by V. T. Do
I obliged, bending down so that I could capture her lips in a searing kiss, loving the way she melted underneath me, loving the way she moved with me, as if we were made for each other.
“Come with me,” I said, needing to see her fall apart in my arms.
“Wyatt.” So much meaning in that one word. I knew what she wanted.
I moved my hand down and pressed on her clit. I played with it until she squirming beneath me, trying to find the release she so desperately wanted. She nearly shot off the bed before she came with a shout, and I soon followed.
After, I buried my face in her neck, licking away the dampness from her skin. If only we could stay like this forever. With no intrusion from the outside world. I couldn’t think of anything better.
We showered together afterward, and I took her again, pressed her delicate body up against the glass door and fucked her so hard, there was a condensation outline of her body there when I was done. I couldn’t get enough of her.
I wanted to mark her in every way possible, to let her know she was mine and no one else’s. That no one could make her feel the way I did.
I wanted to keep her. Own her. Use her. Worship her. Love her.
I wouldn’t have let us leave had Emery not looked so excited about lunch with Cole and Joey. So we quietly dressed, Emery stealing glances at me every once in a while, and I couldn’t decide if the looks she gave me were good or bad.
We walked out hand in hand, and though there was always this contentment between us, the silence in the air today was full of meaning. Emery had always been the silent type, reserved in a way that might come across as cold to other people. I’d never needed her to be different, but at this moment, I wished she was someone who spoke what was on her mind.
We pulled up to the restaurant, and I parked my car next to Cole’s. Before Emery could open the door and get out, I pulled her toward me and kissed her. Kissed her like it was a dying man’s last wish, kissed her like I was starved for a taste of her, and kissed her with a desperation I hoped she didn’t feel.
She smiled at me when I pulled away. “What was that for?”
“I just had to kiss you,” I answered, because that was the truth.
She smiled, running her fingers through my hair before opening the door and getting out. I stayed where I was for a beat, and then got out of the car. I grabbed her hand, and we walked inside the restaurant, where it was warm.
We spotted Cole and Joey right away. They were sitting on a raised platform on the left side of the restaurant, side by side in a booth, whispering to each other.
A pang of envy flashed through me so quickly, I stuttered in my steps with surprise. I think I was more envious of their relationship because of how easy it was than of their relationship itself. Emery and I were intimate. There were times when I would look at her and couldn’t help but think how wonderful it felt to have her.
But our relationship was anything but easy. There were problems we didn’t talk about, when we should. There was this dark cloud in the shape of Joseph Caldwell hanging over our heads, waiting for the moment we were at our weakest to strike.
Emery looked back, her hand tightening around mine, as if trying to reassure me that everything would be okay. I gave her a small smile back. One I didn’t feel.
We got to the table, but before we could take our seats, Joey stood up and sat on the other side of the booth, pulling Emery in with her. I caught Cole’s grin as I took the seat next to him. “I guess they want to sit next to each other,” I said.
“I think they’re only doing that so they can talk to each other about us.”
I shook my head, doubtful. “We’re not that interesting.”
“Speak for yourself. Joey has stories about me that would make your Emery blush.”
As if on cue, Emery’s cheeks turned bright red. Interesting. “I think Joey has already shared some of her stories.”
Cole laughed. Joey pointed at me with a nail-bitten finger. “Don’t think you’re off the hook. Emery has told me some pretty impressive things about you too.”
Emery slammed her hands down on the table. “I have not!”
Joey shot her a wicked grin. “Oh, yes, you have. Remember how you told me Wyatt likes...?” Her words were cut off when Emery covered her mouth. I was damn relieved. Cole’s laughter drowned out what Emery said to Joey.
“I didn’t go into details,” Emery told me, as if she was afraid I might be embarrassed. I still couldn’t decide whether I minded her talking to Joey about our sex life.
“You can repay me later,” I said. Joey’s eyes widened, and she looked like she really wanted to say something then, but couldn’t, since Emery’s hand was still covering her mouth.
Cole looked at me. “Are you telling me Wyatt is into kinky sex?”
Joey nodded while Emery shook her head. In the end, I did what I wanted to do. I laughed with Cole. “How about we stop talking about each other’s sex lives?”
“Agreed,” Emery said. I smirked. She kicked me under the table. I took a drink of my water, and for once, just enjoyed the time I had with her that wasn’t filled with doubt about our future.
Cole caught my attention when he tapped his knuckles on the table in front of me. “How did the meeting on Friday go?”
“Hard to say. You know they’re playing cat and mouse,” I said, referring to my meeting with our bankroller.
The project we wanted to do required more than just the couple million that we could dig up ourselves. But talking to investors was something neither of us liked to do, yet it was difficult to avoid. Our projects were getting bigger and bigger every year. Trying to leave our mark on the world had always been a challenge. One we excelled at, and this was no different. But the courting of investors was a tedious thing.
Cole let out a frustrated groan. “God, I am so sick of jumping through hoops.”
“You don’t think I am? I’d give anything—”
“Hey, this is lunch. Can you save the office talk for when you’re actually in the office?” Joey interrupted. I looked at Emery. She smiled.
