Chapter 5 #3
“Didn’t think you were lying, and you couldn’t embarrass me if you tried, Angel.
I’d have to give a shit what people think about me to be embarrassed.
The kind of people who come to The Cellar…
they’re assholes. All of them. And I don’t want you anywhere near them.
I especially don’t want you in their crosshairs while they’re drunk.
And you’re too fuckin’ sweet to be dealing with the kind of shit they’d throw your way.
Not to mention if they get out of line, I’d have to deal with them.
And since I know they’d be out of line every fucking minute of the night, lookin’ at your pretty face and knowing they can’t have it, I’d have to kick them out, and pretty soon there wouldn’t be anyone left to buy booze and play pool and I’d go out of business. ”
Angelica couldn’t help it. She giggled. “I’m not pretty,” she told him.
“No, you aren’t.”
Ouch. That hurt. A lot.
“You’re fucking beautiful. Ethereal. A fucking fairy. And if anyone dares to talk shit to you, they’ll regret it. Nope, can’t have you behind the bar, Angel. It would be bad for my health…not to mention the health of anyone dumb enough to think you’re fair game for any of their shit.”
Tingles shot through Angelica’s body. This man was crude.
He swore too much. He was brash and clearly had a tendency to lean toward violence more than he should.
But Angelica had never felt safer with anyone in her entire life.
Had never felt an instant connection with another human being like she did with Whip.
She reached out and put her hand on his arm.
He immediately tensed, and when she would’ve snatched her hand back, he covered it with his own.
His thumb caressed her gently, and he stared into her eyes.
“No one hurts you, Angel. Verbally or physically. Not ever again. They’ll treat you with the respect you’re due. Or they’ll have me to deal with.”
“Whip,” she whispered, overwhelmed.
“Go get your shit together. After I put the dishes in the dishwasher, we’ll head out.”
She didn’t move.
“Angel?”
What possessed her, she had no idea. All she knew was that she was drawn to this man. Needed him to know what his words meant to her. She was sitting beside him, and she slowly leaned in, her gaze focused on his lips.
He made a noise in the back of his throat, and his hand came up and wrapped around her nape. His fingers engulfing the back of her neck made her feel tiny. Heck, she was tiny compared to him.
But before her lips could touch his, he said, “Be sure, Angel. Because once I taste you, there’s no going back.”
She didn’t think twice. She didn’t want to go back.
Back to the woman she was before he’d stepped into her life last night.
The scared, living-minute-to-minute, never-rocking-the-boat woman who was married to a tyrant.
She wanted to be the woman she saw when she looked into Whip’s eyes.
The beautiful fairy he seemed to think was special.
When her lips landed on his, he froze.
Sat next to her as still as a statue.
It was disconcerting. And Angelica had a flash of doubt. Had she misread everything?
The moment she pulled back, he came back to life. His hand tightened on her nape and he pulled her forward again. And this time when their lips met, he was no longer frozen.
He devoured her.
There was no other word for it.
He groaned, and the sound reverberated through Angelica.
Whip kissed her as if his life depended on it. And while their kiss was passionate, it wasn’t forceful. He wasn’t taking, wasn’t overpowering her. He was worshiping her with his mouth, and she’d never felt anything like it.
Every molecule in her body tingled, came to life. She felt as if she was ten feet tall. Could conquer the world. It was as if she’d searched for this man her entire life, and now that they’d connected, she was complete.
That was so darn cheesy, but it was how she felt.
They were both panting when he finally lifted his head. Her lips felt swollen, and when she licked them, could taste the coffee he’d recently finished on her skin.
His hand came up, and he reverently traced her lips with a finger.
“Fucking beautiful,” he breathed. “I hope you know what you’ve done, Angel.”
She smiled. Angelica had no idea what she was doing, but for the first time in her life, she felt…content. No longer scared of what the day would bring.
Everything would work out, somehow. There were still some huge bumps in the road, the biggest being the fact that she was married, but she was beginning to believe Whip would move mountains to make that problem go away.
He’d make Dwayne sign divorce papers and move out of Fallport so she never had to worry about him ambushing her when he caught her alone. Of that she had no doubt.
“Never done this before,” Whip said, not releasing his grip on her nape as he held her close.
“Done what?”
“A relationship. Gonna fuck it up. Gonna piss you off. But I’m not going to let you pull away. We’ll talk shit out. Figure it out. Just don’t run from me. I’d never hurt you. Ever.”
Angelica nodded. Instead of his words freaking her out, they made this seem more…perfect.
“Fuck. Right. We have shit to do. Go get what you need to get, Angel.”
She waited for him to let go of her so she could get up, but he didn’t. Simply stared at her with his warm hand curled around her nape.
She grinned. “You’re gonna have to let go of me so I can get up.”
“Don’t wanna,” he grumbled, sounding like a disgruntled little kid having to take a nap or something.
“Kittens. Waffle maker,” she reminded him.
“Yeah.” Whip kissed her again, but this time it was a soft brush of his lips against hers. His hand slipped out from under her hair, and he caressed her cheek for a moment before pushing his chair back. He gathered up their dirty dishes and headed for the kitchen sink.
It took a moment for Angelica to get her equilibrium back, but she was smiling as she headed for her room to grab her shoes and socks.
She had no idea what the day, or her future, would bring, but with Whip at her side, she felt stronger already.
More able to face whatever life might throw at her next.