Chapter 41
Chapter forty-one
Cole · Then
Twenty Years Old
We fucking did it.
A real-deal, ink-still-wet, recording contract sitting right here in my hands.
I turn to face Hendrix.
Sunlight glints through the open blinds, casting a golden glow around her as she sits cross-legged in the centre of my bed.
She twists her fingers in the hem of my t-shirt as she watches me, her eyes dancing over every inch of me, awe-filled and bright, as if she’s seeing me for the first time all over again.
My chest tugs.
The contract floats to the floor, forgotten when I launch myself at her.
She exhales as I curl her into my arms.
I laugh. “I did it!”
She cups my cheeks, her thumbs stroking my skin as she peppers my face with kisses.
“You did it, Rock Star. You really—” She heaves. “Really did it.” She pulls back, eyes glistening, cheeks wet. “I’m so fucking proud of you.”
I swipe my thumbs under her eyes, catching the tears as they fall. “Why are you crying?”
“I’m just really happy for you.” She sniffs as she buries her face into my chest. She fists my shirt, her body trembling against mine. “This is it, dude. The moment you get everything you ever dreamed of.”
“We.” I cup the back of her head and wrap my arm around her back, spinning until I’m pressed against the headboard. “We get everything we ever dreamed of.” I run my fingers up and down her spine. She shivers. “There isn’t a universe in which I do this without you.”
She gasps as a sob rips from her.
I pull her away from my soaking shirt, burying my fingers into her hair as I tilt her head back. “I love you.”
“I love you.” She turns her head and kisses my pulse point. “Always and forever.”
“And even after that?”
A wet, broken laugh bubbles up through her tears.
She presses her forehead to mine, her arms twining around my neck.
She seals her lips to mine. “Even then.”
My eyes flutter closed. “I can’t believe it. We really did it.”
“You really did it.” She squeezes, her hold almost painful as if to mould herself into me. “You’re gonna be a real rock star, dude.”
“I’m gonna be a real rock star.” I laugh as tears prick my eyes.
“We should do something,” she rushes out, jumping off me. “Where are the others?”
“They went to tell their families.”
“Oh my God. I didn’t even think. I bet your mum and dad are so fucking thrilled.”
“I’m sure they will be.” I shrug. “When I tell them later.”
She twists slowly, her gaze dipping. “You haven’t told them yet?”
“They’re at work, so I’ll catch them later.” I snag her wrist and pull her into me as I stand. “The only person I wanted to tell when I signed that piece of paper was you.”
Her hands fall on my chest and as she places a palm over my heart. “Go call your mum and dad. You need to tell your family.”
“You are my family, Rixie.” I hold my hand over hers, lacing our fingers together as my heart thumps beneath her fingers. “You’re my person.”
“God, I love you.” She drops her head to my head. “I will never not love you, you know that, right?”
Ice skitters down my spine.
Her fingers vibrate between mine. My stomach twists, though I don’t know why. It’s nothing we’ve never done or said before. But… “Rixie?”
“What?” She pulls back, her gaze locking on mine.
I search her expression. Her eyes are the same as always, green with flecks of gold, bright and misty. Her cheeks flushed. I pinch her chin, tip her head, and plant my lips on her. “Nothing.”
She gasps as I slide my tongue along the seam of her lips. I dip inside, tasting her, savouring her—every lick, nip, and stolen breath.
I soak her in, our laced hands tightening as she pushes up onto her tiptoes. I stumble back onto the bed. Her legs drop either side of mine, aligning our hips.
I moan into her mouth as she glides forward on my thigh, her black lacy pants doing nothing to absorb the heat pouring from her.
Fingers tangle in my hair.
I trail kisses along her cheeks, her jaw, her neck.
I release her hand and grip her hips.
Her shirt slides up. My fingers dig into her skin, leaving marks that will remind her of me for days to come. She traces every inch of me as she rocks herself back and forth, like she can’t bear not to be touching me.
Flames course through my body.
I peel her shirt over her head and launch it across the room before kissing my way across her chest.
She drags her hands down my back. I pull back enough that she can tug my shirt from my body. I curl my hand around her back and flick her bra open. The straps slide down her shoulders. She shivers when I circle a peaked nipple with my tongue.
A bead of sweat slicks my neck as she shifts back, her hands dipping to the waistband of my jeans. My cock springs free, hard and aching. She swirls her thumb over the head.
“Fuck!” I hiss, every muscle in my body tightening at the sight of her.