“Aw, do you need me to pay attention to you?” Cole asked Joey.
“No, I just want you to talk about things that Emery and I can participate in.”
“Babe, I told you about the meeting, remember?”
She reached across the table and tapped his nose. “And?”
Cole opened his mouth, then shut it at the last minute. That was a smart move. Even I didn’t miss the fire in her eyes. “Nothing.”
The waitress came back with Cole and Joey’s drink order. It was a little early for alcohol, but hell, with the way I had been feeling these days, it didn’t seem like such a bad idea. Joey’s drink was something colorful. It wasn’t something I thought she would enjoy.
“What’s that?” Emery asked after the waitress took our order. Emery and I didn’t order alcohol.
“This is their special.”
“A special at twelve thirty in the afternoon?”
“It looked so pretty when the girl at the other table ordered it. I couldn’t resist.”
“Tell her what they call it,” Cole said to Joey.
“A Unicorn’s Drink.”
Cole laughed. I elbowed him in the stomach, and the action caught Emery’s attention. He grunted in pain. Emery frowned at me. “Don’t you like the name?”
“I do. It’s nothing,” I said. “Cole is just being Cole.”
Emery and Joey shared a look before Joey said, “We’re missing something.”
“Who do you think is the unicorn? Me or you?” Emery asked Joey. I could kill Cole.
“No one is the unicorn.”
“Not anymore,” Cole muttered so low that only I heard it.
Everything went back to normal after that. We were easily the loudest group in the restaurant, and I was surprised we weren’t kicked out by the manager. Perhaps it was the alcohol that made Joey loud and bold. Otherwise she wouldn’t have brought up Erin.
“I heard your aunt came for a visit. I met her,” she told me. Emery got quiet. I knew Emery had told Joey about the disastrous meeting between her and my aunt, but I wondered why Joey would bring it up now.
“You did?”
“Yeah. She came to visit Cole, and I was there. She seemed nice. Though she reminds me of someone. I just don’t know who.”
Cole and I shared a look, heavy with meaning. Would Joey guess it? Would she be the one to give my secrets away before I could? I didn’t know.
“Who?” Emery asked, a quiet curiosity in her voice that put me on edge. I didn’t think she would be curious about my aunt at all.
“I don’t know. Just someone. It’s her eyes, you see. They’re familiar.”
“They are? I mean, green eyes aren’t very common, are they?” Emery asked, turning her green eyes to me.
I smiled. “I’m sure you’re seeing things. People look like each other. That happens all the time.”
Cole tensed beside me, though he remained quiet, and for that I was grateful. These were things I needed to talk to Emery about alone. I didn’t want any interference.
“Sure,” Joey said, entirely unconvinced. “I have to go to the bathroom. Emery, why don’t you come with me?”
Cole and I watched the girls leave. I waited until they were out of sight before turning to him. “What’s with you?”
“What’s with me? Don’t you think it’s time you tell her?”
I looked away, playing with a straw wrapper on the table. “I know,” I said finally. “I’m just trying to find the right time.”
“When it comes to things like this, there is no right time.”
“You don’t think I know that?” I asked, suddenly angry. Of course I knew that. I’d known it all along. I was an idiot to think it was best to put it off. And now, I couldn’t make the words come out.
I couldn’t think of the right thing to say to make her understand why I’d done it. It made sense to me at the time, but now I couldn’t justify my actions to her. I couldn’t even justify them to myself.
“Emery is looking into her grandpa’s past.”
I sat up a little straighter. “What do you mean?”
“I mean just that. I don’t know why she’s suddenly so interested. Joey wouldn’t tell me. And to be honest, I don’t think Joey would have said anything to me at all—she just blurted it out when she was trying to figure out what I knew about what happened between you and Joseph.”
“What am I going to do?”
“You tell her. Stop making excuses. Emery deserves to know.”
“I know that. I—” I stopped talking when I spotted the girls. They sat down, quieter than usual. I reached across the table for Emery’s hand. “You okay?”
“Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“You’re quiet.”
She shot me a smile. “I’m always quiet. That doesn’t say much.”
Cole chuckled. “That you are.”
She squeezed my hand before letting go. The rest of our conversation was less intense, as we did everything we could to avoid talking about anything that had to do with my aunt or her grandpa. And though things seemed to be getting back to normal, the distance I had been afraid would grow between Emery and me was happening before my very eyes. I didn’t know what to do. I needed to feel her in my arms again. To bring her over the edge of pleasure. To know there were things that only I could give her.
The urge became almost unbearable. So I took out my phone and texted her.
Me: Meet me in the bathroom.
Emery looked up at me when she read the text, and though I could see her uncertainty, I could also see her desire. She wanted this as much as I did.
I was getting hard just from seeing that sweet little blush on her face, imagining her squirming against me as I fucked her against the bathroom stall. I needed her more than I needed my next breath.
She took a sip of water, her hands unsteady. I hid my smile by looking back down at the table. I didn’t think Joey or Cole noticed, considering they were too busy debating politics, and when Emery excused herself to go to the restroom, I waited a minute before I followed.
