“Ohmigod, this is one crazy-ass blizzard!” Chloe declares, removing her hat from her head and shaking her hair. “I haven’t seen this much snow since three years ago when half the city was shut down for a week! You wait, there will be accidents like crazy starting today. You’d think people would learn to take it easy in the snow, but it’s like there’s some kind of challenge in seeing who can still get around in record time.”
“Hey, guys,” I greet them in a monotone voice.
Stella waves at them from my side behind the bar. “Hey, ladies.”
Chloe takes a sweeping glance of the near-empty bar. “Where’s Mick?”
“He took the day off,” Stella answers with a shrug.
“I suppose he’s entitled to one or two of those,” Chloe says.
When she miraculously doesn’t say anything more, I exchange a surprised glance with Jewels. Chloe and Mick have started texting each other, and I even saw them friend each other on Facebook. Otherwise, I don’t think either of them has made a move, although they both seemed pretty interested. Maybe if I wasn’t busy wallowing in my own sorrow, I’d do something to nudge them a step closer.
“We’ve come to take you out for the night,” Jewels tells me, setting her mittens on the bar between us.
“I told you—” I start to protest.
“Nuh uh!” Chloe scolds, clamping her hand over my mouth. “There won’t be any of that tonight! We’re not taking you to a club, we’re going to watch them light the tree in Central Park. All I’ve heard since we first met was how much you couldn’t wait to see the Christmas lights. While you’ve been hiding in your room—losing far too much weight, I might add, because you’re starting to look like a bean pole—they’ve been lighting this city up in the way you were looking forward to. This is one of those things you have to witness once in your life if you’re going to be a true New Yorker.”
Stella sets her hand on her hip. “I didn’t know there was a big ceremony for the tree in Central Park. When did they start doing that?”
“It’s not as big as the one in Rockefeller,” Chloe explains, flapping her hands as she speaks. “You probably haven’t heard of it because there aren’t that many people that go. It’s less of a tourist thing and more for locals from the area. You know, people who live near the park. You’d be surprised at the low turn out. At least it isn’t as chaotic. You can actually get up close and personal.”
“C’mon, Kel,” Jewels whines, taking my hands across the bar. “It’d be ridiculous for you to miss it, and it won’t be the same without my bestie at my side. It’s our first Christmas in the city together. We have to go.” She bats her thick lashes at me, looking as ridiculous as a great dane trying to mimic a newborn puppy.
Knowing Jewels won’t stop until I agree to go, I finally give in, complaining the entire way. My friends insist on primping me for our night out, probably because they’re tired of seeing me looking like a bum off the street. Admittedly, it makes me feel just a smidgen better to actually wear makeup and have my hair done up in loose curls by Chloe. I slip into one of my favorite old sweaters, pleased how the bright blue stands out against my dark hair and brown eyes. Once I’ve slipped into skinny jeans and my heaviest boots, I feel like a real human being again. Maybe even a tad womanly. I step outside into the snow-filled sky with my friends, surprised when they lead me to a dark town car at the curb.
Jewels shrugs, a bright grin stretched across her face. “Adam wanted to treat us since it’s your first night out in awhile.”
Though it was a sweet gesture on Adam’s part, memories of steamy nights with Theo in the back of town cars quickly douses the good mood I had almost achieved since my friends appeared. Thankfully, it’s a short ride to Central Park. The driver drops us off on a road inside the park. Lights shine in the distance over the rink packed full with skaters. I haven’t seen the skating rink yet, though Jewels has been trying to entice me to go with her either there or in Rockefeller. My eyes focus on a large tree next to the rink, strung with white lights.
“Looks like we missed it,” I tell the others, pointing to the area.
Jewels knocks my hand down, pulling me in the other direction. “Nope. Wrong tree.”
There aren’t too many other stragglers walking through the park this late at night. The three of us huddle together, warding off the cold wind and letting any muggers know we aren’t going down without a battle. My lashes are covered in snow by the time we ascend the stairs leading down to the fountain.
