Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
Talia
Something wakes me up from a deep sleep. I shift and sit up, Lucien getting out of bed.
“When is it?” I ask, groggy from sleeping so deeply at last.
He grins at me, his left eye black and swollen. “It’s morning. Someone’s at the door.”
Shit. It’s Kyle and Audra’s wedding day. I’m not dreading it as much as I was before we got here, but I still want to get it behind me.
Lucien’s been sleeping in lightweight blue cotton pants, and I enjoy the last few seconds of his bare chest as he pulls on a white T-shirt.
“Are you answering it?” I panic, pulling the covers up to my neck.
We have a suite, so whoever’s at the front door won’t be able to see me in bed unless Lucien lets them in.
“It might be important,” he says. “Maybe the wedding got called off because Kyle’s been cheating.”
I choke out a note of laughter and unscrew the cap from the bottle of water on my bedside table. Whoever’s at the door, I don’t feel like seeing them. Since I can get there without being seen from the doorway to our room, I hurry into the bathroom and turn on the shower.
It’s almost seven thirty a.m. That means this will all be over in twelve hours. Lucien and I can make a quick appearance at the reception, get sloppy on top-shelf shit at the open bar Kyle’s paying for, and then move on.
As I massage coconut-scented shampoo into my scalp, I think about the closure today should bring.
I’ve been wallowing in self-pity for too long.
Their marriage is the last chapter in this saga.
It means I need to stop feeling sorry for myself and get a job.
Save enough money to move out of my dad’s.
It’s time for me to make a new life for myself.
I don’t know where or what that will look like.
Since I’m adamant about my job requirements, I may have to move far to find the right fit.
I only want to work with disabled people.
And it has to include body movement and the ability to build a program I’m passionate about.
I’m not moving back to California. I’ll cede the entire state to Kyle and Audra. But I’m open to anywhere else.
When I met Lucien Beaumont that night at Lucky’s, I had no idea how important he’d become to me. I’m used to seeing him and his teammates almost every day. I’ve truly loved helping out with my dad’s team. It can’t last forever, though.
I finish my shower, brush my teeth and look at myself in the mirror for a few seconds.
I can do this. Lucien will be with me. I’ll find a way to get one of those photos of Kyle after he got stung by the jellyfish and he was throwing a tantrum, and I’ll have it made into a giant canvas to hang in my next home.
Even though I’ve moved on, I’m human. My group text with Suki, Mara and Lainey has reminded me that it’s okay to call out the shittiness of this situation.
Even if I seem petty. Even if I am petty.
Having friends who get it and defend me as fiercely as I do has made me stand up a little straighter.
No matter where I end up, they’ll always be my friends.
I grab my pink terry cloth robe from a hook in the bathroom and put it on, my mind wandering to what eye makeup I’m going to wear today.
When I step back into the bedroom, I inhale deeply, taking in the scent of coffee. And vinegar. This room may smell like vinegar for a long time after the amount we went through yesterday washing Lucien’s stings.
He’s lying in bed, looking at his phone.
“Who was it?” I ask.
“Your sister.”
“What did she want?”
He sighs softly. “She wanted to drop off a bridesmaid dress in case you changed your mind.”
“What the fuck? I’m never changing my mind.”
“I know. I argued with her for a solid five minutes.”
“I don’t see the dress, so you must’ve won.”
He arches his brows. “It’s sitting on the floor in the hallway.”
“The dress?”
“Yeah. She threw it into the room, so I threw it back.”
“Nice.”
I reach up to unwrap the towel from my hair, my robe opening a little in front as I do. Lucien’s eyes are locked onto me, his expression longing. I’ve never felt a look like I do this one. I feel it in my pounding heart. In my swirling stomach. Between my thighs.
“What does that look mean?”
I want to hear him say it. He makes me feel more desirable than any man ever has without even saying a word. But when he does use words, it lights me up from the inside out.
“You know what it means.” He gestures at his tented erection. “It means I want you.”
I laugh lightly. “Well, I’m the only available woman, so ...”
He gets out of bed, pursing his lips and narrowing his eyes. I’m taken aback. Is he...angry?
I can hardly breathe as he paces toward me, commanding every last shred of my focus. When he reaches me, his hands deftly untie the knot in my robe’s belt, and then he opens it, a shiver passing through my entire body.
He rakes his gaze down my body and back up to my face, his dark eyes stealing my breath and making me forget all inhibition.
“This is perfection.” His voice has an edge of gruffness that turns me on hard. “These”—he cups one of my breasts, his thumb grazing my hardened nipple—“are flawless. You’re so sexy, Talia, and you have no idea.”
