Chapter 24 Laura
TWENTY-FOUR
LAURA
I was hiding from Killian.
Well, sort of.
I stood in the guest bathroom downstairs, staring at myself, and smirked. Not ready for him to see the tattoo I’d gotten. I decided I’d be clever and tell him to fuck me in the new property patch. I heard from Callie back when she started wearing hers that it was like catnip to them.
I decided to test the waters and see how it would go.
My hair was curled, and I’d reapplied some gloss on my lips. I’d shaved, showered, and moisturized every single inch of my skin and now as I stared at myself in the mirror, I was excited for what Killian would think.
I flipped the light and sauntered upstairs.
When I had asked for a second to get myself together, he’d been more than willing because he wanted to scrub the remnants of the road and shitty motel off him. Now as I walked upstairs and sauntered into his room, I found him standing by his dresser, completely naked.
His ink was deliciously dark against his pale skin. My gaze flicked to that daisy again, and my curiosity grew talons, needing to rip the answers from him.
I was so focused, I hadn’t even registered that Killian had gone completely still, or that his eyes were hooded and fixated on me.
“You’re more than I ever dreamed of,” he whispered, turning toward me.
“You dreamed of me?”
His smile turned bashful, and it made something crack inside me.
“I dreamed of finding someone…my match.” He covered that daisy tattoo with his palm.
I stepped closer, my bare feet silent against the plush carpet under me.
Then I was directly in front of him and leaned in to press a kiss over the tattoo.
“Tell me what it means, and why you call me it.”
His gaze searched mine, a frantic sort of panic swirling within those verdant orbs.
“When I was a child, my mother and I bonded over movies together; they were the classics. She loved Cinderella, and I didn’t really mind watching them because it meant we spent time together. His bashful smile returned, and my chest swelled.
It allowed me to examine a tiny piece of him and finally understand.
Your eyes are Cinderella Blue.
“I already told you a bit about what she’d said regarding the pebble.”
I nodded, stroking his chest.
His gaze was shy as he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “When she left…there was a letter with a dried daisy pressed inside.”
I stroked the petals of the flower to encourage him to continue. With a slow blink and small inhale, he finally did.
“She told me in that letter that one day I’d be tempted to fall in love. She knew her warning about the pebble would stop me from letting that person in some day. So she told me to think of a daisy. Strong, resilient.”
His hand rested on my throat, slowly trailing down over the name printed on my cut.
“Strong enough to push through gravel, grow between rocks. Strong enough to withstand this sentiment around my heart. I gave you that pebble that day on the bus platform and said it was a reminder.”
I held my breath as tears burned the backs of my eyes. Je let out a tiny laugh, shaking his head.
“It wasn’t a reminder, Daisy.”
Why did it feel like he’d just made an incision in my chest and inserted a piece of himself? My throat felt thick, my voice feeble as I tried to find the words.
“What was it then?” I managed to whisper.
His head was pinned to mine, similarly to that day on the platform. His hand touched the ends of my hair as he confessed.
“It was surrender.”
All this time…he’d been calling me Daisy since the second time we met.
“I took that dried flower into a tattoo shop when I was sixteen. Simon wouldn’t let me get one any sooner, no matter who I asked in the club.
But at sixteen one of the members took pity on me.
I handed him the flower, it was all dried, falling apart regardless of how hard I had tried to keep it together.
The man, Sly, that was his name…he took one look at the pathetic flower still hanging on by a thread and he inked it over my heart.
So I’d always remember my mothers parting words, and last wish for me. ”
My mouth moved even though I didn’t process what I was trying to say.
“She wanted you to find your daisy.”
Killian’s hand came over mine, where it was pinned to his chest.
“She wanted me to find my match. She wanted me to...” His voice pitched, almost like he couldn’t bring himself to say it. That was okay. I would say it for the both of us.
“I love you,” I whispered, my voice shaking, eyes watering.
He smiled, lowering his mouth to mine.
“Ditto, Daisy.”
My arms came up, and we were lost to our lust as his mouth moved as violently as a storm against mine. He didn’t kiss me; he claimed me.
“Get on your hands and knees, Daisy. Let me fuck you while I stare at my name on your back.”
My spine arched with the silent need to show him what I had branded into my skin, but I wasn’t ready. Even after that confession, I wasn’t.
Moving on the bed, I looked behind me as he got into position, and then his hand was stroking the letters of the cut, as he thrust inside me.
“Gonna ruin you,” he vowed, and my fists clenched the bedding.
His groan reverberated against the walls as he rocked into me. My hair was wrapped around his fist as he slid out and returned, slamming forward. He was so deep, and the way he pulled at my scalp, the burn was so sensational that I moaned, greedy for him to continue.
