Chapter 27
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Blue
Warmth wraps around me. My cheek presses against Red's chest, and his arm lies heavy around my waist.
He doesn't want me to go anywhere!
His slow breath comes out peacefully, but when I lift my head, his lashes flutter. I smile and lean in, brushing my mouth over his jaw, then his lips.
Our kiss is soft at first, exploratory, until his hand tightens at my back and he exhales against my mouth like restraint is already slipping. He kisses me back deeper, unguarded, his thumb sliding along my hip beneath the sheet.
My body arches into him on instinct, as heat builds and the room narrows to the space between us.
I shift closer, and his breath shifts. My knee slides between his legs. His grip turns firmer, more possessive, and his kiss changes. Pressure increases. His teeth graze just enough to make my pulse jump.
"Bluebird," he murmurs in a low warning, and every sensation I have lights up.
A violent thump cracks through the apartment. It detonates through the room, sharp and relentless, and Red goes rigid beneath me. His hand freezes at my waist as the knocking comes again, louder, impossible to ignore.
"Blue!" a woman's voice calls, bright and unapologetic. "Yoga! Are you alive in there?"
I smile before I can stop myself.
Red's hand curls against the sheet, knuckles whitening, jaw tightening as he exhales through his nose. He stares at the door as if it's a threat that's learned how to speak. He mutters, "Jesus Christ."
Another series of hard knocks, and Cloud sings a threat, "I swear I'll break the door down if you oversleep."
I push myself up on my elbows, the sheet sliding down my waist.
Red's gaze snaps to me, sharp and assessing, then away just as quickly. He swings his legs over the side of the bed and stands, already pulling on control like armor. He orders, "Stay here."
Hurt fills me. I tilt my head. "It's a little late for secrecy."
His mouth tightens. He drags a hand through his hair, then grabs a T-shirt from the chair. He tugs it over his head and pulls it over his torso.
"That's Cloud," he says, annoyed.
"It explains the enthusiasm," I reply.
He shoots me a look over his shoulder with irritation flaring just beneath the surface.
Cloud calls again. "Red! Blue! I can hear you breathing."
"I don't breathe that loud," he mutters, then stalks toward the door.
I slide out of bed and grab the sheet, wrapping it around myself, and following him.
He pauses at the door and turns, lowering his voice. "Go back in the bedroom."
I arch a brow. "Why?"
His eyes flick toward the bedroom, then back to me. Panic flares in his expression. His jaw flexes.
"Cloud already knows about us," I point out.
Three sharp hits in quick succession echo around us.
"I don't like being exposed," he admits through clenched teeth.
The word lands heavy between us.
Cloud shouts, "If you're naked, just say that!"
Red winces.
I laugh, then open the sheet and adjust it.
He scowls. Flickers of heat and restraint pop into it. He shakes his head, and mutters, "Keep yourself covered." He opens the door.
Cloud's dressed in leggings and a cropped sweatshirt, hair piled messily on her head, with two yoga mats tucked under one arm like weapons and an oversized gym bag in the other. Her grin widens as her eyes drag over my body. Delight fills her expression. "Well, good morning."
"Morning," I chirp back.
Red shifts, trying to block her view.
Cloud steps inside and around him, her gaze bouncing between us, taking inventory with zero shame. "Did I interrupt something...important?"
"Yes," Red deadpans.
"No," I say at the same time.
Cloud laughs. "You two are already my favorite couple in this building."
"We aren't a couple," Red fires back.
A sting drills into me.
Cloud waves her hand in front of her. "Whatever you want to call it."
I step forward. "I didn't think about clothes."
"I brought them!" She shakes her bag in front of me.
I clap. "Yay!"
"Thought you might need these. Seven a.m. flow is the best!"
Red exhales, slow and controlled. "I thought you had to sign up for that class?"
"I did. Don't worry, they'll bill your account," Cloud states.
"Gee. That was nice of you," Red mutters.
"Aw. Thanks, babe," I gush, tiptoe, kiss, then beam at him.
"So adorable," Cloud praises.
Red looks between us like he's lost control of a narrative. His irritation sharpens.
"He's hot when he's annoyed, isn't he?" I say to Cloud.
She nods. "For sure."
Red's exasperation brews.
I lean in and whisper, "You don't get to pretend I'm not here just because the sun's up."
Something flickers across his face. He doesn't respond.
Cloud backs away, still grinning. "Gym in ten. I'll get our mats in place!"
"Thanks, girl! Be there soon!"
She disappears down the hall, humming.
