“Claire?”
He cleared his throat. “Hey. It’s Blake.”
Silence answered him.
“I know you don’t want to talk to me, but—”
“So you decided to use Claire’s phone to call me?”
“Would you have answered if I’d called from my own?”
She let out a heavy sigh. “Yes, Blake. I would have. I was thinking about calling you.”
“You were?”
Claire moved, and her head slammed against the door jamb. Her eyes opened briefly before fluttering shut.
He groaned. “Claire is drunk, sleeping on my front steps as we speak. I need to get her back to her dorm.”
“Why don’t you put her on your couch?”
“Her roommate is with her. I don’t know this girl, and I’m not taking two nineteen-year-olds up to my apartment overnight.” He could imagine the headlines if Sam’s parents flipped out.
“What about a cab or an Uber?”
“They’re in bad shape. If I stuck them in a car with a stranger, and then something happened to them…”
“No, I guess that’s not a good idea either.” She paused. “What do you need me to do?”
“Come over. Help me get them home, so I don’t look like some thirty-year-old pervert carrying two drunk girls back to their dorm after who knows what.”
Sydney chuckled. “You’re her cousin. You won’t look like a pervert.”
“You know she insists we aren’t related, and anyway…” He ran a hand over his mouth, covering it to muffle the sound. “She tried to kiss me.”
“She tried to kiss you?” She sounded incredulous.
He looked at his cousin’s kid leaning against the doorjamb, a line of drool dripping from the corner of her mouth. How the hell did he get himself into a situation like this? “She didn’t try. She did kiss me.”
“Seriously?” Jealousy laced her voice, and if he hadn’t been so disgusted by the thought of kissing Claire, he might have been flattered.
“I need your help, Syd.” God, he needed her.
“Hang tight. I’m on my way.”
Claire lay passed out in Blake’s lap as Sydney rolled to a stop in front of the museum. The other girl sat on a lower step, leaning back and resting her head on Claire’s hip.
Sydney had been mulling over her new premonition and her situation with Blake for two hours, and her insides were tied tighter than a sailor’s knot. She’d briefly considered telling Blake he was on his own, so she could continue working out her issues by herself. But if something happened to him while he was trying to get these girls safely home, she’d never forgive herself.
So, here she was, sitting in her car in front of his house while he attempted to wrangle two drunk teenagers to their feet. Shoving her emotions aside, she climbed out of her seat and met him on the sidewalk, slipping Claire’s arm over her shoulder as they guided her to the car. The musty scents of stale cigarettes and cheap alcohol assaulted her senses, making her eyes water.
“Sydney, you came back.” Claire let go of Blake, throwing her other arm around Sydney’s neck.
She stumbled, but Blake opened the car door and pried Claire’s arms apart, lowering her into the back seat.
“How much did they drink?” Sydney straightened her shirt and stepped toward the other girl.
“Not that much, and before you lecture me too, I have special nail polish.” Claire wiggled her fingers. “Nobody drugged my drinks.” She scooted across the seat, making room for her friend. “Sam, get your ass in the car,” she yelled before dropping her head back on the headrest, her mussed dark hair falling across her face as she turned sideways.
“I’m coming.” Sam clambered to her feet, and Blake took her elbow, guiding her in before shutting the door.
He turned to Sydney. “Thank you for doing this.” Five words left his lips, but the pain in his eyes could have filled a novel.
A lump formed in Sydney’s throat as he held her gaze, her chest tightening to the point she could hardly breathe. She’d hurt him. Again. All he’d wanted was to be with her, and she’d shoved him away under the guise that it was for his protection, when in reality, she’d been protecting herself.
She was scared, terrified of losing him again, and it had taken her conversation with Claire earlier that evening to make her realize it. People went away. They moved out, moved on, made mistakes…died. It was a fact of life, and it would happen whether Sydney could see it coming or not. She couldn’t continue pushing people away when she knew they might not be in her life forever.
