Loving Violet

by Terri Anne Browning

  Shaw wrapped her arms around me and started rubbing my back soothingly. “Ah, Vi. I know you’re still sensitive over the whole thing, but just listen to me. Okay?” I gave a small nod, and she pulled back to look down at me. “He didn’t cheat on you. Megan set that whole thing up. And in the past two months, I’ve watched him like a hawk. Well, I’ve had Jagger watching him like a hawk for me. Whatever—I’ve had eyes on him. He doesn’t even look that bitch’s way. She’s tried to talk to him countless times, and he won’t give her two seconds of his attention. He loves you, Violet. And he’s trying to make this right between you two. You’re scared and I get that, but this is Luca we’re talking about. I’d be scared of him doing a lot of shit, but not hurting you again.”

  “Really?” She gave me a skeptical look, and I sighed before confirming, “He hasn’t talked to her once?”

  “No, babe. Not once.”

  I gasped at the sound of his voice right behind me. Turning, I found him standing in the doorway, looking at me with the same hunger that had been in his eyes Saturday at Nevaeh’s party.

  “Luca…” But before I could get out more than his name, he bent and tossed me over his shoulder, making me squeal.

  “Thanks, Shaw.” I heard the earnestness in his voice, and my heart melted a little. Until he slapped me on the ass and carried me out to his SUV.

  The passenger door opened, and I was deposited in the seat. Grabbing the seat belt, he locked it into place around me and then cupped both sides of my head. “You have a really smart best friend,” he told me as his amber eyes locked with mine. “Listen to her more often.”

  A grin teased at my lips, but before it could fully form, he leaned in and kissed me.

  It was only our second kiss, but good lord did it rock my world. My hands clawed at him, wanting to pull him closer, needing to feel all of him against me as his taste exploded on my tongue, and in that moment, I knew exactly what I wanted.

  Him.

  Us.

  Forever.

  I wanted everything.

  But more than that, I knew I didn’t want to spend another second being miserable without him.

  When he lifted his head, we were both struggling to catch our breath. “Can I take you to dinner?”

  Touching my kiss-swollen lips, I found myself nodding.

  “Is it okay if we eat somewhere else? I don’t want to be around Cannon.” Again, I nodded, and he kissed the tip of my nose. “And can I take you home after?”

  “Why are you asking?” I asked with a frown. Luca wasn’t one to just ask for what he wanted, especially where I was concerned. He just did, and I’d always loved it.

  “Because I’m trying not to make any more mistakes with you, baby.” He pressed his forehead to mine. “I’ve never been so miserable in my life as I was without you these past two months. I don’t ever want to go through that again, Vi.”

  “Me either,” I whispered in a voice full of all the remembered pain.

  His lips brushed over mine again, this time in a barely there caress, making me gasp at how sweet it felt. “I love you, baby. I swear on my life, I won’t ever hurt you again.”

  “I believe you,” I told him honestly. “But…”

  His face darkened. “But what? Tell me, Vi. I’ll promise you anything right now if it means I get you back.”

  “But you have to kiss me whenever I ask you to from now on.”

  “Baby…” The amber of his eyes became molten, but I saw the hesitation cross his face.

  “And I really need another kiss right now.”

  “I don’t know how much willpower I have, Violet. If I kiss you as much as I really want to, I might not be able to stop.” But he was already cupping the back of my head, angling me so he could slide his mouth over mine.

  “I trust you,” I murmured as our lips connected.

  “But I don’t trust myself,” he groaned. “And you taste so fucking good.”

  My fingers clutched at his T-shirt, pulling him closer in the confines of the vehicle. “Luca. Please.”

  “Fuck.” His lips caught mine in a fierce kiss that left my mouth tingling long after he lifted his head.

  “We have to be careful,” he muttered when he pulled back. “I could lose my head and mess this up. I love you so damn much, Violet. I don’t want to give anyone any reason to keep us apart.”

  He was right, and guilt instantly flooded me because I was the one pushing for more than I knew he was able to give me. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to give me everything I wanted—we both wanted. It was that he couldn’t.

