“I’m not doing this with you, Kyle.” Georgia stomped out of the room, cat still in her arms. “Hang onto her.” She thrust the cat in my hands. Diva looked up at me, eyes narrowed. I was sure the cat was glaring at me. Maybe she smelled Charlie and wasn’t impressed.
Georgia stomped back to the room she’d just exited and I heard a bang and heated whispers before I walked after her. I knew Kyle was fucking with her head, trying to cajole her, guilt-trip her, do anything he could to get her to stay, but my girl was going home with me.
“Don’t fucking touch me,” I heard her bite out. I dashed into the bedroom and found her shoving him away from her body, a suitcase and a duffle bag at her feet. My eyes flared and my jaw clenched when he tried to go back to her, his eyes pleading.
“Baby, come on; this is you and me. Don’t let whatever you think you have with him get in the way of us. I know his type; he won’t be around for long, Georgia. It’s always been us.”
“You need to shut the fuck up.” I glared as I stepped closer to them, Diva still in one arm, my other fist clenched.
“Back the fuck off; you don’t even know her. Who do you think has had her from the beginning? She’s not leaving me, man. Georgia won’t leave me. She’s too fucking scared of the unknown to leave,” he sneered at me. I pulled my arm back, cat in one hand, arm cocked in the other, ready to land a blow to his smug face, when Georgia’s fist shot into my line of vision and landed on Kyle's cheekbone. He spun and looked at her, eyes wide with shock.
“What the fuck, Georgia?” he roared as his other hand grabbed at her neck.
Oh, fuck no.
“Get your fucking hands off her.” I barreled, shoving him away before landing a fist square on his nose. He spun and landed on the floor, his hand cupping his face and blood pooling in his fingers. With Diva still perched in my arms, a front row seat to the destruction, I leaned over Kyle and landed two more blows to his jaw and his cheekbone in quick succession.
“Fuck, get off me. Are you crazy?” Kyle screamed as blood splattered.
“You touched her. Don’t do it again. Ever. Don’t fucking touch her. Don’t fucking call her. And don’t think you’ll ever fucking see her again.” I landed one more blow and his eye started swelling immediately.
“Get some shit, Georgia. I’ll hire someone to come back and get anything else.” I pulled her out of the room by the arm. She yanked out of my grip, ran to Kyle, and landed one swift kick in his gut.
“Fuck!” He hunched over painfully.
“Asshole,” she sneered. That was my girl. So fucking hot when she was pissed. She grabbed a bag and threw personal items into it. She sprinted into the living room and pulled picture frames off the mantel, leaving the ones of her and Kyle.
“I’m done; let’s go.” She finally looked at me.
“Just remember.” Kyle leaned against the doorframe, hand still cupping his nose, blood dripping down his shirt. “I had her first and I’ll have her last. Don’t forget that.” His eyes cut from me to her, a sickening sneer on his face. His words felt like a threat as much as a statement.
“Fuck off,” Georgia shot at him before she grabbed my hand and we walked out the door, leaving it swinging on the hinges.
* * *
“Jesus, are you okay?” Georgia wet a napkin with water and swiped blood off my face while Diva meowed obnoxiously from the backseat. We were stopped at a Starbucks parking lot a few blocks from her old apartment.
“I’m great.” I grinned and caught her wrist in my hand and pulled her lips to mine. “So fucking hot,” I whispered.
“What?” She pulled away, her eyebrows knit together in confusion.
“You know how hot it makes me when you’re angry, babe. You kicked his ass. You threw the first punch. I’m hard as a fucking rock right now.”
“Tristan.” She giggled before I pulled her to me again. I pressed her lips to mine, pulling her into my lap, desperate to take her right here, regardless of who could see.
“Move in with me,” I breathed between kisses.
“What?” Her chest heaved with pants. I’d stolen her breath from kissing her. I wanted to steal her heart too. I hadn’t thought about asking her to move in with me before the words came out of my mouth. But there they were and I didn’t regret them.
“Move in with me.” I nipped at her lips again as my hands went up her shirt to knead her breasts.
