Never Say Never (Written in the Stars Book 2)

by Brittany Holland

  She makes the most incredible noises as she finds pleasure from giving me pleasure. It’s like nothing I’ve ever experienced. I won’t last long, and I want the first time we come to be together.

  “Scarlett, baby, I can’t take much more.” I use my hands and push back on the mirror, sliding from her mouth with a loud pop. I could blow from the sound alone, but when I look down and see a ring of red on my cock, her lip prints on me, I snap.

  “I need to be inside you.” Lifting her to her feet, I pull her back to me and walk us over to the bed, where I bend her over a pristine white duvet. “Now.”

  She moans and pushes back against me. My rough fingers flick open the garter fasteners before dragging her panties down. The shimmery fabric slides down her coconut scented skin. I tap one foot, then the other, for her to step out of the panties. Her breathing picks up, as I part her legs and settle between them, dragging my hardness against her soft folds, taking her wet heat with me.

  Her back arches and nails grip the bedding as I grind against her from behind. Grabbing a condom and rolling it on, I line myself up to her dripping core and drive in.

  She rocks forward, scrambling to her knees for more traction. I hold her hip in place as I pull her back toward me. My mouth clamps onto her shoulder and I suck as I feel her heels digging into my thighs. The pent-up energy of waiting to be with her has me biting back a scream as I sink my teeth lightly into her skin.

  She moans out in pleasure. “Yes, that’s it.”

  Her walls tighten around me, and my pace slows, wanting to savor this but knowing it won’t last. As a moment of clarity barrels through me, I realize this is all wrong. I’m not going to fuck the ghosts away.

  This is about us, not them.

  And in this moment of weakness, I don't care what it costs me, regardless if it’s only for the night, she’s mine. I need to see her face, I want to watch her eyes light with fire when she explodes around me.

  Being with her is different. It’s an experience—one that demands all my attention and assaults all my senses.

  I withdraw and flip her over. She can have the aggression she needs. I’ll send her to oblivion if that’s what she wants, but I’m going to give it all. Fast and slow, hard and soft…the thought terrifies me, but I want to give it all to her.

  She’s sprawled beneath me, eyes hungry with lust, lips swollen from her biting them. I lean forward, take those pouty red lips between my teeth, and tug gently as I drive into her, her eyes are locked on mine.

  I keep changing the pace. Back and forth. Back. And. Forth. My lips roam her body, kissing, nipping, and sucking as I fill her, driving in to the hilt. She feels like she was made for me, matching every thrust. Her hands grip my hair, pulling tightly as the first wave starts to hit. Sweat builds on our skin and the scent of sex mingles with coconut and dark spice. I nearly pass out from the intensity when we finally come together.

  I open my eyes to find her watching me, violet eyes locked on me as I stay buried inside her. Seeing more than they should, leaving me feeling things I shouldn’t. Things that have nothing to do with revenge.

  I feel lost and found all at once.

  #####

  Scarlett

  After bringing me to ecstasy countless times, owning me, and worshipping me, we lie side by side on my cloudlike bed. Lifting my head from his chest, to look at him so relaxed from the beast he just was hours before. His hand caresses down my arm, before moving over my hip and reaching between us to brush his fingers between my legs. Throwing my leg up over his waist, I widen them, giving him access. His finger sweeps my moisture out and rubs it the length of my sex. Back and forth he teases me, as my head falls forward with a thud against his chest.

  A light sheen of sweat builds on our skin, where our bodies are touching.

  “I need you, Cohen.” The words escape, saying more than I intended to.

  “Take me.” He moans into my ear. I feel his hard length brush my arm that lies, pinned between us. Sitting up, I shift to take what I need from him.

  He lets me take the lead, rolling to lay on his back on the bed. I can see he him struggle not to take control as I straddle his legs, climbing up onto his lap and sliding myself down on his solid shaft we find our rhythm instantly, like we were made for each other. I know he can feel it to.

