Chapter 14 Violet
VIOLET
Isank into the warmth of Whip’s body, letting his strong muscles and the slight buzz from the beer soothe away all the sad parts of me that hadn’t wanted to say goodbye to my best friend.
The football game provided a hum of background noise, though I didn’t really pay attention to it.
I was more interested in the three humans in the space around me, my heart squeezing at the knowledge they’d all shown up for me today, and that they were still here, keeping me company, making me food, distracting me from the grief that came in fits and starts, sometimes so heavy it felt like it would drown me, and then at others, barely a thought.
This was the only place I wanted to be. With them.
And yet I knew this was limited, because at some point in the next few hours, Whip was going to walk out the door to go have sex with someone who wasn’t me.
That thought left me feeling so sick I could barely think about it.
I knew it was his job. Knew if I wanted to be with him then I would need to get over it.
But I didn’t know how.
Every time I thought about him touching another woman, I just felt like I was going to get sucked down into a gaping void of despair and jealousy. Sharing him with Levi felt good. Right.
Sharing him with some random off the street felt like I might take up killing as a hobby right alongside the rest of them.
X’s encouragement to tell him rang in my ears, but I couldn’t do it.
I was terrified of being that whiny girlfriend who laid down rules for her man.
I didn’t want to be a controlling bitch.
What he was doing wasn’t cheating. Hell, we weren’t even in an official relationship, he had the right to see whoever he wanted.
He wasn’t even seeing this woman. It was work. A transaction.
So I bit my tongue and tried to just enjoy the moment and not worry about the fact he was going to walk out the door in a few hours, and there was nothing I could do to stop him.
If he stopped, it had to be his decision. Not because I’d forced his hand by being a nagging bitch.
X brought over a tray of oysters, fresh, still in their shells.
I wrinkled my nose at them. “They smell disgusting.”
X waved a hand around dismissively. “You just have an untrained palate.” He nudged them at Whip. “Eat up.”
Whip leaned around me, picking up a shell with a slimy oyster sitting in the middle of it, and tossed it back like he was doing shots at the bar.
X eyed him with a raised brow. “Good?”
He nodded. “What did you put on them? Some sort of sauce?”
“A combination of soy and Worcestershire sauce and a few other things. A recipe my mom taught me.”
Whip reached for another. “It’s delicious.” He nudged one toward me. “Try it. You’ll like it. Barely tastes like oyster at all.”
But X quickly shook his head. “Can’t waste good oysters on their poor taste buds. Enjoy, friend.” He clapped his hand on Whip’s shoulder and went back to the kitchen. Pots and pans clattered about, and more ingredients appeared from the depths of the fridge.
X frowned at them. “Shit, I need garlic.”
Levi glanced over. “Just leave it out.”
“Wash your mouth out. I will do no such thing. Garlic is life.” He grabbed his keys from the kitchen counter. “I’m just going to run down to the store and grab some. Sit. Enjoy. More beers in the fridge.” He eyed Whip. “Eat all those oysters.”
Whip picked up another and swallowed it down. “Not gonna be a problem. Want me to save you some though?”
“Nope, they’re all for you!”
X waved as he walked out, and I settled back with my beer.
Happiness washed over me, and I kissed Whip, because he was the closest one to me, knowing that Levi wouldn’t mind.
He kissed me back. He tasted of whatever sauce combination X had created in the kitchen, and it was delicious. “Mmm,” I murmured on his lips. “You taste good.”
He stole another kiss but kept it short and offered me the tray of oysters. “Two left. Go on. Try one. Just because you didn’t like the way the restaurant prepared them doesn’t mean you actually don’t like them. These are really good. The sauce makes them.”
Just from the lingering taste on his tongue, I was a whole lot more interested than I had been a few minutes earlier.
I picked one up and downed it in the same way Whip had.
It slid over my tongue, slimy, but the sauce masked any other flavor it might have had. I swallowed it whole, like I knew you were supposed to, and shrugged. “Not awful.”
Whip offered the last one to Levi. “Everyone should try them once in their life.”
Levi wrinkled his nose but took the last one anyway. “So I’m not supposed to chew it?”
Whip shook his head. “No. Just tip the shell up and let it slide right down your throat.” He glanced around the room. “Huh. X isn’t here to make an inappropriate blow job joke. What a shame.”
I stifled a laugh, both me and Whip watching Levi.