Red shuts the door, and silence stretches between us.
His eyes sweep over the sheet, then freeze on the bare skin at my shoulder. He steps closer and lightly grazes the bruised spot on my neck.
Pain tips into arousal, blooming a sensation that hurts just enough to heighten awareness. It's intimate rather than unpleasant, blurring the line between tenderness and wanting more.
He presses lightly.
Fresh need rips through me, causing me to squeeze my thighs tight, and shorten my inhale. He studies me, pushes again, and a soft ache edges with heat, tightening my skin and carrying the echo of teeth and lips from last night.
He drags two fingers over it several times, watching my reaction intensify with his brooding eyes.
Elation skyrockets, and I swallow hard. My insides quiver, and my voice catches. "Red."
"I left you marked," he admits, his voice rough with something he's no longer fully containing, like the line between restraint and ownership just blurred.
But there's nothing foggy about it to me. His mark on my skin isn't an accident. It's evidence. Proof that something in him slipped just enough to leave a trace behind. He didn't plan it and couldn't stop himself in time. His control fractured for a breath, and my body carries the record of it.
He owns me.
His fingers continue to brush the tender spot, the ache solidifying his love, and causing it to take root.
If he were untouched by me, there would be nothing to hide.
No bruise. No reason for his jaw to tighten when his eyes land on my neck.
He marked me because his body answered before his rules could.
Because for one moment, consequence didn't matter as much as proximity. .. As much as me.
That understanding settles deep and steady inside me.
I'm not guessing anymore. I'm not reaching or hoping.
He doesn't have to say it for me to know what it means.
He didn't just touch me. He left himself behind, whether he intended to or not.
And once I recognize that, everything shifts.
I'm no longer chasing something just out of reach.
I'm carrying proof that I was already chosen, long before he's ready to admit it.
"This complicates things," he says quietly, the words stripped of emotion, like possession is already a fact and consequences are an afterthought.
Glorious buzzing intensifies, flowing faster in my veins. I whisper, "Now that you realize you own me, you should see how far I'll let you take it." I drop the blanket.
His Adam's apple twitches, and his eyes roam over my body. His words come out as a warning. "No one should own you."
I reach for his cock, massaging the shaft, insisting, "But you do. And don't lie to me. You love it, don't you?"
His cock throbs against my fingers. He mutters, "You shouldn't be here."
"You didn't say that last night." I take my hand away.
"I'm pretty sure I did."
I reach inside the bag for the yoga pants. "Yeah, but you didn't mean it." I step into one leg.
"Blue, this has consequences."
I scoff, tug the black material up, and step into the other side. "Love always does, Red."
He watches me, saying nothing.
I tug a hot-pink tank top with a built-in bra over my head.
He asserts, "It's important you don't confuse sexual acts with love."
I smooth the shirt over my torso and tilt my head. I smile and point out, "You're angry."
"I'm not."
"You are."
He sighs. "I'm cautious."
"Same thing, different branding."
He doesn't comment.
I slide into the sandals Cloud left, and step into his space again.
He stiffens but doesn't move away, stating, "You slept."
"I did."
"Good."
I tilt my head. "You stayed up a long time after I fell asleep, didn't you?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
He looks at me for a long moment. Conflict churns behind his eyes. He shakes his head. "You're going to be late for yoga."
I grin. "You're adorable when you deflect."
"I'm not adorable."
"You are when you're irritated."
His lips twitch, but it vanishes just as quickly.
"I'll see you later tonight," I declare, then kiss him on the cheek.
"Blue—"
"I'm going to be late. And don't worry. I know where your gym is," I acknowledge.
"Of course you do." His eyes narrow.
"Later, babe!" I sing and wave, disappearing past the door and shutting it before he can say anything else.
The hallway swallows me the second the door clicks shut. Plush carpet muffles my steps, but my pulse doesn't get the memo. It keeps racing, loud in my ears, as I walk away from him without looking back.
I don't need to. I can picture Red with his narrowed eyes, mouth set, and his brain already replaying the last thirty seconds.
I take the elevator to the eighth floor and get off. The gym's only a few units down the hall, and the door is propped open with a foam roller. Soft, airy music pulses from inside, completely mismatched with the tension still humming under my skin.
Inside, bodies stretch and bend across mats in neat rows, mirrors reflecting movement from every angle. Eucalyptus and disinfectant flare in the air.
Cloud spots me instantly and grins. "There you are! Are you ready to sweat out your sins?"
I laugh. "I don't believe in those."