  Cohen has his hands thrown up carelessly over his head, but I can see the twitch of his fingers, and I know he’s struggling let me stay in control while I grind back and forth, rocking into him.

  Slow and torturous, I roll my hips back and forth and lifts up to meet every single thrust.

  When the burn is too hot, the promise of pleasure so close, his grips my hips and flips me over and drives into me. My body arches up off the bed as his hold keeps me in place. My arms grip him tightly, keeping him close as our bodies slide, slick with sweat as he brings us both to an orgasm that has me yelling out and clenching my eyes shut so tightly I see white.

  As we crash back down, he flips us once more, so that I am falling on top of him once more. Our skin drips with sweat as we lay in the silence.

  Every time he’s inside me, something shifts. It’s like he’s pushing the darkness away, with every thrust, every caress and every kiss.

  I feel like I should explain. I want him to know what this means, but I can’t tell him. Not yet. I’m afraid he will run away. The silence is becoming unbearable as we lay here breathing, our heart beats crashing together, beneath skin and bone. So I tell him something else. Who I was. He has a right to know who he has crawled into bed with.

  “Cohen, you should know a few things about me.” I keep my tone neutral and leave my head pressed against his chest. “I’ve done things that I’m not proud of. Hurt people I loved, some who deserved it and some who didn’t. I started out life as a little blonde girl with big dreams, who quickly learned fairytales weren’t meant for people like me.” I spend the next few minutes telling him about my mum, my sister and how I came to be at Everlend. His heartbeat picks up and his grip tightens around me. But he doesn’t say a word. I say way more than I intended to. But I once I start, I can’t stop.

  “I’ve had some pretty dark days. Dark years.” I explain, but the words tangle on my tongue.

  “Have you ever thought about ending it,” he asks and I look at him, he has a faraway look in his eyes and lay my head back down on his chest, needing the connection as the conversation takes a heavy turn.

  “No.” I reply honestly. “Because in death, what comes after… I’m afraid of being alone, but in life, I can at least fight not to be.”

  His arms pull me tighter to him. “I’m glad.” He whispers.

  “And you?” I think out loud.

  “Hmm. No, but my mom did once. I came home from school and found her in the tub. She was so drunk, she missed the vein.”

  “How old were you?” I ask.

  “Ten.” He replies and my heart breaks for him. “I was small for my age. So I couldn’t lift her out of the freezing cold water. I called the landlord for help, I remember he was so annoyed about the mess, but he called the medics and she went away for a few weeks and I stayed with a couple next door. The neighbors, I told you about with the computer.” I nod, he keeps talking.

  “Our building was next to their house, that month was one of the best of my life. I had regular meals, slept all night, paid attention in school as best as I could with everyone talking about my mum and how she was crazy. Kids were so cruel. But I knew when I got home, the Thomas’ would let me play on the computer and I learned about coding, I spent hours learning. My little mind hungry for an outlet. Mr. Thomas said I was a natural. Then one day mum came back, said she checked herself out, it was an accident.

  “By this time the landlord had emptied our apartment and we couldn’t go back, he said she was too much trouble, so we left and moved again. This went on for several years, until I was nineteen and we moved to Edinburg, that was the last move. It was there she came clean to me about everything, and
I—” he pauses, my head lifts and I can see the tension as he chooses his words carefully. “I learned that the life I was living was an illusion and I vowed to get justice for my mum.” I’m puzzled by his words, I get the feeling he wants to say more, but he doesn’t.

  We lay here more exposed by the words we laid bare than the condition of our naked skin.

  We fall back into a silence, but this time the lack of noise is peaceful as we drift to sleep. I could lay like this forever.

  #####

  Cohen

  Listening to the steady rhythm of her breathing as she lays curled next to me, sound asleep, dreaming peacefully, my stomach clenches with nerves. I need to be able to walk away from her. The emotions she’s unlocked in me tonight alone scares the bloody hell out of me. The things we bared to each other were heavy and dark, more than I anticipated and it’s left me with an unsettled feeling.