“You need more?”
His ruthless grip and intense speed intensified, and with my neck arched, my pussy being stretched, I screamed my release into the room.
Instead of letting me go, Killian released my hair and hovered over my back.
He was utterly gentle as he slowly pumped out his release and then began whispering words into my skin.
“Perfect for me.”
“Mine.”
“Heaven.”
Kisses landed against my shoulder, and then I was being rolled to my back, and his mouth covered my breasts, his wet kisses covered my nipples and the slope of my tit. He covered my ribs, and with his hands under me, he gently licked my belly button, catching my gaze.
“I like dreaming, Daisy. You give me the best ideas.” He kissed around my stomach again. It made me emotional, my head screaming he was telling me something—something that would tie us together forever.
I shut it out and pushed my fingers through his hair.
He laughed and kissed me again. “One thing at a time.”
We made love again, this time he slid in through the mess he’d already made, holding my hips while he fucked me slowly. His lips covered mine, and my heart was so swollen with joy, that a few tears slid down the side of my face.
When it was time to sleep, I slipped into a t-shirt, and I smiled, knowing I had my own secret I’d be able to share with him soon enough.
My smile slipped as the lights turned off and Killian’s arms came around me. Red’s words about my own skeletons came back. I needed to come clean with him. It likely didn’t matter, but I owed it to him to explain who I was regardless.
I sat watching Killian click his remote at the new flat screen in the living room with a flustered look on his face.
He wore jeans, a pair of white socks and a hunter green long sleeve.
His hair was wet from his shower. I’d insisted on taking separate ones because I still wasn’t ready for him to see my back.
Surprisingly, he agreed but not before he fucked me against the bathroom wall.
Seeing him try to set up all the apps and channels was mildly entertaining, and I’d been content to watch for the past half an hour.
Every now and then, he’d curse and pull up the user manual.
“Don’t you have a prospect who can do this for you?” I asked, sipping my coffee again.
“Probably, but I don’t want them in here.” He looked over at me. “Especially now that you’re living here.”
I let that go because I’d been here for three months. Four months now.
It was starting to snow outside, marking the end of the month. Thanksgiving was approaching, and I had no idea if my parents wanted me to go home, or what their plans were. We were estranged, but I still wandered back home around the holidays, as theirs was the only home I’d ever really known.
Thinking of them reminded me of what I needed to do.
“Can you take a break?”
Killian glanced over then turned back to the screen. “What for?”
“I need to talk to you about something.”
He let out a frustrated sigh and then walked over, placing a kiss on my lips before claiming the seat across from me.
I turned to face him. “You may not remember this, but I actually told you and everyone else in the club that my last name was White.”
Something flickered in his gaze, but it was gone just as soon as it arrived.
“Okay.” He drawled out.
“Well, I was just trying to cover up my real last name… Witt. As in Senator Witt’s daughter.”
His dark brows hit his hairline. “No shit…the senator of the state is your dad?”
I nodded, biting my lip.
“I wasn’t trying to lie to you…and now that we’re together, I wanted to be sure you knew. That way we don’t have any secrets between us. My dad’s name is Hugh; my mom is Lacy…they might meet you someday.”
His face dipped as he toyed with the hem of his shirt.
“I mean you don’t have to…I just—the holidays are coming up, and I might...” I trailed off, unsure what energy I was picking up from him.
But my worries were misplaced because he grabbed my face in his hands and kissed me, hard. “I’d love that, if and when. I’ll meet them and I’ll even act like a proper boyfriend and everything.”
I smiled into his kiss. “Really, proper?”
His lips moved against mine again. “Yeah, I’ll withhold telling your dad how good your pussy feels around my cock.”
“You’re horrible.” I pushed at his chest.
“What other secrets do you have, my beautiful Daisy?” He kissed the tip of my nose.
“I sing down at The Hollow. I’m pretty good actually…and I’ve saved up some money doing that, so if we don’t work out and you need me to move out, I can.”
His grip returned to my face; his fingers splayed into my hair.
“You’re mine now, beautiful thing. All mine. I’ll share you with the sun, your parents, and I guess the audience you sing to, but that’s it.”
“I suppose I’ll share you with your club,” I whispered back.
He stilled and then leaned back.
“Don’t. If I had to choose between you, it’d be you. Always you.”
I shook my head about to contradict him, but he caught my chin and then made sure I met his eyes. “I’m serious.”
I stared back, and for some reason, I chose to believe him.
He kissed me again, and I wished I would have remembered how once upon a time, he’d asked me to move back, told me to be his, and then when I arrived, he never came back to me.
He’d left me.
Because something about his promise felt just as fleeting.