There were three bathrooms—the men’s room, the women’s, and a family one. I went to the family one, and I knocked on the door. There was moment of doubt when she didn’t open it right away. Then the door opened, revealing her face, and my doubt quickly vanished, replaced by desire for her.
I wasn’t good with words, and I sometimes found myself at a loss for what to say to her, but when it came to our physical interaction with each other and to her body language, I wasn’t just good at communicating, I was fluent.
I pushed her inside and locked the door, the lock echoing within the small bathroom, then I pushed her against the wall across from the mirror. Emery turned her head to watch our reflection.
“This will have to be quick, baby,” I whispered against her ear, my hands moving down to the waistband of her jeans. I pushed the barriers between us out of the way until it was just us, skin to skin, and urged her to wrap her legs around my waist. Then I moved inside of her.
We both let out a groan at the same time, and as I moved, Emery kept her eyes on our reflection, her emerald irises darkening with arousal. I sucked on the skin where her neck and shoulder met, leaving my mark there. I wanted to see my mark.
“Tell me you need me, Emery,” I said.
Confusion knitted her brow as she turned her eyes my way then. “What?”
“Tell me you need me. Tell me you can’t breathe without me,” I grunted out. I couldn’t be the only one in our relationship feeling like this. I just couldn’t.
Her brows pulled together in a frown, but instead of telling me those things, she said, “Wyatt, please. Go faster. I need you to move faster.”
I shook my head, unwilling to give her the release she so desperately wanted until I heard the words I so desperately needed. “Say it, Emery.”
“Or what? You won’t let me come?”
“Say the words,” I said. And please mean them.
“Wyatt.” I could hear the frustration in her voice. But I needed to know that we were strong enough not to break.
I slowed my pace until I was barely moving against her at all. “Emery.” Could she hear the pleading in my voice? Couldn’t she see the desperate man I’d become?
“You want to make me vulnerable to you,” she cried. I didn’t deny it. I wanted her to be as vulnerable to me as I was to her. So I played with her clit. She arched her back and cried out in frustration. “You can’t use sex to get me to open up.”
I laughed like the bastard I was. “Oh, baby, but I can. I’m doing it right now.”
“That’s not fair! Move, Wyatt, please.”
“Say it.” I moved again at a torturous pace, trying to get her to say those words.
“I need you, Wyatt. Are you happy? I need you so goddamn much that I can barely think straight. You made me into this. It’s all your fault how vulnerable I’ve become. All your fucking fault!”
Finally.
I moved then with only one goal in mind. To bring her to the height of her release. And when I did, I couldn’t get my fill of her. I couldn’t stop looking at her, couldn’t stop touching her. She squeezed around me, and that was my undoing. I came so hard, I could barely see straight.
It took a while for us to gather our senses. We were both breathing hard, our skin sweaty from the exertion, and I could feel the heavy pounding of her heart against me.
“I don’t want to need you, Wyatt. I fucking hate how desperate I am to keep you.”
“Baby, you have me. I’m not going anywhere.”
“Aren’t you? You know how much it would break me if you did, don’t you?” Her lips trembled, and it was taking everything I had not to kiss it away.
“I’m not,” I said, moving my lips softly over hers.
“I love you,” she said, and though they were said softly, the words sounded loud to my ears.
She nodded, a sea of vulnerability laid out before me. Her fingers moved restlessly up and down the skin on my forearm. “Do you love... Have you fallen for me?”
Fallen for me, she’d asked me. As if she couldn’t bring herself to say the words “love me.”
I shook my head. “Baby, I didn’t just fall in love with you.” I pushed away a fiery red strand of hair clinging to her sweaty forehead. I had always been fascinated with her hair. The red was so explosive against someone so put together most of the time. What a beautiful contradiction.
Smiling, I said, “I ran with my eyes wide open.”
Tears sprung to her eyes, but then she let out a small laugh, and for a moment, I thought everything was going to be okay. That we would be, no matter what.
How wrong I was.
Chapter Thirty-Two: How Silent We Break
Emery
“She reminds me of someone.”
It wasn’t until Joey said it that I realized how much that was true. Not because Erin felt familiar to me. But that, physically, she reminded me of someone. And I couldn’t point to who. Or perhaps I didn’t want to.
But the thought would not leave me alone. Wyatt’s aunt reminded me of someone. And didn’t that just put a damper on things, considering I had just confessed to loving Wyatt. He told me he loved me too.
It was with that confession that I wholeheartedly admitted to myself how much I wanted us to work out. That I needed for us to last, and I would sacrifice all else to make it happen, even the relationship I had with my aunt.
Joey and I waited inside the restaurant while Wyatt and Cole started the cars. I didn’t want to get into a freezing car at this time of the year, so I didn’t mind waiting. We looked out through the window at the slight flutter of snow falling from the grayish sky.
“Should we talk about what happened in the bathroom?” Joey asked.
I felt my face burning up as I kept my attention focused outside. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“Please. It was so obvious just from looking at you. If you had kept your cool like Wyatt, I might only be suspicious, but once I saw your face, I knew you guys had snuck off to have sex.”