She’d stopped talking to her dad when she’d first discovered he was going to cheat. When she’d learned of Courtney’s impending death, she’d distanced herself from one of her closest friends, hoping to make the end less painful. It didn’t work. Breaking up with Blake in college, before he had the chance to stand her up, hadn’t made losing him any less painful either.
The window slid down, and Sam stuck her head through. “I don’t feel very good.”
Blake nodded toward the car. “We better get them home.”
“Yeah, I’d rather not have to clean vomit out of my back seat.” She gave his arm a squeeze and hurried around to the driver’s side.
They were silent on the short drive to the university dorms, and Sydney clutched the steering wheel tightly, fighting the urge to reach for Blake and tell him how sorry she was. It seemed like all she did was apologize to this man.
She pulled up next to the sidewalk in front of Claire’s building and turned around to look over the seat. “Can you ladies walk in? If we have to carry you, you might get into trouble with your resident advisor.”
“Yeah, we’re fine. Thanks for the ride.” Claire fumbled with the latch before pushing the door open.
“I’ll walk up with you.” Sydney slid out of the car and helped Sam to her feet, holding her arm until she was steady. “I’ll be right back,” she said to Blake before shutting the door.
She walked between them, occasionally placing her hand on their backs to remind them to at least pretend they had this under control. Sam used her student ID to open the front doors, and a flight of stairs loomed directly in front of them as they entered the drab beige building.
“What floor are you on?” Sydney tensed, expecting them to say the third and wondering how in hell she’d get them both up without causing a scene.
“Right down this hall.” Claire stumbled ahead and threw open the third door on the right. Sydney and Sam followed her inside.
In typical freshman dorm fashion, two twin-size beds sat against opposing walls, with not much more than a walkway running between them. A desk and small closet stood at the end of each bed, and a bathroom, shared with the neighboring room, sat off to the right.
Claire plopped onto her bed and grabbed a handful of pink beads from her desk. “Somebody broke my necklace.” She frowned at the mess. “Blake gave this to me. They’re dicks.”
Sydney eyed the beads still on the table, which were, in fact, tiny pink dicks. “That was…nice of him.”
“But now it’s broken.”
“Thanks for bringing us home.” Sam face-planted on her bed and started snoring.
“Right. Well, get some sleep. Good night, Claire.”
Claire waved, and Sydney slipped into the hallway, closing the door behind her before making her way to the parking lot.
As she slid into the driver’s seat, Blake turned to face her, his deep, blue eyes saying so much more than his words. “They made it to their room?”
She fought a smile. “You gave Claire a dick necklace, and then you wondered why she kissed you?”
His eyes widened, his mouth opening and closing a few times before he answered, “A bachelorette party stopped me on the street a while back and put it on me. Claire saw it and wanted it, so I gave it to her.” He held up his hands. “I swear to God nothing has or ever will happen between me and Claire. She’s my cousin’s kid, for Christ’s sake.”
&nb
sp; Sydney laughed, more at herself for the ridiculous stab of jealousy she felt. She didn’t actually believe Blake had any interest in Claire, but the fact that she’d kissed him, even in a drunken stupor, had woken Sydney up to how stupid she was for pushing Blake away. If she pushed any harder, she might send him into someone else’s arms, and she obviously wouldn’t handle that very well.
“I know.” She shifted into drive and pulled out of the parking lot.
They didn’t talk on the drive back to Blake’s apartment either, but a static charge seemed to build between them, waiting for one of them to light the match and set everything ablaze. She glanced at him, and he inhaled a quick breath like he wanted to speak, but he merely smiled and shook his head.
As she turned onto St. Ann Street and approached his building, he finally broke the silence. “Do you want to come in?”
“Yeah.” Her answer came without thought. Yes, she wanted to come in. Yes, she wanted to be with him. Yes, she wanted it all.
She parked behind the building and followed him up the stairs to his living room. As he dropped his keys into a bowl by the door, he gestured to the couch before sitting on the edge.