  I should be patient and wait for when we could safely—legally—be together, but I was greedy. I wanted everything I could steal from him. If all I could take for now was a few kisses, then I was going to beg for all he would give me.

  Chapter 13

  Violet

  I went to Luca’s game on Friday night, wearing his jersey from the week before and made sure everyone saw me as I took my place in the stands with Shaw and Lyric. And by everyone, I meant that bitch Megan. We sat waiting for the game to start, and when the team took the field, I screamed Luca’s name with my friends.

  Like always, he fisted his hand and put it over his heart, and I returned the “I love you” gesture.

  I could feel Megan’s hate-filled glares the entire game, and every now and then, I would meet her gaze and grin at her. She was obsessed with Luca. I could see it in her eyes, but she was never going to get him. His heart belonged to me just as much as his soul did, and I wasn’t going to let her take what was mine.

  After the game, I waited right outside the locker rooms with Lyric and Shaw while Luca showered and changed. I was spending the night at Shaw’s, and her parents gave her a later curfew than mine, so we could stay out later if we wanted.

  I knew it was coming before I even saw Megan. The air around me was thick with the dislike aimed at my back, and I almost laughed when I heard my name.

  “Violet…right?”

  I slowly turned my head, having been listening to Shaw and Lyric flirting for the past ten minutes while we waited. We all knew nothing was going to come of it, but Lyric was a total flirt with every girl, and Shaw could be an unrelenting tease at times. Plus, Jagger was nearby, talking to a group of cheerleaders and other girls, and she was trying to get a reaction.

  My gaze drifted up Megan’s body, starting at her expensive white tennis shoes, over her silky-smooth bare legs to her ridiculously short skirt in the Malibu Academy colors. Her belly button was exposed by her uniform, and her top barely covered her chest. Her long blond hair was pulled up into a chic ponytail, and her makeup was absolute perfection despite having sweat the entire game from cheering.

  On the outside, Megan was gorgeous. But her eyes told just how ugly she was on the inside. She wanted what was mine, and from the wild way her eyes looked at me, I wondered if she was mentally stable. For a flash of a moment, I had a shot of fear at what she could be capable of if she didn’t get what she wanted. But then she opened her mouth again, and all I wanted to do was shut it for her.

  “I’m surprised your mommy and daddy let you come to the game all by your little self,” Megan said with a nasal laugh that was like nails on a chalkboard to me. “But then again, you have someone to hold your hand if you need to cross the street.”

  “Back up, Megan,” Lyric warned. “Keep moving before you get into something you can’t run your mouth to get out of.”

  Her gaze flickered to him for a moment. “I’m not scared of this little girl.”

  “It’s not her you need to be afraid of,” he said with amusement, but there was steel in his eyes as he glared down at her.

  Megan rolled her eyes. “Luca would never hit a girl.”

  “True,” I agreed. “But I don’t think he was worried about Luca either.” I put my arm out when Shaw took a menacing step forward, blocking her from getting to Megan. “Let’s get a few things clear, dear
.” I smiled sweetly at her, and from the way her eyes narrowed on me, I knew she didn’t like it. “Maggie…” Her nostrils flared. “It is Maggie, right?”

  “Megan,” she gritted out.

  “Oh, I’m so sorry. Luca told me your name was Maggie.” Hurt filled her face but was gone with the next blink of her lash extensions. “Listen, Megan. I understand why you’re so caught up in Luca. A girl would have to be blind and dead below the waist not to want him. He’s all hard angles and male perfection. Not to mention he’s going to have a dream career in the NFL one day. Who wouldn’t want to be by his side when he finally signs that multimillion-dollar rookie contract?”

  “I will be beside him when that happens,” she seethed.

