Chapter Twelve - Verity
CHAPTER TWELVE
VERITY
I am already convinced. I’ve been convinced for the last two weeks. I am just delaying the inevitable.
Pushing Cullen away has been a form of torture upon myself. I am a leopard that can’t change its spots. Even though I’d told myself I needed the distance from him so I wouldn’t get invested too fast, my heart didn’t listen to my brain.
I want him. I’m not interested in meeting anyone else.
“I’m so sorry to interrupt.”
The British accent cuts into our moment, and I turn to look at the owner of the voice. A stunning specimen of a man grins as his mischievous stare bounces between Cullen and me.
“I just saw Cullen and wanted to extend my greetings.” He extends his hand toward me, an expensive watch shining on his wrist. “I’m Jace.”
“Verity.”
I place my hand in his to give it a shake but am shocked when he leans down to place a kiss on my knuckles. Jace’s gaze cuts to Cullen, a smirk on his lips as he pulls back and relinquishes my hand.
I clutch it close to my chest, trying to get a read on the situation.
“All right, you’ve greeted us. Get a move on.” Cullen glares at Jace, and I question how well they know each other.
“Fine, fine. I hope to see you again, darling.” Jace gives me a wink, his accent teasing around his words. “See you tomorrow, Cullen.” He gives a rap on the table before heading to the exterior doors and disappearing into the outdoor area, which has only gotten busier and louder.
“Friend of yours?”
“Business acquaintance. Remember the guy I said was from the UK and kept calling me at four in the morning? That’s him.”
“I thought you said that was your friend?”
“Friend was a loose term.” Cullen leans back in his chair, but tension still pulls at his shoulders.
“I think the green in your eyes is showing again.”
“Don’t let Jace fool you. He’s a shark under that playboy exterior.”
“Okay, sure.” I stifle a laugh, not wanting to rile him up again. “Is there anyone in the city you don’t know?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, at first it was the secret speakeasy your friend owns and then the viral donut shop your sister owns. Now, you have your friend with a private jet who owns resorts, plus a mysterious British man.”
“I see your point, but it’s nothing that fancy.”
“That’s the sort of thing fancy people say.”
He chuckles, the low rumble causing my core to swirl. “I grew up here and went to college upstate.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. People rarely leave the city, so the ones you meet tend to stick around. Tack on working in real estate, and you never really stop meeting new people. Everyone knows someone, and networking is key for my career.”
“That makes sense.”
“What about you? Where did you grow up?”
“Just this small town in Montana. We have a population of barely three hundred people.”
“Sounds cute.”
“Yeah, that’s one way to look at it. I always wanted to live in the city, though.”
I love my roots and my family, but my hometown really is tiny.
There were no opportunities there unless you wanted to work in ranch life, and I’d always wanted more than that.
I’d wanted to be the girl in the big city, making waves and chasing her dreams. The one who comes home one Christmas in her fancy car and tells her parents she is able to help them pay off their mortgage.
I want to be seen as the girl who made it.
“Does the city live up to your expectations?”
“One hundred percent. It might eat up my paycheck every month, but it’s worth it. There’s just something different about living here. It’s like the world is always moving.”
“I get that. What’s your favorite thing to do?”
“Oh, God. I mean, it’s going to sound pretty basic, but Hannah and I love trying new bakeries and bagel shops. It feels like there are new ones popping up every week. Otherwise, my life is kinda boring.”
“I doubt that.”
“Really, I’m not that riveting. I work, sleep, eat, and watch reality TV—nothing special.”
“Nope. Come on, tell me about a time you did something exciting. I refuse to believe you don’t have some crazy story tucked away in your past.”
I guess I do have a couple from college. Most of them involve Hannah because that girl is always the leader of the spontaneity train.
“Well, there was this one time sophomore year that Hannah and I got drunk after finals and decided it would be a fantastic idea to climb the statue in the fountain outside the university library.”
“What kind of statue?”
“Some dude riding a horse.”
“Always is.”
“It didn’t exactly go according to plan. It was super wet, which made the statue all slippery. I managed to get up on the horse and Hannah was right behind me, but then we saw a flashlight in the distance and I freaked out. We both fell into the water and Hannah dislocated her thumb.”
“Seriously?”
“Yup. And she refused to go to the hospital, so we went to the frat house this pre-med student guy she was kinda seeing lived at, and she had him set it.”
