by Dee Garcia
He knew me, and I knew him.
I’d given myself to him.
He’d staked his claim.
Marked me with his stamp.
There was no turning back now.
I couldn’t lie and say I wasn’t scared out of my mind, though.
I know, I should’ve been honest. Should’ve told my girls how I felt and turned to them like the sounding board they’d always been. But this was different in a way I knew neither one could offer a sliver of advice on. They simply had zero experience in this deep of a realm.
Ramsey, maybe, what with her high school sweetheart and all, but not even their tumultuous love affair compared to this.
So why bother trying to explain it when they wouldn’t understand? They’d do nothing but worry, and I hated being fussed over.
Not to mention, it would also give them something to giggle about; how I’d fallen hopelessly in love with the enemy.
How I gave into his charms and dropped to my knees in submission.
No thank you, I’ll pass.
The day went on in much of the same fashion. Either Suki or Ramsey would gush randomly about how exciting this was for me, and I played it off like they were missing one too many screws.
But come 7p.m, I couldn’t hide it anymore.
As I stood there before the large mirror in my bedroom, gazing over my new and polished reflection, the blanched expression on my face gave me away.
They’d asked, obviously.
I, however, never got the chance to tell them.
Rome was right on time and he didn’t seem too inclined to wait outside after taking a good look at me, regardless of what the reason may be.
Not gonna lie… I was kinda happy right then my girls had dolled me up.
Seeing the fire ignite in his eyes was exhilarating.
Worth every damn cringing moment.
I held my head higher as all my reservations melted away, remaining perfectly in place under his scrutiny.
“Your hair.” He seemed to be in awe. “You changed it.”
I shrugged nonchalantly. “It was time. Suki and Ramsey’s idea really.”
“It suits you,” he cooed, fingering a lock. “I love the silver hue, somehow brings to your eyes more.”
A fresh wave of heat crept up my cheeks. “Thank you.”
Rome tipped his head by way of reply, only for his eyes to roam up my body in another appreciative sweep.
I thought I’d imagined the deep rumble that seemed to reverberate from his chest, but not ten seconds later he was caging me into the door of my flat.
“You look incredible, seriously,” he rasped, the tip of his nose skated along the curve of my neck. “Are you trying to kill me in that little thing?”
He was referencing the black lace romper clinging to my body; extremely short and backless, with a plunging sweetheart neckline held up by thin spaghetti straps. Almost every inch of my inked skin was exposed and it was blatantly obvious I was bare beneath.
“You can thank Suki for that. She picked it out,” I chuckled, angling toward him as his warm lips sought me out.
“Thank her for what? Subjecting me to torture for the rest of the night?”
“I’d hardly call it torture when you’ve got your hands all over me right now.”
Said hands trailed over the curve of my ass and up my back in a feather-light yet purposeful caress. “It’s torture because I know what’s under this scrap of a garment, and I’m lusting after it so hard, I don’t know how I’ll be able to contain myself.”
“Behave, and you can have it,” I whispered, locking my arms around his neck to lure him closer.
Our lips brushed.
“Is that a promise?”
Another brush.
“Cross my heart.”
And another.
"I'm holding you to it."
Face cupped in his grasp, he left no room for me to counter, pressing our lips together with such ferocity, I couldn't breathe under their assault.
Slick, enticing sounds instantly filled the foyer as he invaded my mouth, hips shifting closer to the heat between my legs.
We'd never leave at this rate, but I couldn't for the life of me stop him if I wanted to. Opening wider, I allowed his impatient tongue to wickedly duel with my own, drawing out a feverish, wanton moan from deep within me.
“Fuck,” he hissed, as carnal and consumed as I felt.
Then he pulled away, leaving me so bereft I almost whimpered at the loss.
“Let’s go, before I give your friends a reason to come to the door.” His chest heaved.
As did my own, pulse rampaging beneath my skin. “I’m sure they’re already there.”
We never found out if they were or not, and quite frankly, I didn't care either way.
I just wanted to get Rome alone.
Once we made it outside and strolled up to the Benz, Rome—ever the gentleman—opened the door for me and ushered me inside, even pulling the seatbelt out a ways for me to grab. As I went about buckling myself in with still shaky hands, he slid around the front end and effortlessly slipped inside beside me.
“So, where are we going?” I asked to distract myself from the ache between my thighs.
It’d been a week since our last romp in the sheets.
A simple flick of his wrist, and the engine roared to life, rolling a sensuous vibration through my seat. “A light dinner, but after that, well, I can’t tell you.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s a surprise.” He grinned and reached over the center console for my hand, lacing our fingers together. “You’ll see.”
I groaned inwardly.
I absolutely detested surprises, could’ve sworn he knew that already…but his excitement was palpable, and I didn’t want to ruin it.
So I kept that little morsel of information to my myself, offering him a small smile and a nod instead.
“Don’t worry, you’re going to love it,” he added, reversing out of his spot. “Or at least I hope you will.”
“Well, give me a hint,” I cajoled.
“I can’t.”
“C’mon, Rome, just a small hint.”