  “No, sweetie. It’s going to be me.” I stepped fearlessly into her space and smiled at her. I was about to break her heart, but there was no reason not to be nice about it—for now. “Because he loves me. I’m the other half of his soul. That’s the way it’s always been and always will be. So, you need to set your eyes on someone else—because Luca and me? We are forever. We have our entire future planned out down to when I will move in with him and when we’ll get married. You have no place in his life. The best advice I can give you is to bow out gracefully now. Because this is your only warning, honey. I might look tiny and sweet, but I’ve had some of the fiercest women on the planet as role models from birth. Trust me when I say you don’t want to fuck with me.”

  “Little girl, you can’t give him anything he really needs. He can’t even fuck you, and we both know Luca needs to fuck.” She tilted her head, assessing me silently for a moment. “Soon, he will be off to college, and you’ll still be sitting here playing with your dolls and dreaming about that perfect wedding we both know won’t ever happen. And Luca will realize that he doesn’t want some kid who can’t even spread her legs for him without putting everything he’s ever wanted in jeopardy. That’s when I’ll make my move.” She stepped back and winked. “So, you go ahead and enjoy your fantasy for a little longer, honey. I don’t even mind sharing his attention with you right now, because soon enough, he will be all mine.”

  As she walked away, Shaw tried to go after her, but I locked my elbow, refusing to let her take so much as a step in Megan’s direction. “No,” I told my best friend. “She’s delusional. Actually, I’m pretty sure she’s a complete lunatic.”

  Lyric snorted behind me. “Batshit cray-cray is how I would put it, but yeah, girl has a few screws loose upstairs.”

  “What girl?” Luca asked as he came out of the locker room with his gym bag slung over one shoulder.

  Seeing him, I couldn’t help melting. He must have rushed through dressing after his shower because he still had water dripping from his hair. I jumped into his arms, and he caught me around the waist. I wrapped my legs around his hips, and our gazes locked. I watched hunger for me turn his brown eyes to amber, and I got lost in the beauty of the color.

  “Kiss me,” I commanded softly.

  “Baby,” he groaned.

  “Kiss me,” I repeated.

  A pained sound left his throat, but he touched his lips to mine. When he would have pulled back after only the briefest brush of his mouth, I deepened the kiss. Opening my mouth, I thrust my tongue into his and took as much as I wanted.

  I could feel his instant reaction to me against my core and could have wept because I wanted more than just a kiss. Instead, I pulled back and rubbed my nose against his. “I love you.”

  His hands contracted at my waist. “I love you too, Vi.”

  Lyric cleared his throat loudly behind me. “I don’t know about you guys, but I’m fucking starving. Let’s grab some dinner before we take the girls home.”

  Luca nodded, but when he started to put me down, I tightened my legs around him. Smirking at me, he carried me out of the field house.

  Outside, Jagger was talking to a group of guys, the cheerleaders and other girls seeming to be long gone now. Seeing us, he fell into step between Lyric and Shaw. “You guys headed home? I can take the girls back to Santa Monica if you need me to.”

  “I’m taking Violet home,” Luca growled.

  “We’re going to dinner,” I told Jagger. “Want to join us?”

  “Yeah, sure,” he said, trying not to appear too eager. “You got room for me? I’ll just leave my car here and get it tomorrow.”

  “There’s plenty of room,” I assured him with a smile before looking at Luca. “Right?”

  “Even if there weren’t, I would rip out a part of the SUV to make room as long as you keep smiling at me like that, baby.” He brushed his nose against mine again. “But yeah, there’s enough room. I have third-row seating.”

  With the others following, Luca carried me all the way to his SUV and placed me safely in the front passenger seat. The others got in the back seat, with Shaw between the two guys, and Luca fastened my seat belt.

  “Ah, look at that, girls. Luca is putting her in a big girl seat but still makes sure she’s safely fastened in.”

  I heard Shaw growling for Jagger to let her out, but I shot my friend a look that had her leaning back against her own seat. Turning around, I flipped Megan off through the window while Luca watched with a frown.

  “What did I miss?” he asked and, when I didn’t reply, glanced at his brother. “Ric?”

  “Megan approached Vi while you were changing,” he supplied. “It’s nothing, though. Vi handled herself well.”

  “What does that mean?” he bit out.

