43. JT #2
Those beautiful brown eyes and a face he’d slay dragons for.”
My breath caught in my throat as West turned the full force of his attention on me. As if no one else was in the room. Like nothing else mattered but me and finding a way to get through.
“But the prince was determined; he never lost.
This time would be no different, except for the cost.
Because never did he think he had the ability to find
Someone who adored him not for his money but his mind.”
West smiled as he broke our connection to tell the crowd, “He also adored my body, but that didn’t rhyme.”
Everyone started to laugh, and damn it, so did I. West was making it impossible to ignore him—not to mention stay mad—as he slipped right back into his poem like the natural he was proving to be.
“The innocent was sweet, his love golden
But his heart and trust the prince had stolen.
Hurt and betrayed the innocent lashed out,
Telling the prince to ‘Get the fuck out!’”
West pointed dramatically to the side stage exit, making the audience laugh. Then he lowered his arm and took on a serious tone.
“The prince left, dragging his pride out the door.
But what good would that do him, when his heart was broken on the floor?
He needed a way to prove that he had changed.
A way to make the innocent look at him again.”
West’s eyes came back to mine then and the apology swirling in his had my breath catching.
“The prince tried to apologize, but that wasn’t enough.
He even braved the queen, to prove he was tough.
But in the end the most honest thing he could do
Was lay his heart on the line and let the innocent choose.
Could he ever forgive the prince after what he’d done?
Or would the prince grow old knowing he’d lost…the one?”
When West delivered his final line and stepped aside to take a bow, the crowd let out booming applause and started to stamp their feet. The thunderous sound kept time with my pounding heart as I smiled, and when West winked at me, a tear slipped free.
Shit. I was crying.
I reached up and swiped the tears away, as happiness washed over me, filling me with hope and possibilities, then the audience turned my way and started to cheer.
My face burned, but I didn’t care. I only had eyes for West, who was looking at me with a question on his face that I already knew the answer to.
I was out of my seat and heading down the aisle toward West as the wolf whistles continued. His eyes widened slightly when he realized what I was doing, but then he jumped off the platform, his long legs eating up the space between us.
My heart raced, closed to bursting, as we rushed toward each other.
“JT,” West said, “I—”
I didn’t give him a chance to finish. My hands were on him, cupping either side of his face as I slammed my mouth to his. West didn’t hesitate—he wrapped both arms tight around my waist, kissing me back with an intensity that made my knees weak and set off explosions behind my closed eyes.
Around us, the cheers and shouts grew louder, but West and I were in our own bubble, devouring each other with a passion like it’d been more than days since we’d been apart. Like we never expected to touch each other again.
I pulled back, breathless. “You’re absolutely insane, anyone ever told you that?”
He gave a smile, tightening his hold on me. “Among many, many other things. You okay being associated with someone like me?”
“I think I’m up for the challenge.”
“Wanna bet?” As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he cringed. “Too soon?”
“Depends—what do I get if I win?”
West lowered his head and nipped at my lower lip. “Anything you want, Golden Boy.”
I slipped my tongue between his lips, moaning as I wound my arms around his neck, and connecting myself to him any way I could.
West was here, in my arms again, and all the ugliness that had been between us was now gone.
I wasn’t the kind of person to hold a grudge, and was a full believer in second chances.
So if anyone deserved a chance to redeem himself, it was the man who’d just stood up on stage and given over the power, showing that he did, in fact, have a vulnerable side.
“I want the poem,” I whispered against his lips.
“Hmm?”
“If I can manage to put up with you, then I want to hear that poem at least once a month.”
West chuckled. “I think the staff here might get sick of hearing it.”
“Who said anything about performing it here?”
“Oh, now you’re talking.”
I grinned against his lips and rubbed my body up against his. “There’s good acoustics in the shower—”
“My bedroom.”
“Mhmm. I’m sure it would also sound wonderful up on your rooftop deck. I don’t care where you say it, but you, Mr . LaRue, are going to give me what I want.”
West pressed a hard kiss to my lips, then grabbed my ass, squeezing it tight.
“Get a room!” someone shouted, and West waggled his brows at me.
“Who needs a room when there’s a second-floor balcony?”
I laughed, shoving at his chest as I shook my head. “I think we’ve got too many eyes on us to make that happen tonight. Besides, it’s a full house.”
“Damn. It’s a good thing I brought a backup, then.”
When I gave him a curious look, he laced his fingers through mine and started back through the crowd to the exit. As we passed, people clapped West and me on the shoulders and grinned. I had a feeling he could get used to that stage, which made another thought pop into my head.
“How the hell did you write all that?” I said. “I’m so impressed. You’re a natural.”
“I might’ve…had help. Like, a lot of help.”
I side-eyed him, smirking. “Who did you pay to write it for you?”
“Me? Pay someone off? I’m offended you’d think such a thing.” He grinned as he held open the front door for me to go out first. “Caleb helped me for free.”
“Caleb? No way. He hates you.”
“Exactly. You don’t think I’d say some of that shit about myself, do you?”
My jaw almost hit the ground in disbelief, and West shrugged.
“I figured we should try to play nice now since we have something in common.”
“Something?”
“Someone.”
“Wow, I’m shocked. Remind me to thank Caleb next time I see him.”
“Fuck Caleb. Actually, don’t. I was the one up there performing it, remember? If you’re going to thank anyone, it should be me .” As we stepped out onto the sidewalk, West tugged me toward him.
“Trust me, I will never forget what you just did in there.”
West brushed his lips against mine, sending a shiver through my body that I felt everywhere.
“West?”
“Mmm?”
“Take me home, and I’ll thank you for the rest of the night.”
West grinned and clicked his fingers in the air, and wouldn’t you know it, the prince’s carriage—a limousine—drew to a stop on the curb.
“You didn’t expect me to take the train on my own, did you?”
I chuckled as West opened the door for me. “No, I didn’t. Okay, Prince Charming, guess we better get in before this turns into a pumpkin and we’re stuck in the East Village.”
West feigned a shudder, but the smile on his gorgeous lips grew. “My castle or yours?”