He shook his head with finality. “Not happening, baby.”
“Please?” My query came with a squeeze to his hand, and then, instant silence.
His eyes came off the road for a split-second. When we stopped at a red light near the on-ramp for I-95, he turned toward me in entirety and simply observed me.
I could practically see the wheels turning in his head. What he was contemplating so firmly, I’m not sure, but I didn’t ask. I just sat there and watched him, too. Studied the hard lines of his face, the perfect arch of his brows, the fierce blue of his eyes...
It’s times like these I wondered how I ever thought I could kill him. How I ever thought I could stay away.
“Magic,” he said suddenly, refocusing my attention in the moment.
Our eyes met as my brow quirked. “What?”
“You wanted a hint. The hint is magic.”
The light flipped from red to green, like the magic he’d just spoken of. Rome tapped on the gas and we were off, zooming through the intersection onto the Southbound ramp.
Glued to my seat, I found myself mentally repeating the word over and over again.
Magic?
Such a loaded yet vague hint.
Magic could be anything if one so believes.
“Got you thinking now, huh?” he questioned, voice dripping with amusement.
“Obviously. That was the most vague hint of all time,” I muttered.
Rome gave a little shrug and flipped his blinker on before switching lanes onto the interstate. “A hint is a hint, baby, and that’s all you’re getting. Stop over-thinking it. Just sit back and enjoy the ride, we’ll be there soon.”
So I did.
For the sake of not unnecessarily dragging our evening through the mud, I bit my tongue and shut my trap.
It wasn�
�t an easy feat by any means.
The need to retort and sass him was there, right there, but I managed to quell it.
I mean, he’d obviously spent a lot of time planning this out, right? What type of—dare I say it—girlfriend would I be if I threw it all to hell because the thought of surprises gave me anxiety?
Sensing my unease, Roman reached out and turned up the volume on the radio, effectively killing the dreadful silence and the tension in my shoulders.
I melted into the seat and took a deep, calming breath, listening to The Weeknd’s voice croon about putting time in for a chick.
The more I listened, the harder the lyrics hit me.
They were Suki’s words from earlier in the day…
He’s putting time in, Lux. This isn’t a joke to him. That man is playing for keeps—permanent keeps—and you’re the million dollar prize He’s falling in love with you.
Thankfully, the volume was loud enough to mask the gasp that shot out of my mouth.
Was this a sign or the stars aligning to prove a point?
The point being we had one-hundred percent crossed over into uncharted territory.
“Still over-thinking I see.” His voice boomed.
“I’m not,” I lied.
“You are, I know you. Talk to me, tell me what’s running through your mind.”
Sinking my teeth into my lower lip, I shook my head and busied myself with tracing the rose vibrantly inked on his hand.
“Lux…” his voice boomed, darting my eyes back on his form. “Tell me.”
“I don’t wanna talk about it tonight.”
“Should I be concerned?” he pressed.
“No.”
“That doesn’t sound very reassuring.”
“I promise, it’s nothing. I’m just…”
“Over-thinking.” He chuckled, and I smiled.
“Pretty much.”
A little over an hour later, Rome and I slipped out of the Japanese restaurant hand in hand, and set off for the second half of our date.
The surprise half he still hadn’t budged and told me anything about.
Yet again, the thought of what exactly this surprise was made me anxious, but I stuffed down that vicious sense of unease and told myself all would be well.
How could it not after we’d had such a nice dinner?
Headed South on the Palmetto, I tried piecing together where we could be headed based on the landmarks we passed, but I came up empty-handed on more than one occasion.
Rome stifled a laugh beside me. “Tell me you’re not still trying to figure it out?”
“I can’t help it.” I shrugged, biting back a smile at the amusement etched on his handsome face. “I’m anxious.”
“Hate to break it to you, kitty kat, but you’re about to be even more anxious here in a second or so.”
“Why…?”
“Because I need you to close your eyes,” he explained.
I froze solid in my seat. “What? No.”
“Yes.” He nodded, grinning devilishly.
“I’m not closing my eyes, Rome,” I gritted out, gripping the door handle for dear life.
“You are, or I’ll pull over and blindfold you instead.”
Thump, thump, thump.
“Rome…”
“I know, baby, I fucking know, which is why I’m asking you to please, for the love of God, close your eyes.”
“I don’t believe in God,” I muttered.
“Do it for me then. Close your eyes for me,” he countered.
Ugh.
That face.
His excitement.
“I hate you.” My eyes narrowed.
Unfazed by my glare, he waved me off. “That’s fine, we’ve been here before. I promise you it’ll be worth it.”
“Fine. Fineee,” I yielded, slipping shaky hands over my eyes.
“Keep them closed. No peeking, okay?”
“Okay.”
Pulse erratic.
Stomach in my throat.
I began counting in my head as a distraction.
It literally felt like I’d counted to a million by the time Roman finally piped up again.
“Now, look now, baby!”
A deep breath, then I snapped my head up. The sight that awaited me was the last thing I’d expected to see.
Christmas lights—hundreds and hundreds of Christmas lights put on by Santa’s Enchanted Forest.
