You Are All I'll Ever Need

by E. L. Todd

  All I Want Is You

  Book One Of The Forever and Ever Series

  E. L. Todd

  “You don't love someone because they're perfect, you love them in spite of the fact that they're not."

  Jodi Picoult, My Sister's Keeper?”

  Chapter One

  Slade

  Trinity had her leg hooked around mine and her arm was wrapped around my torso. Her head rested on my chest, and her hair was splayed across my skin. Her scent came into my nose, the smell of vanilla. She was breathing lightly, her chest hardly expanding against mine. One of my hands rested on the back of her head, lightly touching her soft strands. The other held The Odyssey. It was taking me a long time to finish it but I was enjoying it.

  It was Sunday morning. Normally I would be watching football, but I was comfortable where I was. We were tucked in her soft bed, clinging to the warmth while winter continued to thrive outside.

  “You’re a slow reader.” Her words came out as a whisper and a smile was in her voice.

  “This damn thing is a thousand pages long.” I turned the page and kept reading.

  “Do you like it?”

  “A lot, actually.”

  “I have good taste, huh?”

  “Let’s not get carried away,” I said with a laugh. My fingers moved into her hair then played with the strands.

  She sighed against my chest and continued to cling to me. “What do you want for lunch?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t care. Whatever delivers.”

  “Geez, you’re lazy.”

  “Hey, it’s Sunday. According to the bible, you aren’t supposed to wear anything besides your pajamas.”

  I knew she was rolling her eyes even though I couldn’t see her. “Have you ever read the bible?”

  “Yeah…the third testament.”

  “Slade, you’re an idiot.”

  “You’re sleeping with me. So who’s really the idiot?”

  She sighed. “I suppose you have a point.”

  “A big point.” I closed the book and left it on the comforter. “What do you want to eat?”

  “Chinese.”

  “You always want Chinese,” I barked.

  “Fine. What do you want?” She sat up then rested her head on her hand while she looked at me. She was naked under the covers, but her skin was warm against mine.

  I shrugged. “Chinese sounds good.”

  She hit my arm playfully. “You’re so annoying.”

  “Again, you’re sleeping with me, so I can’t be that annoying.” I leaned in and kissed her on the lips.

  She reciprocated immediately, sucking my bottom lip. Then she pulled away and grabbed her phone. “I’ll call it in. What do you want?”

  “I’ll get whatever you’re getting.”

  “K.” She made the call then hung up.

  “Can we watch football today?”

  “Are you planning on staying?” she asked with a cocked eyebrow.

  “Is that okay?”

  “Yeah. I was just curious.” Her voice trailed away.

  “What?”

  She looked at me. “What?”

  “I caught your tone.”

  “I’m just surprised you don’t want to go to Skye’s since everyone is over there.”

  “And watch Cayson stick his tongue down my cousin’s throat?” I shook my head. “No, thanks. Besides, I like it when it’s just you and I. I can be naked the entire time, I can be myself, and when a hot cheerleader turns me on during the game, I can have sex with you.”

  She grabbed a pillow then hit me in the face.

  I laughed. “You know I’m kidding.”

  She rolled her eyes then tossed the pillow aside.

  “But I wouldn’t mind if you wore a short skirt…with no panties underneath.”

  “Duly noted.” She grabbed my shirt from the ground then pulled it on.

  I eyed her for a moment, realizing she never did that before.

  She left the bedroom then walked into the living room. I lay there for a moment before I pulled on my boxers and followed her. She started the fire then turned on the TV. Lying on the couch, she patted the spot next to her. “Come on. You’re going to miss the half time show.”

  I ran to the couch then jumped on it. “The cheerleaders—my favorite part.”

  She smirked then watched the game with me. “They are too skinny.”

  I pulled her to my chest then we snuggled on the couch under a blanket. “You’re right. But I like their legs. I’m a sucker for long legs.”

  “I have long legs.” She gave me a knowing look.

  “Why do you think I hang around?” I winked at her.

  “For my awesome personality.”

  I laughed. “Definitely not.”

  She hit my arm playfully then lay her head against my chest.

  Sunday passed in lazy bliss. We ate our Chinese food on the couch with our chopsticks. When football was over, we watched a movie. Snow fell outside and eventually the sun disappeared.

  I didn’t want to go home. I was too tired and way too comfortable. “Can I sleep here?”

  “You’ve haven’t gone home once all weekend.”

  “Are you saying I’m not welcome?” I questioned.

  “I’m just saying you’re a blood-sucking leech.”

  I cocked an eyebrow. “Which means you want me to stay?” I didn’t understand girls.

  She laughed. “Yes, Slade. You can stay.”

  “Cool.”

  We went to bed. After a session of hot sex, we fell asleep. Our bodies were tangled around each other but I didn’t push her away. I was never a fan of cuddling, but it wasn’t so bad with Trinity. I actually kind of liked it.

  ***

  I plopped down in a seat in the library. I just had an exam and I wasn’t sure how I felt about it. As long as I passed, it didn’t really matter. The only thing I cared about was that diploma. It was my ticket to the shop in Times Square.

  “How was your exam?” Trinity asked.

