has he come home yet?”
“About thirty minutes ago.” She stood in jeans and a nice blouse, looking nothing like a housekeeper when she wore cute clothes like that.
“Anna?”
“She hasn’t come home yet.” She examined my face, knowing something was wrong. “Everything alright, honey?”
“Yeah, just a long day.” I turned to the stairs. “I’ll let myself up.”
“Alright. Your father is taking a nap anyway. He’ll probably be awake by the time you’re finished.”
I took the stairs to the third floor. There was a maroon rug down the long hallway, over the dark hardwood floor. The right side was all windows and paintings in between, and the guest bedrooms were on another floor.
I approached the door but didn’t knock.
I almost turned around and left.
But I stood there, determined to do this, determined to have this conversation. I knocked.
“Yeah?” His response was immediate.
I opened the door and poked my head inside.
He sat at the dining table with his laptop in front of him, shirtless because he never seemed to wear clothes when he was home. It reminded me of Heath, who was hardly ever dressed when we stayed in together. “Is this a bad time?”
He shut his laptop. “Why don’t you ever call before you stop by?”
“You never tell me you’re coming to my performances. You just show up.”
“That’s a public event—not my private home.” He got out of the chair and walked inside his closet.
I took that as an invitation and sank into the chair across from his.
When he returned, his naked chest was covered by a gray shirt. His eyes didn’t give me any warmth before he sat across from me. Last time we saw each other, he offered to let me move in, to buy me my own place, but now he was back to business as usual. “I think Dad’s taking a nap.”
“Yeah, that’s what Patricia told me.”
He pushed the laptop aside and looked out the window for a second. “Nice to see you in jeans and a sweater.” He turned back to me.
“Yeah. I’m comfortable.”
He cocked his head slightly to the side, looking into my face as if he saw something he needed to hang on to. “Something wrong, Cat?”
Now that I was face-to-face with him, looking into my mother’s eyes, seeing so much of myself in him, I was more nervous than before. There was time to turn back, to abandon this idea, but I continued to sit there. “Actually, there’s something I wanted to talk to you about…”
He cocked his head again, his eyes even more focused than they were before.
“I need you to do me a favor.”
“Anything,” he said immediately. “Whatever you want.”
That was a good answer. “Alright… I need you to stay calm. I need you to listen to everything I have to say, to remember that I’m your sister, that I wouldn’t come to you with this unless it was important to me.”
His eyes narrowed slightly. “Jesus…” He looked away for a moment, sighing loudly as he prepared for whatever bomb I was about to drop on his shoulders. His fingers pinched the bridge of his nose before he dra
gged his fingers to his lips.
“Damien.”
“Please don’t tell me you’re pregnant…”
I shot him a glare. “Damien, I’m being serious.”
“So, you aren’t pregnant?” he asked.
“No,” I snapped.
He released a sigh, like that was the thing he was most afraid of.
“Promise me.”
“You’re scaring me, sis.”
“Well…it’s not good news.”
He looked away again, taking a deep breath before he turned to me. After a few seconds, he was still, collected, ready. “Please tell me you aren’t sick—”
“Nothing like that.”
He relaxed further, his hands coming together in his lap as he regarded me. He gave me a slight nod, an invitation to speak.
Now, I had the floor.
Fuck, I had the floor. “Alright…I don’t know where to start.”
He stayed quiet, doing as I asked by staying calm and patient. His green eyes were glued to mine, still like a living statue.
“Well, I’m seeing someone.”
All he did was take a breath.
“And I really like him. We’ve been seeing each other for a while…and he makes me happy.”
Damien kept the same expression. “But I’m not going to like him, am I?”
I shook my head. “No…”
He curled his bottom lip into his mouth as he made a strained expression, like he was doing everything he could to follow my directions. “Who is he?”
I didn’t want to say. I knew Damien wouldn’t be able to keep his word once the name was in the air. “Heath…”
Damien had no reaction whatsoever—as if he were in shock.
“I know you have your differences. I know you have your reasons to dislike him. But as your sister…I’m asking you to let that go. This is the man I want to be with. I know you love me, and I love you…and I need you to do this for me. Please.”
Damien still didn’t react. Didn’t even take a breath. His eyes hadn’t blinked once, and he continued to stare at me, his green eyes like two probes looking into mine.