I sucked in a heap of air, my hands shooting up to my mouth.
“Surprise.” He sounded pleased.
Had he not been driving, I would have climbed into his lap and mauled him by now.
He remembered.
“Tell me we’re going there,” I squealed, my eyes glued out the window.
In all my years living here, I’d never been. Could never bring myself to come alone.
“We are indeed,” he agreed.
This man…
“Pull over,” I demanded.
“What? Here?”
“Yes! Pull the damn car over!”
“Okay, okay.” Roman flipped on his blinker and slipped into the emergency lane. “Fuck, did I do something wrong?”
I didn’t answer.
The second he put the car in park, I was yanking off my seatbelt and rushing into his lap.
“What are you—”
I cut him off with a harsh, desperate kiss, my fingers raking into the longer strands of his hair, tugging with force to emphasize my point.
“Thank you,” I mumbled against his lips. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
Rome chuckled in relief beneath my sudden assault. “Had I known Christmas lights would work you up this much, I’d have done this ages ago.”
“You didn’t know about this ages ago,” I pointed out, kissing him senseless, the Benz rocking sideways every few seconds with each car that whirred past us. “Now take me to see my lights, King, before a cop pulls behind us and gives you a ticket for public indecency.”
♫ All I Want for Christmas Is You - Mariah Carey ♫
I hadn’t felt the holiday cheer in years.
But as Lux and I walked around this Christmas-themed wonderland, the young lad in me was seeping outward through my fucking pores in innocent delight.
The lights, the music, the constant laughter and sheer sense of excitement filling the air…
Mum would have loved this place, Siobhan too.
It was everything Christmas magic was made of.
A smile tore across my face as one of my favorite childhood memories flashed through my mind.
“What are you thinking about?” Lux asked around a mouthful of what these American’s call an elephant ear; deep-fried dough covered in cinnamon sugar and confectioners.
“The year mum bought us tickets to Disneyland. Sio screamed for half hour straight, completely lost her shit,” I laughed.
“How old were you two?”
“I was thirteen, Sio was eight.”
“Was it fun?” She munched on another piece. “I’ve never been.”
“We never got to go. Mum ended up having to pick up more shifts at the club just to scrape by after buying the tickets. Passports, plane tickets, hotel stay—it was just too expensive, unfortunately,” I answered, far more forlornly than intended.
Lux’s face fell, brows cinching together. “Was Sio crushed?”
“Shattered is more like it. She cried about it for months.”
“That’s so sad.”
“Anddd this is where we end this conversation.” I slipped my arm around her shoulders, burrowing her in my side. “What do you wanna do now?”
Blue eyes peered up at me from the very corner, gauging my reaction. “Take me on the Ferris wheel? I’m dying to see what this place looks like all the way up there.”
“Well, then, m’lady—shall we?” I grinned, releasing her only to offer up my arm in a gentlemanly fashion.
Lux grinned in return, the smallest giggle escaping along with it. Tossing what little
remained of her sugar rush in the rubbish bin, she took a hold of me, tightly.
“We shall.”
The damned Ferris wheel was packed. Took us over twenty-five minutes just to get to the front of the line, and another fifteen after that to be seated in one of the pods.
It was so fucking worth it, though.
The look of enchantment on Lux’s face as we rose higher and higher to the top was all worth it.
“It’s breathtaking…” she gasped, taking in every bit of the scenery splayed out before her in awe.
“It is,” I agreed, but we weren’t talking about the same thing.
Lux turned to me then, as inquisitive as ever. “Why are you looking at me like that?” she questioned.
I tried playing it off, hitching a shoulder nonchalantly, but the tone of my voice gave me away. “Because you’re breathtaking.”
“Shut up.” She shoved at my arm, cheeks heating beneath her blasé facade.
“Give me those lips and I will,” I murmured, reaching out to cup her face in my palm.
She came willingly, leaning in closer with heavy-lidded eyes. The briefest of smiles danced on our lips before they fused together softly. Whipping my phone out of my pocket, I accessed the camera with a swipe of my thumb and captured the moment in a single swift tap.
The shutter went off, snapping Lux’s eyes open. “Did you just take a selfie of us.” She was cheesing, prompting me to hum as I nodded.
“I did, yes.”
“So basic,” she quipped.
“Cheesy too, I know. But I want you to remember this.” I pulled up the image and turned the phone for her to see it.
It looked like it belonged in one of those multi-million dollar romance movies—the glimmer in her eyes corroborated it.
“I won’t forget it,” she decreed, leaning in to kiss me once more. “Never.”
After the Ferris wheel, we wandered around the rest of the fair grounds, and rode a few more rides. I suggested we play a few games, too, for the sole purpose of keeping her out longer, but Lux declined graciously, suggesting we go home instead.
I knew exactly what she was getting at, the sly little thing.
Could practically feel the heat emanating off her, slowly but surely unfurling the beast with in me.
“One last picture before we go?” she questioned with a squeeze to my hand as we passed an illuminated gazebo. “You can add it to tonight’s cheesy collection.”