  Skye looked up from her textbook and raised an eyebrow.

  I suddenly felt the tension Trinity’s question brought.

  “How did you know he had an exam?” Skye asked.

  It was peculiar. Trinity and I were getting worse at keeping our affair a secret. We were naturally getting closer, becoming friends. I used to do everything with Cayson, but now I preferred doing things with Trinity. She was fun and easy-going. And she made me laugh.

  Panic moved into Trinity’s eyes. “Because Conrad told me about it and I hope you fail.” She tried a little too hard.

  Skye seemed to accept the story. “Do you have plans for this weekend, Trinity?”

  “Why would I?” she said defensively.

  I glared at her. “Chill,” I mouthed.

  “I mean, no.” Trinity looked at her textbook and tried to play it cool.

  “I think Cayson is trying to surprise me with something,” Skye said. “Every time I ask what we’re doing, he’s always vague about it.”

  “Of course he’s planning something,” Trinity said. “It’s Cayson, the most romantic guy in the world.”

  “I can be romantic,” I blurted.

  Skye and Trinity both looked at me.

  “Like…if I wanted to. Which I don’t.” Why the hell did I just say that?

  Cayson reached our table then kissed Skye on the forehead. “Hey, beautiful.”

  “Hey, sexy.”

  I stuck my finger down my throat and pretended I was gagging.

  Skye kicked me from her side of the table.

  Cayson sat down beside Skye. “How’s your day, baby?”

  “Better now that you’re here.”

  Cayson smirked at her then
looked at me. “Why didn’t you come over for the game yesterday?”

  Uh… “I was busy.”

  Cayson raised an eyebrow. “Doing what?”

  “I had a threesome.” I couldn’t think of anything else to say.

  “All day?” Cayson asked incredulously.

  “Hey, I have good stamina but it’s not perfect,” I said. “I needed to take a break a few times.”

  Trinity looked at me like she wanted to slap me.

  “And where were you?” Skye asked, looking at Trinity.

  “Homework,” Trinity blurted.

  “You never do homework,” Skye noted.

  Come on, Trinity. You can do better than that.

  “I’m organizing stuff for my fashion line. I want everything to be ready, because as soon as I graduate, it’s happening.” Trinity relaxed after she finished.

  That was better.

  “Oh.” Skye accepted the story.

  Trinity and I really needed to be better about this. If we weren’t careful, we were going to get caught.

  Roland and Conrad joined us in the library.

  “Yo.” Roland sat beside me. “Where were you all weekend?”

  “Threesome.” That was all I said.

  Roland accepted it. “We’re going out on Friday. We need you to come.”

  “Need?” I asked.

  Conrad spoke next. “We landed hot dates but they have a single girlfriend who needs a man. We said we would bring a third guy along.”

  I immediately looked at Trinity then dropped my gaze before anyone noticed. I hadn’t slept with anyone else since Trinity and I started fooling around. We weren’t exclusive but it was still weird to think about. It was a topic we never discussed. “I’m going to pass.”

  Trinity looked at her textbook like she didn’t care what answer I gave.

  “Why?” Roland demanded. “You never go out with us anymore.”

  “Because I don’t need friends to pick up girls,” I argued.

  “Come on,” Conrad said. “You’re coming.”

  Did they not understand the meaning of no? “I’m not going to entertain the fat ugly friend so you guys can get laid.”

  Roland smirked. “She’s not ugly. All three of them are models.”

  Now that was interesting…. “Really?”

  Trinity looked at me.

  I felt guilty for some reason. “No. I’ve had so much sex this week, my dick is about to fall off.”

  Conrad started to get mad. “When the hell have you ever said no to a hot girl? You’re coming even if we have to drag you there. So just accept it.”

  “Yeah,” Roland said. “Picking up girls is the one thing you’re actually useful for.”

  I was starting to get irritated. “Look, I—”

  “You’re coming.” Roland stood up then walked away with Conrad.

  I looked at Trinity but she wouldn’t meet my gaze.

  Cayson eyed me for a while. “Everything okay, man?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine.” I said it a little too quickly. “Why?”

  “You just…aren’t being your normal self.”

  “What makes you say that?” I demanded.

  “The Slade I know would never turn down a date with a model—for any reason.”

  Skye was staring at me too.

  I was sending out red flags all over the place. I needed to cover my tracks. “I’m just worried they’re lying to me and it’s some hideous fat girl. If she’s hot, I’ll fuck her brains out.”

  “I don’t think Roland would lie about that,” Cayson said.

  “You never know.” I shrugged.

  “So, you’re going to go?” Cayson asked. “I’m useless now that I have a girlfriend.”

  “You were useless before,” I jabbed.

  He glared at me. “Unless you have a girlfriend or something?”

  “What?” I snapped. “No. Fuck no. Why would you even ask that?”

  Cayson shrugged. “You’ve just been MIA for a while…”

  Fuck. I needed to do some serious damage control. “I’m not involved with anyone.”

  Trinity packed up her things. “I have class. I’ll see you later.”

  “I thought your class didn’t start for another hour?” Skye questioned.

  “I need to meet the professor.” Trinity grabbed her stuff and walked off.