“Why would a college pre-med student be qualified to do that?”
“Oh, he absolutely wasn’t. He pulled up a video tutorial and everything. It was a total mess.”
Our server returns with our main courses, and Cullen and I continue to swap stories as we dig in.
It’s easy talking with him. He gets me to let down my guard with the way he hangs on to my every word.
He treats me like there’s nothing else in the world going on around us, and I feel special having his undivided attention.
“Could we get the check?” Cullen asks as our server comes back to clear our plates.
“Your bill has already been settled.”
“What do you mean?”
“That man paid.”
The server nods over to the bar, where Jace is leaning on the dark counter, chatting up a pretty redhead.
“That little—” Cullen grits his teeth, cutting off the rest of his complaint.
“I hope you have a nice rest of your evening.”
The server has no care for Cullen’s annoyance, and I let out a soft laugh.
“Always a show-off.” He shoots daggers at the Brit.
“It was a nice gesture.” I reach forward and link his hand with mine, looping our fingers together.
“Gesture, my ass. He wants something.”
I squeeze his hand, and he gives me an apologetic smile, squeezing back.
“Sorry.”
“I don’t mind. I like seeing these different sides of you.”
His gaze darkens at my words, and his thumb rubs in a crescent moon motion along my skin. It causes my breath to stutter in my chest, and it starts to feel a smidge too warm.
I pull my hand back using it to fan myself. A nervous giggle is all I can get out, and that just causes my cheeks to flush even more.
“You want to head out onto the rooftop and get some fresh air?”
“Yeah, sure.”
I’ll take anything.
He rests his hand on the small of my back as we head out onto the rooftop.
The balmy night air swirls around us as the noises of the city filter in under the DJ’s music.
Cullen keeps me close as we snake around the many bodies packing the space until he finds a small pocket by the glass railing to sneak us into.
I rest my hip against the glass, turning my head to the side to stare out at the sparkling skyline.
The entire city is illuminated, whether from billboards, streetlights, or the sparse apartment lights.
Cars continue to chug down the busy roads, and groups upon groups of people litter the sidewalks.
“I’ll never get tired of this view.”
Cullen leans down, his lips ghosting over the shell of my ear. “I could say the same thing.”
I freeze, my gaze locking on a random signpost as he trails a finger from my shoulder blade, down my back, and ends on the soft skin around my hip. He squeezes the flesh there, teasing my name to get me to look at him.
“Verity.”
My chest feels like a million bees are buzzing within it, the hum drowning out all sound in my ears.
I’m unable to resist the pull. I turn my head back to face him, feeling his nose graze along my cheekbone until we come tip to tip. His proximity is overwhelming, making me feel drunk even though I haven’t had a drop of liquor.
“Let me ask you again. Do you kiss on the fourth date?”
His breath skates over my lips, as if we are about to exchange souls.
“No.” There’s a challenge in my eyes and a smirk on my lips.
“Really?”
His gaze narrows as he presses even closer, leaving millimeters between our mouths so that it practically feels as though we are touching.
“Are you sure?”
As he forms the letters, that distance disappears. He speaks the words directly onto my lips, and my knees just about give out from under me.
I grip the railing with my hand, but I’m a complete mess. My pussy is pulsing, and we haven’t even done anything yet. The thread I’ve been holding onto snaps.
“No.” This time, I’m the one dancing my mouth across his. “I’m not sure.”
“Good.”
His lips swoop in, and I gasp against him as we finally kiss.
There’s nothing sweet about this. It’s raw and carnal. It’s our desires ripping out of us and merging. The pressure that’s been building bursts, and I taste it on his tongue.
The world empties of anything but him, and I distantly realize my hands have looped around his neck. We can’t seem to get enough of each other. His hand tightens on my waist as the other grips the back of my neck, tugging me into him.
He bites on my bottom lip, bringing a spark to my core. I almost whine at how good it feels to finally give in, to finally lose myself to him and this moment.
There’s no space left between us. We become a blur of want, feeding on nothing but our thirst for one another.
I can feel him getting hard, and it takes everything in me to not throw caution to the wind and give myself completely to him.
We finally break for air, chests heaving erratically.
I’m completely under his spell as he runs a thumb over my puffy lips.
“I said that you’d be mine, Verity, and I always keep my promises.”