Sinking down next to him, she angled her body toward his. “Blake.”
He said her name at the same time, and they laughed awkwardly. “Let me go first.” He took her hand. “I know about the rabbit vision and the possibility of me getting shot.”
“Blake, I…”
“Let me finish, please.” He sandwiched her hand between both of his, and comforting warmth permeated her skin. “I don’t care what your visions are telling you about how long my life is going to be or who will be to blame if it ends. I don’t want to live another minute without you. I know what it feels like to lose you, and I can feel it happening again, and I just can’t…I won’t allow it to happen this time.”
He searched her eyes as the electric charge building between them intensified. “I want to be with you for however long forever happens to be for us. Whether it’s two more days or fifty more years, I want to spend every second of it with you. I love you, Sydney.”
Tears welled in her eyes, and a sob bubbled up from somewhere deep inside her. Those were exactly the words she wanted to hear. Words that reached into her heart, wrapping around her soul and putting in roots. “I love you too, Blake. I’m sorry for pushing you away.” She lowered her gaze to their entwined hands.
“It’s okay. Hey, look at me.” He lifted her chin. “I get it, okay? You’re used to handling things by yourself. You’ve carried the burden of your premonitions all your life, with no one to talk to, but you don’t have to bear it alone anymore. You have me now.”
“Thank you,” she whispered.
“Whatever you see, good or bad, we’ll tackle it together.” He wiped the tear from her cheek with his thumb. “All I ask is that you promise to keep me in the loop. Let me help you with your visions. For real this time.”
Her bottom lip trembled. She needed to tell him about the new one. That now it seemed her own life would be cut short too. Instead, she pressed her lips to his.
Talking could wait. Right now, she needed to be with him. To show him how much she appreciated his understanding, his compassion, his love. She coaxed his lips apart with her tongue, and he moaned, leaning into her and wrapping his arms around her.
The end-of-the-day scruff around his mouth was coarse, contrasting with the softness of his lips, and as he kissed along her jaw and down her neck, she reveled in the masculine, scratchy, tickling sensation on her skin. He nipped at her earlobe, sending goose bumps running down her arms. The warmth of his breath made her shiver, and as she slipped her hands beneath his shirt, the juxtaposition of soft skin and hard muscles made heat pool below her navel.
He pulled away to look at her, his intense blue eyes stripping her bare, penetrating into her soul. Blake got her. He understood what it was like to have an ability nobody could comprehend. He sensed the burden she carried on her shoulders, and he lifted it, taking some of the weight onto his own back, giving her a sense of reprieve she’d never experienced before.
There couldn’t be a more perfect match for her. He was kind, gentle, and hotter than hellfire on a flaming baton.
“I want you, Blake. I want to be with you now and always, and I promise not to push you away again.”
“You have no idea how happy I am to hear that.” His chest rumbled, his voice thick with need.
She kissed him again, grabbing at his shirt and tugging it over his head before removing her own. Then she climbed into his lap, straddling him, exploring his mouth with her tongue as she removed her bra and tossed it aside.
His dick hardened beneath her, and she ground against him, her hands roaming over his body, memorizing the way he felt beneath her fingertips. Scooting back, she popped the button on his jeans and slid down the zipper before slipping her hand into the denim and rubbing the stiff mound through his boxer-briefs.
He groaned, pulling her mouth to his for another kiss. God, this man was irresistible. She’d been an idiot to try and stay away from him. She needed him like she needed air to breathe.
Sliding off his lap, she dropped to her knees and worked his clothes over his hips. As she got him completely naked, she sat back on her heels, admiring the cuts and dips of his muscles, the smoothness of his skin, and the sprinkling of hair across his chest. The thin, white scar from his appendectomy shone in the light, and her chest tightened with regret. She would never leave him again. She gripped his dick, giving it two firm strokes that made his eyelids flutter before letting go and shimmying out of her clothes.