  “It means no blood was shed and no one left in tears.” I cupped the side of his face. “I’m so hungry, Luca. Can we go eat now? Then maybe we can go sit on the beach for a little while and just look at the stars together before we have to go home.”

  “You’re sure you’re okay?” he asked, concern darkening his eyes.

  “Don’t I look okay?” I asked with an arch of my brows.

  “You look beautiful as always, babe.” His lips touched mine for all of two seconds before he stepped back. “Food and then the beach.”

  Grinning, I settled into my seat, already putting Megan out of my mind. “How about food on the beach? Like a picnic.”

  “Yes!” Shaw cried from the back seat. “That’s ten times better than any stupid party.”

  Jagger grunted. “What kind of parties do you go to that a picnic on the beach sounds better?”

  “Your parents have failed you, Jags,” Shaw told him with a resigned sigh. “I really don’t know how Aunt Emmie hasn’t made you appreciate the smaller things in life.”

  “Pizza or burgers?” Lyric asked from the other side of my best friend. “Because as hungry as I am right now, I could eat both.”

  “I know a place that serves both,” Shaw commented. “But it’s closer to my house.”

  “What are we waiting for, then?” Lyric grumbled when Luca got behind the wheel. “Bro, let’s go.”

  As he drove out of the parking lot, I caught sight of Megan again. As we passed her and her friends, I couldn’t help but watch her in the side mirror. The way her eyes followed the vehicle as we drove away made something hard set in my stomach, causing my appetite from earlier to fade.

  She was all talk. I knew that. We all did.

  Because Luca would never do anything to break my heart again.

  Chapter 14

  Luca

  The sound of Shaw’s laugh as Lyric and Jagger chased her up and down the beach echoed in the distance. Above me, the stars were glittering like diamonds, but they had nothing on Violet’s eyes as she looked up at me with the firelight glittering in their depths.

  Once we found a place to have our picnic, the girls had spread out the two blankets Lyric had found at some shop beside the restaurant where we’d picked up dinner, while Jagger and I started a small fire on the beach in a pit someone else had made and left.

  The food had been good, but the company was even better, especially with Violet pressed up beside me, fe
eding me the toppings she didn’t like off her pizza. Throughout the meal, Shaw had been a smartass to Jagger and flirted with Lyric, and the result was Jagger finally getting tired of her running her mouth and threatening to spank her.

  She’d taken off running down the beach because Jagger wasn’t one to make idle threats, squealing and laughing. Shaw was fast. Her long legs let her eat up any distance in no time. But Jagger’s were longer. Still, he let her get away, and I knew he was enjoying the chase.

  When Shaw had yelled for Lyric to help her, I’d been all too thankful to have time alone with my girl. Something my twin no doubt knew and understood because, instead of helping Shaw, he’d started chasing her himself.

  That was when Violet had moved from sitting beside me into my lap facing me. “Luca,” she murmured. Her sweet voice was husky, and I knew she was thinking about the hard-on that was pulsing against her ass. The way she squirmed had me biting back a groan, but it was how she looked up at me through her lashes that made me nearly come in my jeans.

  “What is it, baby?” I pushed a few locks of her blond hair back from her face, letting my thumb caress over her cheek as I did.

  Even in the glow of the fire, I saw the way her cheeks turned pink, making me wonder what the hell she was thinking if she was blushing so fiercely. She sucked her bottom lip between her teeth, and I knew whatever was playing through her head right then was dirty.

  “Tell me, Vi,” I commanded softly when she didn’t answer.

  “Do you…you know?” She sighed when I just gave her a blank look. “Do you…think of me…and touch yourself?”

  “Every night,” I admitted without hesitation, not in the least embarrassed. The pink in her cheeks deepened, and she squirmed against me even more. “Baby, you’re killing me. I love having you on my lap like this. It’s the perfect torture, but my control slips a little more every time that sweet ass brushes against my cock.”

  She licked her lips. “I wish you could touch me,” she murmured so softly, I almost didn’t hear her. But my eyes were glued to her lips so I was able to read what she said.