Always (Follow Me #6)

Chapter Twenty-One

Before and after one week of Susie skincare. My skin is more even-toned and it feels great! #sponsored. #susiegirl #anyonecanbeasusiegirl #susieglow

Skye looks fresh as sunshine in her latest post for Susie Girl. Apparently no longer being in a relationship with me hasn’t hurt her following, and I’m ecstatic about that.

Frankly, I feel Skye’s talents are more suited to her ultimate goal of taking photos for National Geographic , but influencing is an excellent start. It gets her name out in the world, and it also shows her gifts as a photographer.

After a harrowing week of business, I finally return to Boston on Saturday—the day Skye was originally supposed to return from Kansas.

We’ve spoken on the phone every day, just checking in. Yesterday, though, she told me she needs to talk to me about something important, so she invited me over to her place for dinner tonight.

Is she going to answer my question about why she wants me to bind her neck?

I don’t know.

She’s mentioned that she’s continued therapy with a friend of hers from high school who opened a practice in Liberty. They’ve been meeting over Zoom since she’s been home.

If she is honest with me tonight, I need to choose whether I’ll be honest with her.

I will be.

Eventually.

But perhaps not tonight. Though who knows? Perhaps I’ll be inspired by what she shares with me.

I’m on my way to her place when I notice a post on her Instagram that I missed earlier.

Picked up this beautiful bottle of Beaujolais-Villages for a special dinner tonight. There’s something about its bright, fruity notes of cherry and raspberry that feels perfect for a cozy evening in with someone special. The best part? It’s light, smooth, and pairs effortlessly with just about anything—whether it’s a homemade meal or takeout from our favorite spot. Here’s to good wine, great company, and the moments that make life a little sweeter.

#BeaujolaisVillages #WineAndDine #SipAndSavor #GoodWineGoodTimes #SpecialMoments #WineLove

It’s not a sponsored post. She’s been doing just as many regular posts lately, which is something Addie never did. If Addie wasn’t being paid, she was reluctant to post. Skye seems to be looking at this whole thing differently, and better, in my opinion. To be a success, she needs to be a friend to her audience, not just an advertiser. Show them she’s human. The same as they are. She’s becoming excellent at this game.

My PR person takes care of my social media accounts, but she insists that I have them, even though I couldn’t care less. I rarely post myself. And I only scroll through Instagram when I have extra time, which is always at a premium for me.

Until, that is, I met Skye. Now I read all her posts religiously.

This time I even comment with a heart emoji.

I’m supposed to meet her at seven, but I’m early.

I’m never early. I’m unusually precise most of the time. It’s in my nature. Sometimes I keep people waiting if it’s to my advantage. The only time I ever arrive anywhere early is if I have a chance to see the conference room before a big negotiation. I like to walk the room, get to know it, make it mine.

Own the room.

But meeting a woman?

I’m never early.

Until now.

I knock on the door.

Skye opens the door slowly.

“Skye,” I say. She’s wearing an apron, and her hair is pulled back in a messy ponytail. An adorable smudge of flour decorates her nose.

“You’re early,” she says.

“I know.”

“Well, come on in. I was just going to hop in the shower.”

A shower?

Skye naked? Water dripping over her luscious curves? Early just got a whole lot better.

“That’s a great idea,” I say. “I’ll join you.”

She wrinkles her forehead. “That wasn’t an invitation.”

“I’ve been in meetings nearly twenty-four-seven since I left Kansas,” I say. “I need a shower, too.” A little white lie. I showered when I got back to my place.

“Be my guest, then.” She gestures me toward the bathroom.

“Oh, no. You can’t dangle the idea of a shower with you in front of me and then take it away.”

“I didn’t dangle anything, Braden. You know that as well as I do. We’re not together right now, despite—”

“Fuck it all, Skye. I don’t care.” I grab her and slam my mouth onto hers.

The kiss is more than pent-up passion. It’s primal, like a mark.

Like when I bit the top of her breast that time.

I’ve missed her.

I can’t stay away from her.

She breaks the kiss and pushes me away.

I cock my head and adjust my groin. I’m hard and throbbing and only a moment away from fucking her against her door.

But I remain silent.

“You’re the one who ended things,” she tells me. “Then you go to my parents’ home without telling me. Then you tell me you want to have vanilla sex.”

“All true statements,” I say.

“But you can’t be with me, you say. Not until I can answer the question you asked me after the club.”

“That’s true.”

“So why are you kissing me? Why are you trying to get into the shower with me? Because we both know what will happen in the shower.”

I stalk toward her and push her against the wall, pinning her, my hands gripping her shoulders. “Why am I kissing you? Don’t you know by now?”

“N-No. I mean, yeah. You love me. You desire me.”

I shake my head. “It goes so far beyond that, Skye. You know that, because you feel it, too.”

She nods, shivering.

“You’ve become a drug to me, and damn it, I can’t leave you alone, no matter how much I know I should.”

“Y-You don’t have to leave me alone, Braden.”

“Don’t I?”

“No. Because I have an answer. Tonight I’ll answer your question.”

I crush my lips to hers once more. Her apron is coated with God knows what, and I’m wearing a custom Armani suit, but I don’t give a shit.

Our tongues tangle and duel. The kiss stays primal, as if we’re two animals getting ready to mate.

For that’s what our desire is—animalistic. It has been from the beginning. We’re drawn to each other as if the universe has forced us together for some divine purpose.

And perhaps it has.

Perhaps I needed to figure some things out about myself to live a happier life.

Perhaps Skye needs to do the same thing.

Our love came after the primal instinct to come together, as if our hearts followed our souls.

The best kind of love.

We kiss and we kiss and we kiss, until she breaks her mouth away from mine and inhales a deep breath.

“I have to check dinner,” she says. “I can’t let it get ruined again.”

I trail one finger down her cheek. “Okay. We’ll have the shower after dinner.”

“After we talk,” she says.

I nod. “After we talk.”