22. June #2
I owe them that much, at least, after everything they’ve done for me. If I help them with this, then we’ll be even, and I can walk away without feeling like I owe them for saving me from the shit storm that consumes my life regularly.
In three days, I'll do my best acting performance ever and convince whoever needs to be swayed that they deserve to win this war.
“You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into, June.” Dominic stares into my eyes, daring me to realize the severity of the situation.
It’s like when he stood there silently in that bathroom, blood covering his face after beating that man who threatened me, and instead of running out of the door like most other women would have, I stood taller and pressed my lips to his, embracing the danger like it was an old friend.
Something stirs in my chest, that same feeling from that night, the one where I choose to walk right into his darkness instead of shying away from it.
“Let me prove myself.”
“You have nothing to prove, princess.” Magnus is the only one who thinks I can pull this off.
“To them I do.” I tip my head toward Dominic and Coen.
They’re too busy worrying about sheltering me than helping me embrace this world I’ve been brought into. If they expect me to make it out alive, shouldn’t they teach me how to survive, not cower in fear?
“J…can I have a moment alone with you?” Coen surprises me with his forwardness. Usually, he does everything in his power to avoid me, except when he fingerbanged me in the club. That was definitely unexpected.
“Um, sure. Yeah.”
Magnus stands and kisses my temple. “Goodnight, princess.”
“Night.” I make brief eye contact with Dom before following Coen out of the room.
He leads me upstairs and into my bedroom, not stopping until he reaches my private bathroom.
Grabbing a washcloth out of the cabinet, he says, “I can’t keep looking at you like that.
” Coen dampens it under the faucet and approaches me carefully.
Dotting it on my cheek, he moistens the blood and wipes it away.
I point to the shower. “You know it would be easier in there.”
Coen nods. “Yeah. You’re right. I’ll…” He drops the rag on the counter and turns to leave.
I catch his forearm. "Co?" I should let him go, let him leave this room, and not ask the question bubbling on the tip of my tongue.
Nothing he could say could erase the damage he's done.
He betrayed me. He left. He did the very thing that ripped my heart out of my chest, causing irreparable damage that would mold me into the person I am today.
“Hm?” Those blue eyes of his bore into mine, and it’s like I’m taken back to all those years ago when I fell for him the first time.
A million memories flutter through my mind, reminding me of a much simpler, happier time in our lives.
When it was just me and him against the world.
A teenage dream I never thought would end.
“Is it true?” My voice is barely a whisper.
Coen pivots toward me, his body towering over mine. “Is what true?”
I swallow, suddenly feeling so small in his presence.
Like I’m shrinking down to the girl I once was, standing on a rooftop of a local pizza place, giving her heart to the sad boy who understood her often misunderstood nature.
“Any of it? All of it?” I glance between those bright blue orbs. “Did you want to come back?”
Coen sighs, reaching up and brushing my hair off my face. “More than anything in the world.”
My heart constricts. The pain of his absence swelling and exploding, silent tears I’ve held at bay for far too long rolling down my cheeks.
I don’t want to cry. Not here. Not right now.
But it’s a waterfall I cannot control. A dam breaking with the immense pressure of being strong for far longer than it was made for.
“J…” Coen brushes them away with his thumbs and pulls me to his chest. “I’m so sorry. I never meant to hurt you. I swear it.” He rubs his hand along the top of my head and tries to shush the waterworks away.
I hold him close, breathing in his familiar scent. It’s changed over time, but I’d still recognize the earthy aroma anywhere. Tilting my head, I glance up at him. “Kiss me.” I’m caked in snot and blood at this point, but the desire to feel his lips on mine is overpowering.
He complies, only hesitating for a split second before lightly caressing our mouths together. It’s soft at first, the fire burning brighter the longer they touch.
I lean into him, and him into me. Our bodies are not satisfied with the distance between them, no matter how small that gap becomes.
His tongue darts into my mouth, dancing along mine and tangling themselves together. It’s been years and yet they remember each other like it was yesterday.
I skim my hands up under his shirt and run my fingers over the muscles rippling his body.
My teenage attraction holds nothing to the torch I carry for him now.
I grip the bottom of his top and drag it over his head, our lips parting for the brief moment to rid him of the thing. "I want you, Co," I breathe into him.
Coen wraps his arm around my waist and hoists me into the air, guiding my legs around his torso. “I need you, J.”
With each kiss, every delicate and passionate movement, I sense how desperate he is to make me understand, to realize the answer to all the questions that have haunted me since the day he left.
“It’s you, June. It’s always been you.” Coen slams my body against the glass wall to the shower. He reaches in and turns the faucet, water cascading down, a beautiful soundtrack for our heated moment.
But is that all it will be? A fleeting moment?
A taste of what we missed and what we will never be able to hold onto?
I didn’t plan on sticking around once I help them win this war, but how can I be the one to walk away from him, after all this time?
How could I say goodbye to any of them when I finally feel like I’ve found my home?
He lowers me to the tiled floor gently and steam fills the large bathroom while Coen and I remove our clothing. We don’t take our eyes off each other, returning our mouths together the second we’re fully undressed.
His erection presses into my stomach and he lifts me back into the air.
I grip his neck and lock my legs around him, reaching down to stroke his length in my free hand.
Coen walks us into the shower, water flowing down our eager bodies. The temperature stings my skin at first but acclimates quickly.
The water runs dirty with the reminder of what I did tonight. The man I killed without a second thought. I didn’t feel remorse, or guilt, or any doubts about ending him.
Coen sets me onto the shower floor and reaches for the loofa hanging there.
He pumps some soap out and lathers it up.
“Here.” Thoughtfully, he holds onto my hand and scrubs each of my arms until there is no more blood.
He glides it over my chest, and neck, going lower and kneeling to clean my legs, too. “There, that’s better.”
I place my palms on the side of his head and pull him toward me. It's late and I can't decide if I'm exhausted or riding some adrenaline-infused rush from what went down tonight. Either way, I want what should have been mine a long time ago.
He breaks away and looks into my eyes. “Are you sure?”
I tug him closer and mutter against his lips. “Without a doubt.”
Am I hurt? Yes. Does the wound of Coen leaving all those years ago burn like it happened yesterday? Absolutely. But does knowing a bit of the truth help repair that bond that might have never been broken after all? Definitely.
Coen kisses me back with a soft, gentle hunger.
He weaves his fingers along my neck and into my damp hair.
Gripping my hip, Coen backs me into the cold tile wall.
His cock presses against me and I reach down and stroke it, a soft moan escaping him.
He separates my legs with his knee, positioning himself between them.
I comply completely, arching my body to get a better angle.
Coen penetrates me slowly, the hot water tumbling down on us. Despite all the years spent apart, our chemistry is somehow fully intact, if not more than I remember. Time and space never stood a chance against us.
“I love you, June, I never stopped loving you,” Coen mutters while thrusting into me.
His tongue dances with mine and it’s as though for once, all is right in the world.
Only, that couldn’t be further from the truth. But for now, I’m going to pretend.