His eyes smoldered as he watched her, his gaze caressing her body as he swept it down her form. “I am a lucky man.”
“You’re about to get luckier.” She dropped to her knees and ran her hands up his thighs to his stomach. As she grazed her lips along his length, he inhaled a deep breath and held it, his muscles tightening in anticipation.
She licked his tip, and his breath came out in a hiss, sending tingles down her spine. Parting her lips, she took him in, gliding her mouth up and down his cock as he gripped her shoulders.
He moaned and dropped his head back on the couch as she sucked him, his breathing growing heavy, his hands roaming over her arms, her shoulders, her neck. As her teeth grazed his sensitive flesh, he sucked in a sharp breath and whispered, “Oh, Sydney.”
She shivered.
Releasing his dick, she climbed into his lap, taking his mouth with hers. She moved against him, and he held her hips, rocking his own to increase the friction. An electric sensation zipped through her abdomen, and a lustful moan escaped her throat.
“Condoms are in the bedroom,” he whispered.
“I’m on birth control.” She leaned back, looking into his eyes. “I need you, Blake.”
“I’m yours.”
Lifting her hips, she guided him to her folds and lowered onto his cock. A pleasurable ache spread through her core as their bodies met, and she paused, memorizing the moment, the way they fit together, his delicious, musky scent, the feel of his hands on her body.
She loved him, and he loved her. The realness of it sank in as she looked into his eyes, and tears welled in her own. Her visions be damned, in this moment, she was tearing down her walls and giving herself to this man…for however long forever happens to be. Love was about the journey. Screw the destination.
Cupping his face in her hands, she kissed him hard, pouring her emotions into their lovemaking as she moved her hips, sliding up and down his dick and creating a sensuous friction that drove her closer and closer to the edge.
He stroked her clit with his thumb, thrusting into her with urgency, claiming her as his own.
And she was his for the taking.
Her climax built in her core, the pressure intensifying like a river behind a dam. As the levee broke, she cried out, her orgasm rolling through her body, setting her nerves on fire. She buried her face in his neck as he gripped her hips, thrusti
ng until he found his release.
His body shuddered, and she leaned into him, closing her eyes and reveling in the feel of his arms wrapped around her, their bodies still joined in an intimate union she wasn’t ready to break.
“God, I missed you.” He tightened his arms around her, strengthening his hold on her heart. “Never leave me again.”
Thoughts of her vision invaded her mind, tightening her throat. “I might not have a choice.”
Chapter Seventeen
“I had another vision. A new one.”
Blake’s stomach soured as he slid beneath the sheets next to Sydney. Lying on her side, her head propped on her hand, she picked at the seam of the pillowcase, refusing to make eye contact.
“What, umm…” He swallowed hard, dread forming a tight knot in his throat. “Did you see how it’s going to happen? How I’m going to die?”
She gave her head a tiny shake. “It was another funeral. This time, I was in the coffin.”
“No.” A spark of anger ignited in his chest. No way in hell would he let the woman he loved wind up in a coffin. “Unless you saw yourself at eighty years old, that’s not going to happen. I won’t allow it.”
She pressed her lips together, her brow knitting as she lifted her gaze to his. “I wasn’t eighty.”
He scooted closer to her, entwining his legs with hers and clutching her hand. “What can I do to help? Do you need more sessions with Natasha? I’ll pay for them if you do. Or do you need time off to meditate more? I can rearrange the tour schedule. Whatever you need, name it, and it’s done.”
She sighed. “I’m not sure there’s anything either of us can do. I’ve meditated myself into a stupor, done all the exercises the priestess gave me. It would take years to develop this ability the way I would need to in order to have that kind of control.” She sounded resigned to her fate, as if she’d accepted that both their lives were coming to an end, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.
But Blake was just getting started. “I’m not going to let you die.”
“I don’t want to die. I don’t want either of us to.”
Love & Omens Page 18