  As much as I want to be selfish and stay here, I won’t take her down with me. The plan all along was to bring down James Black, to get back at Piers for taking what was rightfully mine. When Scarlett showed up I had the perfect pawn, I could seduce her and use her to push him over the edge. But it’s me who has been seduced. She’s captivated me since I first laid eyes on her and she’s owned me, since the first touch. And now, it’s so much more than that. But is it enough for her? Doubt creeps in, rearing its ugly head where it doesn’t belong, in the bed, between Scarlett and I.

  I lay here, surrounded in her scent, contemplating what to do when my mobile vibrates with a text, before lighting up with a call. I carefully slip from the bed, instantly missing the warmth of her skin as I escape to the privacy of the marble bathroom to take the call.

  “This better be good.” I hiss into the phone, angered she keeps pressing me.

  “Come home!” She sobs over the line and dread fills my stomach, seems like the decision has been made for me.

  “I’m coming.” Left with no choice, I end the call and gather my things, rushing from Scarlett’s bed, her house… but hopefully not her heart.

  At least not until I figure out where I’m meant to be.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Scarlett

  I awake to find the bed next to me empty. If not for the ache between my legs, I could almost believe it had been a dream. He’s gone.

  My hand brushes the cool sheet, once warmed by his body, now as cold as the heart that beats inside his perfectly sculpted chest. Arctic. It’s not that I expected him stay, men like him never do but for the first time I wanted someone to stay. Far too long my heart had been wrapped up in someone unavailable. I was fine to wait, occupying my time by letting men worship my body while showering me with gifts. I even had a little black book of profitable conquests. But I had changed. And I thought he was different too. Turns out I was wrong.

  Some deals were made in the boardroom and others in the bedroom...that’s where I came in. Yet, the one I wanted to be conquered by for so long was oblivious to my desires. I was nothing more than a childhood friend. Then I met Cohen and it was a like a switch was flipped that filled me with light, fire… but he left me too. I need to shake this fog from my head and think fast because I’m not used to scrambling, I’m used to being two steps ahead. Until now.

  Until him, and the day my world went black.

  Reaching down on the floor I pick up my platinum silk robe, slipping it on as I roll out of bed. I walk to my bathroom and step in front of the mirror. The white marble surrounding me is a contrast to the darkness I feel inside. Last night wasn’t what I thought, maybe to me, but obviously not him. I let my robe drop on one side, exposing a bite mark on my shoulder and bruising along my collarbone. Usually it pisses me off when they mark me but seeing the evidence he left on my skin only turns me on. Heat pools between my legs as I remember our encounter. Letting my robe fall completely, I run my fingers over my body, reliving each touch.

  His aggression during sex was something I was used to, his intensity was something else entirely. It appears I have met my match. He has no idea who he is dealing with.

  Turning on the water, I let steam fill up the room.

  I shower even though I’m hesitant to wash him from my body. My head is pounding from the wine consumption and lack of sleep.

  The hot spray runs down my body, and the scent of Bulgarian rose swirls around me as I scrub away the night before. Washing away the scent of a man is nothing new.

  But standing here, skin turning red from the heat of the spray, I realize I’m more alone than I’ve ever been. Silent tears roll down my cheeks as quiet sobs rack my body.

  It seems like with Cohen there is always this push and pull. We keep finding ourselves running into one another. And I get the sense he’s not looking for anything either.

  But it’s like we both found something, where there should have been nothing. We found it where it wasn’t supposed to be. I know I’m easily spooked, and I like to be the one to walk away. It’s the main reason for my never bring guys home rule. But I wanted him to stay. I brought him here, to my safe place. But it seems like I’m not safe from him, no matter where I go.

  After my soul cleansing shower, I decide there is only looking forward. No more backwards. I see I missed a call and several messages from Piers. The crazy thing is, my mind was so focused on my night with Cohen that I didn’t even think to check my phone.

  Walking to the kitchen for a bottle of water and some more aspirin, I ring him back only to be directed to voice mail. Whatever.

