36. Rose
Chapter 36
Rose
“Happy are those who dare courageously to defend what they love.” ― Ovid
G olden sequins and pearls filled the mostly see-through gown and glittered in the bathroom light as I slid my arms into the long sleeves. I hung my head and reached back, searching for the zipper, when familiar footsteps came closer from behind me.
“Let me.” Briggs kissed my shoulder as he slid the zipper up effortlessly, the fit seamless. Our eyes locked in the bathroom mirror, and he smiled against my shoulder. “Beautiful.”
My breath hitched as his fingers wove into my curled hair, sweeping it over my shoulder as he kissed along my neck. “Briggs,” I warned. “We’re not going to make it there in time if you keep—” I gasped as he spun me, taking me by my waist and pulling me to him.
“How am I supposed to want to go anywhere with you looking like that?” He lowered his voice, nearly purring as he said, “Let’s just stay home tonight.”
“No.” I arched my brow at him, straightening the red bowtie he paired with an all-black ensemble. It reminded me of the red rose tattooed on his chest. I was willing to bet that was exactly why he wore it. “We stay home most nights. Being safe all the time is getting really old.”
“Tell me about it.” His fingers wrapped around my neck, pulling me to him for a kiss that made my toes curl against the floor. Something told me we weren’t talking about the same thing .
I batted him away, slapping him with the back of my hand to his chest. “Briggs, seriously.”
He looked down at my bare feet, then smirked as his eyes lingered up to mine. “You planning on going barefoot? I thought you learned.”
I scowled. “Of course, I’m not going barefoot.”
He jutted his chin toward our bed through the doorway. “Go sit.”
“No.”
“Rose. Go. Sit.”
I scrunched my nose. “What if I don’t want to?”
His smirk turned into a wicked grin, and before I registered what he was doing, he scooped me up and threw me over his shoulder.
“Hey!”
He smacked my ass as he walked to the bed and set me down, just as he told me to do.
“I love that mouth of yours, but if you keep opening it to tell me ‘no,’ I’ll have to shove my cock in there until all you can scream is ‘yes.’”
I swallowed, my thighs squeezing together at the thought. Briggs disappeared into our closet and then reappeared with a pair of black, strappy heels. When he sank to his knees and took my ankle in his hands, I shivered. Briggs’ eyes were hooded as he stared up at me from the floor, then kissed the top of each foot before strapping the heels on. When he was done, he stood and prowled over me, kissing my forehead sweetly before tugging me up by my hands.
“Now, you’re ready.”
I’d never been in a limo before or any car that had custom seats with someone’s last name written out like a logo. Technically, I suppose it was a logo. I wondered at what point Briggs would think I needed to know about his family’s business more than I did. As of right now, seeing VanAndrews scrawled across black leather was about as invested as I’d ever been .
After hearing about what he’d done to people in the name of business, I was starting to think he preferred it that way.
I played with my thumbs, sitting beside Briggs but feeling a tight coil forming in my gut like he wasn’t there at all. He patted his lap and cocked a brow at me. “Come here, baby.”
My shoulders fell, and I did as he said, sitting on one of his knees. He pulled me closer until my head rested on his shoulder.
“You aren’t nervous? Didn’t you say there were hundreds of people at this thing?”
He chuckled, stroking my hair. “People don’t make me nervous.”
“I’m starting to think nothing bothers you.”
His hand stilled. “Plenty bothers me.”
I pulled back to meet his gaze. “Like what?”
“For one, your friend.”
“He’s not my friend anymore. Doesn’t count.”
Briggs growled. “He’s still breathing.”
I laughed. “His breathing bothers you?”
“Yes,” he answered immediately.
Our lines of communication since the night he opened up had broadened tremendously, but at times like this, I wished he’d lie. I didn’t want to think about him hurting or killing anyone, though I knew it was on his mind often.
My fingers curled around his lapels. “What else bothers you?”
“Knowing that we have about an hour where I have to make sure you are safe around those hundreds of people.” I shivered at his words. “Are you ready to meet and talk to some people? ”
“I’m actually not too worried about that. Just one person is making me a little…bothered.”
“Clarissa?” I nodded. He pulled me back to his chest, his steady heartbeat keeping mine in check. “Why would you be bothered seeing her?”
“Because you slept with her,” I replied quickly before I could stop myself. “And she’s possibly the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen.”
“I don’t know how you could think that, but I will say it’s all fake,” he whispered, his hand falling to cup my breast through my dress.
My breath was shaky as I asked, “What is?”
“You’re naturally beautiful. Stunning, actually. But her? She’s been under the knife more times than I can count.” His hand moved down, gathering the bottom of my dress until his hand could glide beneath it. “Can’t fix her personality with a knife, though.”
I scraped my teeth over my bottom lip, trying to focus as his hand continued working its way up and up. “It doesn’t bother you that she knows what you’re like in bed?” I whispered.
He cupped my pussy, drawing a moan from me. “She never got the full experience.”
“And I—” I gasped as he slipped a finger inside my slit and began toying with my sensitive bud—“have?”
He grinned. “I have a lot more planned for us, but yes. You’ve seen the real me and even pulled out some interesting new things that I didn’t even know I liked.”
“Mmm?” My eyelids fluttered, his breath warm along my chest as he swiped his lips over the fabric of my dress .
“I never wanted to see my cum dripping down her legs, much less plug her, or wanted something to come from that.” He pushed another finger in, stroking my walls leisurely. “I want so much with you. Only you.”
Briggs maneuvered my dress higher, and I swung my leg over his lap to straddle him. In seconds, he worked his pants down and entered me, thrusting inside me to the hilt, stealing the breath from my lungs.
“I love you,” I whispered as he rocked my hips back and forth, our movements unhurried and full of the love we had for each other.
“Love can’t even begin to cover what I feel for you. I love you past any measurable depth—you are my light, my life, my very fucking existence. You have obliterated my heart and soul for anyone else, Rose.”