“You’re crazy.” She pushed my hands out of her shirt.
“Crazy for you,” I flirted.
“And corny.” She rolled her eyes.
“Move in with me. My place is smaller, easier to maintain, plus you’re renting the beach house out in the spring, right? Let’s get you moved in now, then you can list the house.” This idea was sounding better and fucking better the more I attempted to convince her.
Her eyes searched my face, I was assuming to look for any ounce of hesitation on my part. She wouldn't find it.
“You wanna live with me?” she murmured, her eyes all hooded and sexy again.
I held her tightly to me, caressing her back with an open palm. “Absolutely.”
“But I snore.”
“Not any louder than I do.”
“And I steal the covers,” she whispered.
“Don’t need any. Having your hot body wrapped around mine is heat enough.”
“So fucking corny.” She rolled her eyes again and I tilted my head and took her lips with mine.
I kissed her and ran my hands up her back, grinding my hips into hers as she fisted her hands in my hair and arched her body against mine. “Say yes,” I murmured.
“Yes,” she breathed and I took her lips again because she was one step closer to being mine forever.
Forty-Two
Tristan
“So then she hauls back and lands a kick right to his gut,” I gushed as Gavin and I sat in the living room, drinking beer. The Disney Christmas Day Parade played on the TV screen in front of us—something Georgia insisted on watching. While I teased her about it relentlessly, secretly I thought it was utterly adorable.
“Fuck, that’s hot.”
“Really fucking hot.” I agreed with him. He knew all about the power of anger when it came to sex. All that passion and rage bottled up? Really fucking hot.
“You kicked him, Georgia?” Drew squealed from the kitchen. Georgia only shrugged, but the grin spread wide across her face told me she was proud of herself.
“I always knew you were a superwoman,” Silas, Georgia's gay best friend, chimed in from the dining room. He and his boyfriend Justin were setting the table for Christmas dinner. The house smelled delicious, like ham and mashed potatoes and pies. Heaven. Especially because Georgia was there, my girl, cooking us a feast. I’d helped however I could: opening the wine, making the mashed potatoes, goosing her when she'd bent to take the ham out of the oven.
“Charlie, out of the kitchen.” I pointed and the old dog gave me a sidelong glance, trotting back to the living room. Diva curled around Georgia's feet, a loud meow releasing from her throat. She was begging for scraps just as much as Charlie'd been, but her name was Diva for a reason; that cat got away with everything. When we'd brought her home last week Charlie had stuck his big nose in her face, she'd given him one fierce swat, and their relationship had been established—Diva ruled the roost.
“Time to eat,” Georgia sang from the kitchen as she carried the ham to the table. “Come slice, babe.” She looked at me and I was drawn to her like a moth to a flame. I set my beer on the counter and went to her without another thought. I wrapped an arm around her waist, so fucking thankful to share Christmas together—with her and our friends. I landed a kiss on the top of her head and she returned the sentiment with a peck on my lips.
“You look beautiful,” I muttered into her hair.
“Thanks.” She tucked her head under my chin with a smile.
“Cut the sloppy shit; I’m starving.” Gavin plopped on a chair. I chuckled and then took the elect
ric knife in hand and prepared to slice the ham.
“We’ve got an announcement.” Drew leaned into Gavin’s chest, her hand splayed across his leg after we'd finished eating, our bellies stretched to the max, with half empty wine glasses in front of us.
“So do we.” Georgia chanced a glance at me and I gave her neck a soft squeeze.
“Us first.”
“Okay.” Georgia laughed.
“We’re pregnant.”
“What?” Georgia choked on her wine.
“Seriously?” I shot a glance to Gavin. The wide grin on his face confirmed what Drew had said. Also that he was happy about it. Really fucking happy. “Congrats, man.” I grinned.
“Drew, aren’t you on birth control?” This clearly hadn’t yet sunk in for Georgia.
“I was. I was so busy catching up on work after summer, I forgot to refill my prescription.” Drew shrugged.