He runs the backs of his fingers down my midriff, making me gasp. When he slides one hand between my thighs and lightly cups me, I make a sound that’s part moan, part sigh.
“I told you to make me work for it.” His eyes are locked onto mine. “Is that what this is? Are you making me work for it, or do you not want me like I want you? So much it takes every ounce of self-control to keep my hands off you.”
He puts his other hand on one side of my neck, his thumb grazing my jawline. It’s possessive, and I whimper without even realizing I’m doing it.
“I want you, too,” I whisper.
It’s not wise. Downright careless. Borderline dangerous. But I need him to keep touching me. Nothing else matters. This is a moment of raw honesty. We’re both stripped bare, and I don’t feel self-conscious.
This feeling surging through me is power. Soul-deep arousal. I don’t care about anything or anyone but him right now. This.
I shrug my shoulders, letting my robe fall to the floor. We lunge for each other at the same time, my mouth crashing against his as he wraps his hands around my waist.
Our kiss is hungry and demanding, his groan making me want to climb him. When he pulls my body tightly against his, his erection presses against my core and I gasp. The feeling of his clothes on my hypersensitive bare skin is bliss.
He steps back suddenly, the air cold where his body was just a second ago. “You want this, right? I need you to tell me you want this.”
“Yes, can’t you tell?”
The corners of his lips tug up and he gets on his knees.
“I want you every goddamn day, Talia. I want you when I wake up.” He kisses the skin just above the curls of my bikini line.
“I want you when I’m practicing.” Another kiss, right next to the first one.
“I want you when I’m driving.” Another kiss, and I wind my fingers into his hair and tug it.
“When I’m with you.” His lips move lower and I gasp.
“When I’m not.” He looks up at me, his eyes swimming with desire. “All the time.”
“I want you, too,” I confess. “Even when I’m fighting it, I still want you.”
He stands, lifting me by the waist. I wrap my legs around him and he carries me to the bed, kissing me all the way.
When he puts a knee on the mattress and gently lowers me to it, I part my legs, my body craving a deeper connection with his. He brushes the hair from my forehead and asks, “Still yes?”
I nod, putting a hand behind his neck and pulling him toward me. “Fuck yes.”
He kisses one of my nipples, then sucks it into his mouth. I close my eyes, lost in sensation. It’s the first time in my life my mind has been completely shut off. There’s no thinking, just feeling.
When he’s lined up at my entrance, I push his lower back, urging him on. He sinks into me and my cry mingles with his groan. His eyes seek reassurance from mine that it’s not too much, and I say, “Don’t stop. Give me more.”
And he does. He thrusts all the way in, filling me completely and then some. It doesn’t hurt, though. The sheer satisfaction on his face makes me high. I grind against him and we become one, our bodies in sync.
He buries his face in my neck, his scruff brushing my skin as he kisses me. All he’s ever done for me is give. He gives and gives and asks nothing in return. I love knowing he’s finally taking, even though he’s still giving at the same time.
He’s Lucien, though, and he won’t let himself come until I do. He slows, getting up on his knees so he can rub his thumb over my clit as he fucks me. My ankles are over his shoulders and he kisses my calf. It’s a sweet, tender kiss that contrasts with his deep, hard thrusts into me.
“Oh god.” My lips part and my eyes find his. “I’m close. Keep doing ... oh, fuck. Yes.”
I fist the bedsheet as I unravel, his name a cry that’s almost spiritual.
His expression is strained as he holds on until I’m coming down, and then he finally lets go.
I can’t look away from his face as he comes inside me, the high of making him feel this way a drug I could get addicted to fast. He stills and then goes slack, exhaling hard.
“How’s that for a good friend?” He smiles and kisses me softly.
“Unreal. And you know there’s been an underlying ... something sexual since the night we met.”
He moves off me, resting on one hip and running his fingertips over my stomach. “Hell yeah, I do. You were the one denying it.”
“I didn’t know ...” I’m not sure how to put it into words. “That it could be like this. I’ve never had something like this.”
“Me neither.”
I grin, reaching up to finally run my hand over the hair on his muscled chest. “I’m not even freaking out about the wedding anymore. Let’s do this. Hopefully everyone will be able to tell how freshly fucked we are.”
“Oh, don’t worry, I’m gonna tell everyone. I’ll see if the pastor will let me have the floor before the ceremony starts.”
That makes me laugh. “Please don’t. You being in the family wedding photos is more than enough fun for today.”
He gives me a wicked grin. “We’ll see about that.”