The lights are all out, leaving it dark, cold, and barren. Like my life has been.
“You guys definitely have the wrong place.” I turn to my friends, who have both suddenly fallen back. “Guys?”
They point at the same time to something behind me, grinning. I reel around as the entire fountain erupts in Christmas lights, some white and twinkling, some a combination of reds, greens, yellows and blues. The lights follow the wide mouth of the pool beneath the fountain and run all the way up the base of the statue, the angel on top glowing from them.
I’m so impressed by the beautiful display that I hardly notice Theo standing beside it.
NINETEEN
“Hole. E. Shit,” I mutter under my breath. I swivel around to face Jewels and Chloe, finding them huddled together, giggling at their clever antics.
“We’ll just be....gone,” Jewels tells me, leading Chloe back to the stairway. “We expect a call tomorrow!”
Collecting myself, I turn back to find Theo striding toward me in quick, confident steps. My breath sticks in my chest the closer he becomes. The black knit beanie he wears covers his forehead, accentuating his dark eyebrows, and the wool, gray pea coat fits snug against his big muscles. I’ve never seen him look better.
Momentarily, I forget how to speak.
“Cavenaugh,” he greets me once the puffs of our breaths are commingling. “I didn’t think calling you on the phone would be enough.”
I stand with my hands pressed to my chest, still touched by the gesture, and his gloved hands hang lifeless at his sides. There’s an air of excitement passing between us, but it’s as if our bodies aren’t sure how to proceed. I press my lips together, letting myself fade into the glistening of his eyes.
He licks his lips and glances over my shoulder before meeting my gaze again. “Before we started dating, you told me you were screwed up. I told you I didn’t care. Then you told me what happened with that guy back in Wisconsin, and with Erik, and I acted like it rolled off my back. But it didn’t. I was filled with a blinding jealousy I’d never felt before. It killed me to know you had been with those guys. It ate me up inside that you had slept with anyone other than me. I knew it wasn’t realistic, but I couldn’t help it. The more time we spent together, the more I wished there was a way to go back and change your past, especially when I realized how much I was falling for you.
“I put all my trust in my last girlfriend, and she let me down. I know you’re not her, but the minute I saw that preppy fuck in your bed, it just reminded me of the night I found Brooklyn with her tongue down some exec’s throat. I became unhinged and didn’t even want to consider there’d be a reasonable explanation. All I knew is that I trusted you despite my reservations, and you let me down.”
“It wasn’t like that,” I say with a tear slipping down my cheek. “I swear.”
He presses a gloved finger to my lips. “Would you let me finish, Cavenaugh? I’m sorry it took me so long to cool off. I should’ve called you the next day. I meant to, then I kept putting it off until another day had passed. It wasn’t until Jewels and Adam came knocking on my door last night with a letter from Erik that I finally considered your side of things.”
Gasping, I pull his hand down. “Hold on. Erik wrote you a letter? What’d it say?”
“It wasn’t to me, it was to Adam. It was a long, handwritten apology for all he had done to his brother, and even the crude things he had said to Jewels. He also went into great detail on how he manipulated you while you lived together,
even though he knew you were trying to keep things platonic and dealing with your own issues. He explained how you saved his life that night when he came to your door, loaded on booze and cocaine. I called in sick to the office today because I couldn’t deal with anyone. I’m pissed at myself for not listening to you earlier. I’m no better than your family and friends back home who believed an ugly lie without giving you a chance. I decided if I was going to give you my heart, I had to stop wrestling with demons from my past and stop comparing you to Brooklyn.” He removes his glove from one hand to rest his bare palm against my cheek. “I love you, Kelly Cavenaugh.”
My cheeks nearly split with a smile. I set my mittened hand over his and close my eyes, forcing more half-frozen tears to spill. A million different emotions swirl through my gut, each one louder than the last. Not knowing what to say, I remain quiet.