“Wait, after summer? How far along are you?”
“Thirteen weeks. We’re due May 28.” The grin split across her face.
“In spring? Jesus, Drew. How come you didn’t tell me?”
“I didn’t find out until I was almost ten weeks along. I was so caught up in everything, I sorta forgot that I hadn’t had my period.”
“God, TMI,” Silas whined from across the table.
“Wow. Congratulations,” Georgia murmured.
“I can’t believe you’re going to be a parent. What kind of world is this?” Silas teased. “Congrats, Daddy. Hopefully, he or she takes after you.” He winked at Gavin.
“Be nice.” Justin shouldered Silas.
“Yeah, be nice to me while I’m with child.”
“Oh my God, and so it starts,” Silas muttered.
“When do we find out if it’s a boy or girl?” The excitement in Georgia's voice grew.
“We have an early ultrasound scheduled in a few weeks. I hope it’s a girl. Imagine all the little dresses and headbands.”
“A girl, man?” I cocked an eyebrow at Gavin. “You’re in trouble if you have a girl.”
“A mini-Drew? Christ, can you imagine?” Silas jibed.
“Hey.” Drew glared at him.
“I don’t care what it is, as long as it’s healthy.” Gavin leaned into Drew and rubbed her tummy. It was the sweetest thing I'd ever seen. I glanced over at Georgia and watched her watching them. Her features had softened as a thoughtful look crossed her face.
“Wait, you have an announcement too, right?” Drew perked up and glanced at Georgia. “Oh my God. Are you pregnant too? That would be amazing! Our kids could grow up together.”
My eyes widened in surprise.
Georgia? Pregnant?
“No, I’m not pregnant,” she said as she looked over at me, a sheepish look on her face. “We’re moving in together,” she finished.
“That’s great.” Drew beamed.
“Really?” Silas frowned.
“Yeah, after the new year, we’re going to start moving my stuff in. I need to rent the beach house next summer, so it just made the most sense.”
“You make it sound like a business arrangement.” Drew frowned.
“No, it’s just convenient.”
My jaw ticked at her words. I was convenient?
Irritation flared in my stomach. I didn’t like the sound of that at all.
Forty-Three
Georgia
“A convenient business arrangement? Is that what I am to you?” He had me pinned underneath him in bed later that night.
“I didn’t mean it like that,” I breathed as he skimmed his hand up my torso and pulled the shirt over my head.
“How was it meant?” he muttered as he pulled at the cup of my bra with his teeth. My tummy fluttered and rolled, anxious to feel skin on skin. Holidays were tough for me, always tough. It was so easy for me to get lost in my head with the memories, but Tristan was what I needed to keep me in the present. And he did an epic job of it.
“I just meant . . .” I groaned as he pulled down the cup of my bra, bringing my puckering flesh to his mouth. His lips wrapped around my nipple and lightning bolts of desire flamed cross my body and landed in a pool between my legs. I shifted underneath him on a moan.
“You just meant what?” He pulled away and blew warm breath across my hardened peak.
“Oh God.” I threaded my fingers in his long hair and pulled his lips back to my chest.
“That’s what I thought.” He nuzzled my breast before latching onto my nipple again. “Last I checked, business arrangements didn’t include my head between your legs.” Goose bumps erupted across my skin as he breathed his way down my stomach. “Are we a business arrangement, Georgia?” He hooked his fingertips under the lace of my panties at my hips.
“God, no,” I breathed.
“Am I just convenient for you?” he murmured as he peeled my panties off my legs and nuzzled my wet and throbbing center with his nose.
“Never,” I choked.
“Is this something you would do with a business partner?” He dragged his tongue up my length and nipped at my clit when he reached the top.
“Never.” I tightened my legs around his head, desperate for him not to move.
