Chapter 12
12
BIRDIE
W hen I blink my eyes open, I’m staring at a mess of dark strands on white sheets. My forehead creases with confusion. Before moving, I replay the events of last night through my mind.
The auction. Alaric. The whiskey. The room. The audience. The sex.
I had sex with a man last night.
It’s not that being with a man is really so shocking. Until Violet, I sort of assumed I would end up with a man. But then she changed everything.
Just a few days ago, I thought I was about to get everything I ever wanted. Violet had a plan—a plan that meant I would finally be hers, and she would be mine—for real this time. Forever.
Then…oh God , she had to watch. She had to watch him touching me, making me feel good, making me say those things during sex.
Fuck, what did I say?
Come inside me.
Make me yours.
I let out a groan as I cover my face with my hands. My poor Violet.
I was so caught up in the moment—desperate to cling to anything to escape the reality of what was happening. I made myself believe it was just him and me, and nothing else existed.
In the dimly lit room, I scoot closer to Violet. As I touch her arm, she shivers. Just past her sleeping form, I can see Alaric. His back is to her, wearing a tight black T-shirt, and his hair is tousled from sleep.
“Violet,” I whisper.
I can tell by the way she tenses that she’s awake. Quietly, she turns toward me. When her eyes meet mine, it feels like a thousand bricks landing on my chest. Her eyes are swollen, most likely from crying. Her expression is despondent, and it breaks my heart.
“I’m so sorry,” I whisper, tears welling in my eyes.
She forces a sad smile on her face. “Don’t be sorry, Bird. It’s okay. You didn’t do anything wrong.” Then she leans closer and presses her lips to my forehead. I rest in her arms, my head lying softly under her chin.
Violet has always been my soft place to land. With her, I’m safe and comfortable and home.
What is going to happen to us now?
It’s the question I’m too afraid to ask.
We lie together like that for a while. Neither of us speaks or addresses the elephant in the room—or the man sleeping next to her.
The important part is that I don’t have to go back to my life at Clarissa’s. I’m free.
“Are you in pain?” Violet asks in a low whisper.
I shake my head. “Just a little sore.”
My hand snakes down my naked body and slides between my legs. It doesn’t feel any different, although it is tender to the touch.
Violet’s hand caresses my back and hip. “How about a shower?” she says quietly.
I nod. “Yeah, that would be nice.”
Slowly, we both climb out of bed. Alaric fidgets but stays asleep. Violet takes my hand and leads me to the bathroom.
I wish I had some clothes. I know there’s nothing at that house worth going back for, but I’d really like to have some of my things. My laptop. My clothes. My stepmother said she was having it all packed up while we were gone, but I don’t trust her word at all.
Violet turns on the shower and tests the water before pulling off what I assume is one of Alaric’s T-shirts and climbing in first. I follow close behind. The moment we’re alone, I fall into her embrace. Her breasts are soft against mine. I’ve missed this. The beat of her heart. The scent of her hair.
“What are we gonna do now?” I whisper.
She strokes my back, hesitating before she answers. “We’re going to take it one day at a time. We know we can trust Alaric, so for now, we’ll go stay with him.”
“Both of us?” I ask, my brow furrowed.
She pulls away and takes my face in her hands. Holding it close so I can stare into her eyes, she says, “You’re not going anywhere without me. Understand?”
Swallowing the lump in my throat, I nod.
“Where you go, I go,” she says.
“Where you go, I go,” I repeat.
“If he tries to take you from me, I’ll kill him,” she says in a low mutter, and I can tell by the expression on her face that she’s serious.
Leaning in, she presses her lips to mine, and I wrap my arms around her neck to hold her close. I need Violet like air. During the worst days of my life, she was there. When I found my father’s lifeless body on the floor. Whenever my stepmother would get drunk and take it out on me. Whenever Luna would bully me so bad, it made life feel like a burden to keep living.
Violet was the sun when it felt like morning would never come.
Then, now, and forever, I know it’s me and her. She will protect me the way she always has. She will love me when no one else wants to. She will never leave my side.
My heart expands in my chest at the thought of how much she means to me. So I pour that passion into our embrace. Our kiss deepens as she presses me back against the wall.
Her mouth trails from mine down my neck, and I gasp for air when her teeth close over the tight bud of my nipple.
“Quiet,” she whispers.
“I’m sorry,” I reply breathlessly.