Theo’s thumb brushes my tears away. “Lately when I think about my future, I’ve started to picture you in it, at my side. And that means I have to accept your past, just as you’ll have to accept mine. You once told me people don’t always know how to forget, but if they have any kind of a heart at all, they can at least try their damnedest to forgive. I know you have a big heart, and I’m asking you to forgive me. I’m asking you to move on from our pasts together, as my girlfriend, and hopefully one day as something more. I’m asking if you could try to love me back, despite everything we’ve been through.”
I touch his jaw, smiling. “Are you crazy? I already love you back. More than you could ever comprehend. And I’m ready to be with you in every way possible.”
His eyes close, and he presses his forehead to mine. Unable to resist him any longer, I wrap my arms around his neck and bring him close, kissing him with tears still rolling down my cheeks. He hoists me into the air by my waist, knocking the wind out of me. Fueled with raging passion, he eagerly kisses me again as I slip down against him.
My heart skips merrily. There’s a good chance we’ll be okay after all.
Theo breaks the kiss before I’m ready, setting me back on the ground. “Your face is freezing.”
“Not when you’re kissing me.” I dust my lips over his, teasing them with my tongue.
“This isn’t the only surprise I have for tonight.” He slips his glove back on before taking my hand. “The next place is much warmer, I promise.”
Pulling my phone from my pocket, I snap a few pictures of the light display before pulling Theo in for a few of us together. I kiss his cheek in the last one.
“Thank you,” I whisper, kissing him one more time. “This was all incredibly sweet.”
“Cavenaugh, you haven’t seen sweet yet.” Chuckling, he wraps his arm around my waist. “Just you wait.”
I walk in step with him, resting my head against his chest. “You know you don’t have to keep trying to outdo yourself. You already won me over with the trip to the zoo. As your girlfriend, it’s okay if we simply hang out instead of you trying to impress me all the time.”
“Trust me. You’re going to enjoy this surprise.” He kisses the side of my head before we slide into a town car waiting in the road and weave our way out of the park.
I sit as close to Theo as the backseat will allow, running my bare hand underneath his layers, across his hard chest. “You know, since I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m head over heels in love with you, I think I’m emotionally ready to allow myself the pleasure of sex again.”
A low grunt rumbles through his throat. “And here I thought I was going to have to wait a while.” He stops my wandering hand, looking down on me with a smoldering gaze that makes my insides quiver. “You really love me, or was that just something you felt you had to say, given the situation?”
I move across his lap, straddling him, and taking his face in the palms of my hands. “I love that you’re close with your family, and raised your sister when no one else could. I love that you were so incredibly sweet to Jewels when she was alone in the city, and I couldn’t be there for her. I love that you’re confident, and sexy as hell when you call me by my last name. I love that you go out of your way to make me happy, even though I don’t deserve it. I love that you served your country and branded your body with the Marine symbol. I love that you’re always trying to make me laugh or smile. I love everything about the man that you are when we’re together. It’s safe to say I’m a hundred percent sure that I am, in fact, crazy ass, in fucking love with you, Theo Roberts.” I kiss him gently then pull back, smiling wickedly. “And I can’t wait to hear you scream my name when I finally break your sexual dry spell.”
The car slows to a stop.
Theo runs his hands up and down my thighs. “Cavenaugh, you’re killing me. How do you expect me to make it upstairs with a hard-on the size of Texas?”
“Like the saying goes, God bless Texas.” I kiss him on the nose before sliding off his lap.
Theo joins me on the sidewalk, turning to take an armful of bags from the driver. We stand outside a tall glass skyscraper across the street from the park, lights filling less than half of the rooms. There’s a large, steel globe nearby that looks familiar, but I can’t quite place. I eye the building with curiosity as Theo takes my hand, seeing “Trump International Hotel and Tower” written above the entrance.
The lobby is a blend of gold and black marble, chandeliers and glowing lights classing it up even further. I sigh happily, not only from the warmth of the hotel, but the knowledge that Theo wants to be with me in every way possible. He turns, kissing my cheek. “Wait here.”
I watch as he speaks with the graying man behind the counter. A bellhop appears at Theo’s side to take his bags before he returns to me. “All set.”