“This is for me, your boyfriend. The boyfriend that you live with.” He thrust two fingers into my heat and I bucked underneath him. His lips latched around my clit and he sucked so hard, stars burst behind my closed eyelids. My hands fisted in his hair and pulled him tighter to me. I moaned and panted his name as he worked his fingers in and out. He laved his tongue up my wet heat, back and forth, teasing the swollen flesh before he added a third finger. I bucked and writhed and, with two long draws, an orgasm ripped through me, the likes of which I’d never felt before. My legs shook and tightened around his head as he continued to suck and nurse the orgasm from my body. His fingers slowed their thrusting before he finally eased them out of me.
I lay against the white sheets of his king-sized bed, limp and sated.
Breathing heavily, a smile dancing across my lips, I murmured, “I knew there was a reason why I kept you around.”
One eyebrow ticked up as he crawled up my body. The hand still between my breasts darted over to give my nipple a rough pinch. “Watch it, baby.”
My eyes fluttered open and I took in his beautiful face. A few locks of hair fell across his forehead and he looked utterly delicious. I reached a hand up to cup his cheek, my thumb running across his full bottom lip, still glistening from my juices.
“You’ve got a talent the likes of which I’ve never seen before.” A smile split across my face as I teased him.
“Worth the risk?” His eyes sparkled in that mesmerizing way.
“Worth every risk,” I murmured before pulling his head down to me and plastering a long, drawn out kiss on his lips. Our tongues mingled and explored. He slipped a hand in my tangled locks and massaged my scalp.
“You’re worth everything to me,” he murmured as he slid his jeans and boxers down his legs and kicked them off. “I’d do it all for you. Do it all over again. Go back to the very start. You’re worth every risk.” He eased into me and slowly worked in and out. Each push in and each draw out dragged across every sensitized nerve ending I had, and so many more I hadn't even known existed. I shuddered as he eased out to the tip, and the air escaped my lungs in a pleasurable rush when he eased back in, taking it slow, savoring every inch. My eyelids fluttered closed as I enjoyed his skin pressed to mine.
“Eyes, Georgia. I want to see your eyes when I'm inside you.”
My eyes shot open and found his lovely deep green orbs burning into me, taking my breath away, just like they always did.
“This,” he motioned between us. “We aren’t convenient. We’re everything.” He emphasized each word with one delicious pull out, one delicious push back in. My nerves fired off, little fireworks shooting across my body. I laced my legs around his waist and held him tight to me so he couldn’t ease all the way out again. I couldn’t lose him, not for another in
stant.
“We’re everything,” I repeated and locked my arms around his neck, holding onto him with every muscle I had. “You’re everything,” I murmured in his ear. He sucked in a sharp breath as if I’d caught him by surprise.
Forty-Four
Tristan
Fuck, she'd taken my breath away.
Every minute, she took my breath away.
Every smile, every movement, every word—an endless array of stolen breaths.
She hadn’t said those words, those three words we’d each said once this summer, and I wondered if she still felt them. They threatened to burst through at every emotionally charged moment, and it was becoming harder and harder for me to keep them in. I felt everything with this girl, and it was becoming nearly unbearable for me not to share it with her. I knew I had to let her take the lead, though. I was terrified of running her off, scaring her back to him. I knew what she’d told me—he was what she knew, and she always went back—one wrong step and she could jump in her car and drive right back to him and that would be it for us.
Pain twisted my stomach at the thought of seeing her drive away again. I couldn’t bear it. I just wasn’t sure if she was feeling it too and if she was ready to take this step with me. I’d already stuck my fucking foot in my mouth when I'd asked her to move in with me. Thankfully, it had worked out and I hadn’t scared her off, but I’d seen the indecision in her eyes.
I always wondered if, when things got too real, she thought of him.
I also wondered how much he was contacting her. The phone calls didn’t seem to be so often now that we’d picked up her stuff, but once in a while, I still saw her look down with a frown marring her stunning features. I was trying my best not to lose her trust, but every fucking time I saw her phone sitting somewhere, I wanted to snatch it and go through her calls, check her texts to see what he was saying.
I breathed deeper, emotion choking my throat and causing my heart to beat overtime. I thrust in and out; her tight body took me in. Letting me fill her was so overwhelming that I thought I might lose my mind. She’d done me in with her words.
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