Chapter 6 Violet
VIOLET
Ifinally convinced X to come back to my apartment with me somewhere around dawn.
He’d flat-out refused to go to his place, and I couldn’t take him to Fang’s because I didn’t trust he wouldn’t do something completely unhinged, like try to swing from the staircase railing while yelling about how he could be the next Tarzan, if only someone would give him a loincloth.
I chuckled at the idea and wondered if his odd sense of humor was rubbing off on me, or if I was as weird as he was for even considering it.
He practiced his running man in the hallway while I got the door unlocked, the dead bolt still nicely shiny with newness. The door opened easily, but I wrinkled my nose at the smell on the other side.
X caught sight of the face I’d made. “Uh-oh. I know that look. Food that was left out on the counter too long, or dead body?”
I glanced at him. “They smell the same to you?”
“Pretty much.”
I flicked on a light, illuminating the open-plan living area of my apartment.
“No dead bodies in sight.” I spotted the open bottle of milk on the counter and winced.
I hadn’t been here since the night of Toby’s murder, or rather the morning after I’d had a foursome with Whip, X, and Levi in my bedroom, and Whip had made us pancakes afterward.
The rest of the kitchen was clean, but he’d clearly missed the milk.
I pinched my nose and turned the bottle upside down, emptying the congealed contents down the drain. The smell was foul.
X made overdramatized retching sounds. “If I die from dairy-related gas inhalation, tell my story.”
I ran the hot water, trying to clear out the obnoxious stench, and then lit a candle.
It didn’t do much to help, but it was better than nothing.
X clapped his hands. “So, you go sleep. I’ll do a YouTube workout, clean your bathroom, and maybe bake a batch of brownies because me and my new nose ring could definitely use some sugar.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Or you could come sleep with me.”
He grinned. “And by sleep, you mean sex, right?”
“By sleep, I mean sleep.”
“Sleep sex?”
I squinted at him. “How does that work?”
“You go to sleep but give me permission to do wicked, wicked things to your body while you’re out.”
Why the hell did my body come alive at the very thought of that? I was dead on my feet. I’d been awake for almost twenty-four hours straight, and a pretty traumatic event had happened in the middle of it. And yet one mention of him touching me and I was ready to go.
My breath came out sort of wheezy. “I think I would like that. You have my consent to do whatever you want to me while I’m asleep.” I clenched my thighs together, the anticipation of waking up with him between them, stirring up desire and maybe a kink I hadn’t known I was into.
“BZZZZ!” he shouted, making something that maybe could have passed for an incorrect answer buzzer on a gameshow.
I flinched but I don’t think he noticed.
“That is the wrong answer, Violet Garrisen! You do not pass go. You do not collect two hundred dollars.”
I had no idea what kind of game show-Monopoly mash-up was going on in his head, but as with all things X, it was easier to just go along with it. Even still, I squinted at him. “Can I dispute that ruling? What exactly about it was wrong?”
He sighed. “You can’t let me do things like that to you, Violet.”
That tingle between my thighs and the daydream of him playing my body while I was out of it refreshed inside me, a new heat curling around low in my belly.
“You can’t put something like that on the table then take it off,” I complained.
“It was a test! You were supposed to be scared and say no!”
“Well, instead I got kinda hot and sweaty and am now eagerly awaiting it happening. So tough luck.”
He sighed. “I shouldn’t even be here alone with you.”
“And yet, we’ve been together for hours. You’ve had all the opportunity in the world to kill me. And I’m not dead yet.”
He gave me a look that said it wasn’t funny to joke about things like that. Which was kind of rich, coming from him, who had built his entire personality on inappropriate humor.
“Just come to bed, X. You aren’t going to kill me.” I wrapped my arms around his waist and lifted my face just a few inches so I could kiss his mouth. “I trust you.”
His eyes darkened. “You shouldn’t.”
But he could protest all he wanted. It wouldn’t change the fact this was the man who’d been willing to sacrifice his life for mine. This was a man who had eagerly replied to every text. Who had shown up every time I asked him to. Who had gone out of his way to introduce me to his family.
Maybe he was scared of himself.
But I wasn’t.
I tucked my hand into his, trying not to notice Toby’s closed bedroom door as I passed it, and pulled X down the hallway.
Even though there was no need to, I closed the door out of habit and then drew back the covers on the neatly made bed. I wondered if it had been Levi or Whip who’d made it up with fresh sheets after our group sexy times on it.
I went to slip into it, when X cleared his throat from the other side of the bed. “Take those sweats off first.”
I nodded. “You’re right. I should find some pajamas. It’s gross to sleep in clothes I’ve been wearing for hours.”
But he shook his head. “Not asking you to put on pajamas, Violet. Asking you to wear nothing.”
My breath hitched at the gleam in his eyes. “Are you saying…”
“Am I saying I don’t want any barriers to me fucking you in the middle of the night while you’re sleeping? Yeah. That’s exactly what I’m saying.” His gaze drifted over my body, like he could already see what was beneath my clothes.
I took off my hoodie and then my sweats. Everything else was soggy and wet in the garbage bag we’d brought back from Dax’s shop.
I stood in front of him, completely naked, the overhead light on, showing off every dimple and curve and fat roll on my body.
Yet he gazed at me like I was only going to be asleep for a minute before he pounced. He stripped off his clothes as well, and both of us got into bed. He pulled up the covers and fit himself in behind me, his dick hard, but him ignoring it between us. “Go to sleep, Violet.”
I snuggled into him, enjoying the feel of his arms around me and his warmth radiating through my back.
Despite the anticipation of waking up with him inside me, I was suddenly exhausted, my body registering a safe space to finally rest, and the adrenaline high of the last twelve hours finally ebbing away enough that I could fully relax.
My eyelashes fluttered involuntarily, my blinks becoming slow.
“You haven’t been calling me Omelet,” I said sleepily.
“It’s hard to call you Omelet when I just want to call you mine.” He shifted behind me, pressing a gentle kiss to my shoulder. “I love you. Violet.”
A soft smile spread across my lips. But I was asleep, dragged under by exhaustion and emotions too big for my body before I could respond.