He caved and took the last one, swallowing it down.
We both waited for his reaction.
“Well?” Whip asked.
“I think I like it.”
I snuggled down onto Whip’s lap farther, loving that I was no longer worried about whether I was cutting the circulation off to his legs.
He’d made it abundantly clear for weeks now that my weight was not a problem for him, and because he’d assured me time and time again with such conviction, I was finally believing him.
It felt nice to be comfortable with them.
To be relaxed and casual, not worrying whether the way I was sitting was giving me fat rolls. Or if they were judging me for eating.
Whip’s fingers traced idly over my arm, creating patterns.
I loved the way it felt. He wasn’t consciously trying to turn me on, but just the way he wanted to be near me, wanted to touch me, was all it took for me to be thinking about more than just the football game we were supposed to be watching.
I kissed his neck, inhaling the delicious scent of him while my nose was there.
He let out a murmur of approval at what I was doing, and he transferred his beer to the hand that was wrapped around me so he had one free to undo his top button.
The collar loosened, and then some more when I undid the second button to give me better access. I kissed my way all over the side of his neck, the small pecks quickly turning into open-mouth sucks, my tongue flicking over his skin.
He tightened his grip on me. “Don’t stop, Violet.”
“You’ve had too many oysters,” Levi mock complained from the other couch.
But I didn’t miss the way his attention was no longer focused on the game, and instead, was solely concentrated on me and Whip.
I undid a few more buttons and worked my way across his chest and to the other side of his neck, repeating the action there. I brushed my lips over his ear, breathing heavy across it.
He groaned. “Keep doing that, Violet, and you’re going to find yourself spread out on this coffee table.”
I did it again, letting him know the idea of that threat was actually very welcome.
He growled in my ear, taking control, and lowering the zipper on the back of my dress. His dick got hard beneath me, and I wiggled on top of it. I knew what I was doing to him.
His fingers found the back clasp of my bra, and he undid it.
I pulled the straps down my arms and dropped it on the floor, leaning back and tilting my head up to look at the ceiling so he had room to kiss his way down my neck, across my chest, and over my breasts.
He gripped one in his hand, flicking his thumb over the tip, tightening the nipple until it was taut and begging for his mouth. He lowered his lips and sucked.
I gasped at the sensation, silently begging him for more.
My fingers found the nape of his neck and stroked across it.
The short beard that lined his jaw scratched on my skin, but in a way that only increased the pleasure, the sensation of hard against soft so intoxicating I just wanted to feel him all over me.
Levi put his beer down, his gaze fixated on me and Whip and what he was doing to my body.
My gaze held his.
My breath hitched.
Levi dropped to his knees and crawled across the carpet to settle at our feet. He undid my shoes and slipped them off my feet. His fingers held my leg like it was something precious, and he lowered his mouth, kissing the inside of my ankle.
I shivered at the tiny touch, that single touch of his lips somehow so erotic it had a rush of arousal pooling at my core.
His gaze never left mine. He worked his way up the inside of my leg, kissing and stroking and licking at my skin while Whip turned my breasts into his own personal lollipops, devouring each one in turn until I was trembling.
Levi used his shoulders to push my thighs apart. His fingers hooked in the elastic of my panties, and then a tearing sound filled the room.
Seams ripping, Levi shredding my underwear.
Whip and I both stared down at him between my thighs.
Whip raised an eyebrow. “Very caveman.”
Levi grinned. “I’ve always wanted to do that.” Then he cringed in my direction. “Hope you weren’t attached to those.”
“They were my favorites,” I whispered.
Levi’s mouth dropped open. “Shit.” He took the ruined panties off me and held them up, inspecting them. “Maybe I can sew them up? I paid attention during Queenie’s sewing lessons.”
I couldn’t help the slight upturn of my mouth. “I’m joking, Levi.”
Whip chuckled beneath me, the vibrations of his amusement humming pleasantly at my back.
Realization washed over Levi’s face, and then a wicked glint. He flicked his fingers over my clit. “Just looking to get punished, are you, Violet?”
Why did that sound like a promise on his tongue?
But two could play at that game. I waited until Whip was playing with my nipples again, and Levi had pulled my dress off, leaving me naked between them.
I waited until he’d gone back to kissing my inner thighs and driving me mad with the fact he was kissing all around my most intimate area, but not actually putting his tongue where we all knew I most wanted it.