  “I need to drop off a paper I forgot to turn in.” I grabbed my bag and chased after her. I finally caught up to her in the hallway. She was walking so fast she was practically running. “Trinity.” I grabbed her wrist and steadied her.

  Annoyance was in her eyes. “What?” The girl I remembered from our wonderful and relaxing weekend was gone.

  “Why are you mad?”

  “I’m not.” She pulled her wrist away.

  “I’ve known you my whole life. I know when you’re pissed.”

  She shifted her weight in front of me. “We’re walking a thin line right now.”

  I sighed then ran my fingers through my hair. “I know.”

  “We need to do a better job if we want this to continue.”

  I nodded. “And about the girl thing…I should probably just go with the guys because—”

  “Yeah. Whatever.” She crossed her arms over her chest.

  “Unless you don’t want me to…”

  “We aren’t exclusive. I don’t care what you do, Slade. Have a great time.”

  Okay…I was having a hard time reading her. “Is this one of those things where the girl says it’s okay but it’s actually not okay?” I’d never slept with the same girl for so long so I was pretty much clueless.

  “No.” She stared me down. “Slade, you’re free to do whatever you want. And I couldn’t care less.”

  I noted the high-pitch sound of her voice. “I’m getting the feeling that you aren’t really okay with this…”

  “Well, I am. Have fun fucking her brains out.” She turned around and marched off.

  Something wasn’t adding up. “Trin, wait.”

  She kept walking.

  “Would you stop storming off for a damn second!” I grabbed her again.

  “What?” she hissed.

  “If you don’t want me to sleep with her, just tell me.”

  She studied my face for a long time. “We said from the beginning this was just a fling. I know how you are, Slade. I know you need your freedom. I know you want to get laid so just do it.”

  Did she mean that? I couldn’t tell.

  “I have to go.” She pulled away from my grasp and walked off. “Bye.”

  I stayed in the hall, watching her leave.

  ***

  We sat in the booth with our beers in front of us. Roland and Conrad were both wearing button up shirts and slacks.

  “You couldn’t dress a little nicer?” Roland snapped. “These aren’t regular girls. They are models. They’re practically aliens.”

  I glared at him. “Believe me, I can get tail no matter what I wear—unlike you.”

  “You better not fuck this up,” Conrad said.

  “If you’re so worried, why did you drag me along?” I demanded.

  “Why did we have to drag you?” Roland said. “Are you gay?”

  “No,” I said with a growl.

  Roland sipped his beer. “Seems like it…”

  Conrad checked the door. Then his eyes widened in excitement. “They’re here.”

  I looked over my shoulder and spotted the girls at the entrance. They were all brunettes. Each one was thin, almost anorexic, and their heels made them almost as tall as us. Their hair was styled and make up was plastered on their faces. They were pretty girls, no doubt about it.

  Conrad ran his fingers through his hair. “Showtime.”

  “Which one’s mine?” I asked.

  “The one on the left,” Roland said.

  Her brown hair was curled at the ends and it was shoulder length. When she smiled, a dimple formed on each cheek. She was definitely a looker.


  “Let’s do this.” Roland stood up and waited for them to reach our table.

  “Hey, Franny.” Conrad smirked at his date then grabbed her hand and kissed it.

  Franny? Was that a cat’s name?

  “It’s nice to see you, Tina,” Roland said. “Can I get you a drink?”

  Where did they even meet these girls?

  The remaining one came closer to me then eyed me up and down. Her eyes lingered on my sleeves of tattoos then my chest. She examined me, checking me out without being discreet about it. So far, she seemed like my type of girl. “Vera.” That was all she said, and she had a heavy Russian accent as she said it.

  That must be her name. “Slade.” I extended my hand to shake hers.

  She eyed it but didn’t take it.

  Surely, that must be a custom Russians understood.

  She stepped closer to me then pressed a kiss to my cheek. Then she pulled away, a smile on her lips.

  I guess she liked me.

  “You’re cute.”

  “As are you.” I stared at her chest then her legs. They were long—and I liked long legs.

  “My friends told me there would be a cute guy for me. I’m glad they were right.”

  I bowed to her. “Cute guy at your service.”

  She chuckled then stepped closer to me. “I like these.” She moved her hand up my arm to my bicep.

  “The muscles? Or the tattoos?”

  “Both.” She had a mischievous look in her eyes.

  I eyed her legs. “I like those.”

  “Do you like them wrapped around your waist?”

  Shit, she was forward. Hot girls usually didn’t cut to the chase—at least that quickly. “And my head.”

  Her eyes darkened when she looked at me. “I’m only here for a few weeks—for work in Boston.”

  I liked the way she said Boston. Her accent was cute.

  “I’m not looking for anything serious.”

  “Works for me.”

  “More times than not, the men I find fall in love with me—it’s a bit annoying.”

  She was like me, but a girl version. “I know the feeling.”

  “That’s not going to happen with you, right?”

  “Nope.” Definitely not.

  “Then let’s skip the drinks and the conversation and go to your place.”

  Her words echoed in my mind after she said them. I didn’t usually put in much effort to land women, but she cut my time by half. It was exactly what I wanted, no talking and just sex.