I raise my eyebrows. “So you assumed I was going to agree to have sex with you tonight?”
“If you hadn’t said those things to me in the car, I would’ve taken you somewhere more public.” With a huge grin, he kisses me.
“You could’ve given me a heads up this time, at least that we were spending the night. I’m afraid you’ll run when you see me without the essentials.”
“When are you going to get it through that beautiful head of yours that you don’t need any of that crap? You weren’t wearing makeup the day we moved Adam and Jewels into their place, and it didn’t change how badly I wanted you.” He looks down at me, beaming. “Besides, Jewels and Chloe packed your things while you were getting ready earlier tonight.”
“Those traitors,” I tease. “I should’ve known they were up to something the minute they breezed into Flanagan’s.”
We follow the bellhop up the elevator and into our spacious room where we’re greeted with a panoramic view of the city lit below. The room itself is extremely upscale and beautiful—everything top of the line from the cream colored bedding and headboard to the winged armchairs surrounding the modern fireplace—but I’m more focused on Theo as he pays the bellhop, closing the door behind him. So many out-of-control sensations rage through me that I feel ready to explode into a million tiny pieces.
He spins around, flashing an enticing grin. “We can start a fire, or—”
I run at him and claim his mouth, digging my nails into his scalp with a primal urge so raw it’s as if I’ll rip in half. He pulls away, chuckling in a coarse voice, though his eyes are full of the same kind of sexual energy raging through my veins. “Are you sure you don’t want to take it slow? We’ve both waited a long time for this.”
I unzip his coat slowly, my eyes locked on his. “I’ll go at any pace you choose, baby. This night is all about you. I want you to feel just how much I love you.”
He tosses his coat to the floor and helps me shimmy out of mine. I reach for his sweater, yanking it over his head. We both laugh when it temporarily sticks to his arms. The sudden humor almost comes as a relief, considering there’s an electric vibe in the air that feels as if we’re both about to combust with pent-up anticipation.
Bare-chested, Theo pulls me back for another slow, blazing-hot kiss. I take a
minute to run my fingers over the ridges of his chest and stomach before pulling my sweater over my head. He removes my boots and jeans with the same kind of slow precision he did the first night we messed around in the town car. Although downright torturous, it’s sexy as hell the way he stops to appreciate each part of me once I’m standing in nothing other than my lace underwear and bra. His eyes fall to my breasts spilling out.
“God you’re so sexy. I can’t wait to have all of you, Cavenaugh.”
Love and desire swell up inside of me with the force of a rocket as I unzip his jeans, brushing my fingers across the swelling hard-on straining against his black boxer briefs. His breath stutters. He kicks his boots to the side and strips down to his underwear. My breathing hitches at the sight of him nearly naked.
“Go wait for me on the bed,” he says, his eyes overflowing with yearning.
As I move toward the king bed, Theo flicks the light switch. The room falls dark except for the exciting glow from the city lights below. I stop to gaze out the windows, feeling a rush knowing how exposed we’ll be once completely naked. It’s almost as breathtaking as the sight of Theo stripped down.
He sneaks up behind me, wrapping me in his arms. “I wanted to make love to you somewhere as amazing as you are. This was the best I could come up with.”
Spinning around, I kiss him deeply, sighing as his warm hands trail all over my body. At first he responds with light, playful kisses, and I’m sure he’s decided to take this slow, but then he unhooks my bra and pins me up against the window with light, yet demanding force. I gasp with the sudden chill to my bare skin from the glass. He bends down to slowly remove my underwear, waiting patiently for me to step out from each side. I’m left to stand completely naked against the cold window, shivering from both the temperature and the lustful way he takes in every inch of my body.
I reach for his boxer briefs, pulling them down with the same delayed speed as he did mine. My hands trail up the sides of his body until I reach the top of the complex tattoo stretching from between his hips up to his shoulder. I run my tongue over the design, pleasure spiking through me when he grips my hair in his fists, quivering. He moans when I get to the bottom of the tattoo.
Kelly's Quest (NYC LOVE Book 2) Page 21