  Dropping the phone on the work top I turn to leave the room, just as it rings again.

  Taking my time, I reach the phone and sure enough it’s him.

  “Piers.” My voice flat. I’m sure he’s calling to defend Willow’s honor. I may have been a bit out of line last night. There is really no excuse for my behavior. But if I was going to make one, it would involve wine, flashbacks, stress and jealousy. But I don’t have a chance, he jumps right in.

  “Why?” He demands.

  “Why what?” I huff out, defensively. “Why tell your precious Willow the truth? Why ask her about the loophole that you lied about? Why say I knew about her children’s books? Why admit I picked out her mask? Why point out she can’t make you happy, be what you need? Take your pick.” I rattle off, sounding annoyed, even though I know he’s right. My pride keeps digging me deeper, but these are words that have been bottled up for so long and I can’t stop them. I really just want to go back in time, ignore her and leave the Gala with Cohen, instead I find myself saying all the things I was always afraid to say.

  I wish I were in the cocoon of Cohen’s arms, and the alternate universe I fall into whenever he is near. But I can’t. He’s gone.

  And I’m here alone. Always alone.

  Fifteen years of emotions have bubbled to the surface and refused to by pushed back down. So out of my mouth the anger and jealousy flows like molten lava, burning everyone in its path including me.

  What’s done is done, and I can hear everything Piers isn’t saying, and I know he’s about to push me away for good. It’s what I deserve for harboring this misguided hatred for so long. So I make it easy for him and give him the ammunition he needs.

  “Because she can’t...regardless if you agree, it’s the truth.” I continue, lowering my voice, knowing its only jealousy talking. Not envy that he wants her so much, just jealousy that no one has ever wanted me that way. That much.

  “Scarlett, you’re really not giving me much choice here.” He sighs and tears prick my eyes.

  “I’m surprised she’s even letting you call me. I’d be jealous too if I was her. She sees what we have Piers.” The more I talk, the angrier he gets and the hotter the salty tears burn on my cheeks.

  I keep pushing until he pushes back, because I think deep down I’ve always known I would never walk away, so I need him to be the one to.

  But Piers, being Piers is good to the core. He’s making this so much harder than I thought that it would be.

  “What
we have? What we had...was a friendship, Scarlett.” He spits out.

  “Had? Let me guess; she’s making you choose.” I pretend to be shocked and wish he would just go ahead and say it, so I can end this charade.

  She proved last night she was strong enough to fight for him, lord knows he will fight to the death for her… so now I let him go and fight for me.

  “No, actually. Quite the opposite. She wanted me to give you a second chance. Even after all you subjected her to. Hell, last night alone! But you have yourself to thank for this. It’s you who’s forcing me to choose.” He struggles to keep his calm. I bet he’s pacing around, running his hand through his hair.

  “You don’t mean that.” Sadness laces my voice as he finally says the words I’ve known were coming since her plane landed. It doesn’t make them any easier to swallow. “You can’t.”

  “I’m sorry Scarlett.” Not as sorry as I am.

  My pride and need to be loved have cost me my best friend. I him need to see why I was holding on so tightly to this ideal we could be more. I’ll never know if I can fly without him, my safety net, unless I remove it and take the leap. I was afraid, but I’m not anymore.

  But he needs to know, it’s time to say it, all of it and rip the bandage off, once and for all.

  “Piers. I love you. I- I thought maybe you felt the same, once upon a time. And I thought with her out of the way, you could finally see it. See me, see an us. But it always comes back to her. Why?” I shock him into silence with my confession, after all this time, even though it’s never been like that with us. I’m sure he’s confused as hell, but for the first time, I’m not.

  When Cohen came into my life, it was like a jolt of lighting shocked my heart back to life and made me aware of the emotions that I’m capable of. Made me realize that what I thought I felt for Piers was just… comfort, familiar, secure. But, the woman in me, still needed to ask what the insecure little pixie of a girl needed answered all those years ago.