Taking my breast in her hand, she squeezes it and sucks at the other eagerly, making my core grow hot with need. Her hands and mouth are rough, but I know Violet—this is her way of reclaiming me. I just wish she knew I was always hers. I will always be hers.
When her hand drifts down between my legs, I suck loudly through my teeth, and she pauses. Looking up at me, she whispers, “Is my sweet girl sore?”
Holding her hand by the wrist to keep it from touching the tender spots, I nod.
I watch as she drops to her knees in front of me. “Let me kiss it better for you, then.”
Sucking my bottom lip between my teeth, I bite it as I watch her bring her tongue to my clit. My fingers claw at the tile as I soak in the warm, soft touch of her mouth against my most sensitive spot.
It’s unreal how good it feels. Unlike Alaric’s mouth last night, Violet’s is gentle. Without the scruff of facial hair, her skin is delicate against my thighs. Her tongue spears me, and I let out a moan. My head hangs back as she slowly drives me to the brink of insanity.
Licking, nibbling, gently prodding. It’s like she’s toying with me.
“Violet, please,” I whine as I drive my hips toward her.
“What do you want, baby?”
“Make me come,” I whisper in a needy drawl.
“Come here,” she says with a grunt as she jerks my hips farther away from the wall and dives in closer, using the suction of her lips to detonate a surreal explosion of pleasure inside me.
“Don’t stop,” I cry out. “I’m so close.”
There’s no way Alaric’s not hearing this. I’m clearly unable to keep it down when her mouth is between my legs. Most of my weight is leaning against the wall as I find myself careening toward my climax. My legs want to give out beneath me, but Violet helps to hold me up as she sucks eagerly on my clit and drives two digits deep inside me.
When I do finally come, a guttural, raw noise claws its way out of my chest.
My spine curls, and my body shudders. How can one person bring another so much ecstasy?
After my orgasm rolls through my entire body, lingering with aftershocks, I grab onto Violet by her arm and haul her to her feet. Once she’s standing in front of me, I attack her lips with my own. They are soft and lush and taste like my arousal. It drives me wild with need.
Shoving her back against the wall, I feel as if I’m suddenly coming to life. Sex with a near stranger last night and getting off in the shower from my stepsister’s mouth. Who am I? What is happening to me?
I don’t know, but all I can think right now is that I need to show her the same tempest of pleasure she just showed me. I don’t have enough confidence in my own oral skills to return the favor, but I do know how I normally get off in the shower. Turning toward the showerhead, I smile wickedly when I see that it’s detachable.
After grabbing it from where it’s mounted against the wall, I bring it down between our bodies. She lets out a yelp when I aim the high pressure at her clit. Then I kiss her again, driving my tongue into her mouth as I press the showerhead closer and closer. She’s squirming against the sensation, but I hold her in place, swallowing her cries with my kiss.
“Oh my God, Birdie,” she sings, letting her head hang back and moaning so her voice echoes throughout the entire bathroom.
“God, you’re so sexy,” I say with a hum. My kisses dance from her mouth to her jaw and along her neck. Going even lower, I get a taste of her breasts, licking the tight bud of each nipple before teasing it with my teeth. She cries out even louder.
Slowly, she starts to fall apart, losing composure with each passing second.
When I feel her grip my scalp so tightly, it makes my eyes sting with tears, and I know she’s about to come. I’m swelling with pride as she seizes up in my arms, crying out loudly so damn near everyone in this whole mansion can hear it.
I watch the entire thing unfold, and it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. I’ve dreamt of this moment for years, and while I had some help from the water pressure, I just made Violet come for the first time in my life. And it was incredibly hot. So hot, I want to do it again.
“Well, that was something.” A deep voice interrupts my thoughts.
I drop the showerhead with a yelp as I turn to see Alaric’s blurry figure through the foggy glass of the shower. I turn back to Violet with wide eyes. “Did you know he was there?”
She shrugs. “I saw him walk in,” she replies, still breathless from the orgasm. “I wasn’t about to stop you.”
“How long were you standing there?” I shriek.
“Relax, Princess,” he replies, opening the shower door and getting a good long look at both of us. “You got fucked in front of a crowd last night. Letting me watch you get your stepsister off is nothing.”
Violet slams the shower door closed and hangs the sprayer back on its mount. I’m still dumbstruck while she helps me wash my hair and then my body.
There’s something about what just happened that I can’t shake. It was more than just being watched, but it was being watched by him…while I was with her. I probably shouldn’t have loved that as much as I did.