She lifts, pulls her knickers to the side, and guides me to her entrance.
A choked sob rips from her lungs as she sinks down.
I push up, tug her head back, and seal my lips around the fluttering pulse point on her neck. She whimpers. Hips bucking, she eases herself up, inch by inch. I slam her back down. She rolls on my lap, her mouth parting as I sink my teeth into her skin.
Shaking fingers curl around my throat, titling my head back.
I snake my arm between our joined, slick bodies.
Her back arches when my thumb presses to her clit, her sharp nails digging into my skin. My breaths shallow as her pussy flutters around me. Every single vein in my body sparks to life. “You’re so fucking beautiful, baby.”
“Cole,” she gasps as I shift my hips, thrusting upwards to match her erratic pace. Every roll of my thumb has her tightening. Her eyes lock on my mine, gold glittering as she leans in, and traces my lips with hers. “Fuck, I love you.”
My stomach clenches, need coursing through me.
“I love you,” I breathe.
Her head falls back, hair spilling down her spine. She slams her eyes shut and her mouth falls open, a silent scream on her lips as I twist my hips, hitting her G spot.
“I love you so much, Rixie.”
Her legs quiver, squeezing my thighs as she explodes. I drive in and out of her faster, harder, chasing my own climax.
One breath, another, then I spill inside her, my chest heaving as she slumps against me.
Her arms wind around my neck, her breaths shallow.
She shivers, inhaling slowly, as a single tear rolls down her cheek.
I tighten my arms around her, prop my chin on her shoulder, and try to ignore the swirling in my gut.
Hendrix drags her nails over the ink wrapping my bicep.
“You’re gonna have no space on this arm soon,” she murmurs, peering up at me through her lashes.
“There’s still a bit of space.” I dip my head and steal a kiss from her.
She hums, tracing my pulse point. “Maybe we should do something about that.”
I still, my heart thudding. “What are you thinking?”
She rises to her knees, fingers wrapping gently around my wrist as she cups my cheek.
“Do you trust me?”
“With my life.” My voice is low. “Why?”
Her thumb moves in soft, slow circles, the corner of her mouth quirking. “I’m feeling a little reckless.”
“Reckless?” I echo.
A muscle jumps in my jaw when she kisses it. “Uh-huh.”
I squint. “You been spending too much time with Saint this summer?”
“Almost certainly.”
Then she’s off the bed.
She flings my wardrobe open, her hands moving on autopilot as she flicks through the rail. She tosses a black t-shirt onto the bed, jeans, and a thick black belt. Then, she snags my Blink-182 hoodie off a hanger and drags it over her head the way she has a thousand times before.
“Come on, Rock Star,” she says, grabbing a pair of leggings from her backpack. “Clock’s ticking.”
I pull my clothes on while she scrapes her hair into a ponytail. My gaze never leaves her. She races around my room, and if she hadn’t been with me all morning, I’d wonder if she’d been snorting shit with Saint.
She scoops up our phones, my keys, her purse and crams them all into my pockets, before pushing onto her tiptoes and slamming her lips to mine. Hard, fast, and not nearly long enough before she drops back to her heels.
My chest tightens.
She grins. “Let’s go!”
She laces our fingers together, hauls me out of the house, and into my car.
She punches a postcode into the Satnav, then flips through the CD wallet as I reverse off the drive.
“What are we doing?” I ask, though pretty sure I already know. I’ve been going to Ink Spired tattoo studio for two years now, I’d be able to do this journey with my eyes closed. “Are you pulling a Saint move right now?”
She hums under her breath as she slots her favourite My Chemical Romance CD into the stereo and cranks the volume, then she turns to me with the most beautiful grin.
“Saint gave Theo a ring. I’m going one better,” she says.
Her fingers curl over mine on the gearstick.
“I’m giving you a piece of me. Forever. No matter where you go, or how far apart we become, I’ll always be with you.
” She tugs up her sleeve, revealing bare, pale skin to me. “And you’ll always be with me.”
“Rixie…”
She squeezes my hand. “What do you say, Rock Star?”
I inhale.
We’ve talked about getting inked together for years. But now, sitting here with her hand in mine and her voice too bright, too calm, it doesn’t feel like a promise anymore. It feels like a memory I’ll spend every day reliving…
“Wanna be reckless with me,” she whispers, her eyes glimmering, her cheeks rosy, and I know there isn’t a single part of me that will deny her, “and abandon all your sensibilities?”