Rory
Eighty-Two
Fang wasn’t a fan of flowers, so I brought her a bouquet of wrenches with a teddy bear and a container of licorice.
I told Vesper I would visit them while the three of them talked with Melisa about what happened in Crestview.
There was too much going on, and I wasn’t his only target, which pissed me off.
He wanted me, so he should just hurt me and not everyone else.
I knocked on the door, and Fang’s wife, Evie, was sitting in the chair with their son, comforting his mother. They had two daughters, as well, but they were both trying to get flights from New York.
“Hi, I’m—” What did I say? Fang was here because of me. “I wanted to…”
Evie gave me a soft smile. “Come on, sweetie.”
I stepped closer and Evie pulled me into her arms. “I’m so sorry.” I squeezed her tighter, and Evie comforted me. Her wife was in a hospital bed, and I was the one being comforted instead of me comforting her.
“It’s not your fault. Faye loves the Vipers. She loves you. She protected her family.” It was odd hearing Fang’s government name.
I hiccupped, pulling back slightly. “She…It wouldn’t have happened if…”
“It’s not your fault,” Blake barked. “You didn’t put a bomb on their path. You didn’t make her risk her life. The bastard who did this is to blame, Rory.” My lip trembled. “Mom would be pissed if she knew you were blaming yourself.”
I laughed bitterly. “God, he is making my life miserable. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make this a pity party. How is she?”
Evie squeezed my hand. “She’s fightin’. She has second-degree burns on her leg and stomach, but she won’t need grafts or anything. Dislocated shoulder, several broken ribs, and a head injury. It could’ve been worse, but the head injury is what concerned Cher the most.”
“I know she hates flowers, so I made wrenches for when she wakes up. Do you need anything?”
She gave me a frail smile. “I just want her to wake up so I can yell at her and kiss her. She’s stubborn, you know.”
“It seems all the Vipers are stubborn.” I laughed. “When she wakes up, let us know. I need to go see my therapist, but if you need anything, let me know.”
Therapy kicked my ass today, but when didn’t it? Before this happened, I was talking about my everyday life with Izzy. My feelings, my sister, the women I couldn’t have, etc. But now? Goddamn, my wounds felt like they were being ripped open and I was bleeding trauma all over the place.
For the last ten years, I kept Aurora June buried deep in the darkest parts of my mind.
I didn’t want to be the abused little girl whose mother hated her or the child a system betrayed.
It might be dramatic, but I was able to rise from the ashes like a phoenix.
It was fucking hard, but I didn’t want her to come back and make me that fragile, scared little girl again.
Izzy knocked me ten stories down with one sentence. “This might be the closure Aurora needs to move on and let Rory live.”
That little girl never did get closure, but she was choosing one hell of a time to show up. She made me weak, and right now, I didn’t want to be weak. Maybe one day I could mourn the girl I used to be, but until then, she needed to stay where she was until I got this situation dealt with.
I glanced at my phone as I straddled my bike outside of Izzy’s office. Vesper wanted me to see her when I got home, but I had other plans. Hades was on her way home, and I was in the middle of my therapy session when she left the station.
HADES
I’ll see you in a few days, my valkyrie.
ME
Thank you for being amazing. I already miss you.
HADES
It’s easy when my partner is a beautiful, headstrong woman who takes no shit. I like pampering you, too.
Swoon.
ME
Stop texting and driving. Let me know when you get home. I have a certain someone to make grovel. ;)
HADES
Make her work for it babe and tell me EVERYTHING. I’ll talk to you tonight.
When I got back to the clubhouse, I made my way to my room.
I wouldn’t give into Vesper as easily as I thought.
Did I want her? Oh, absolutely, but she needed to work for it a little more.
I wanted devotion, passion, and maybe I wanted her to grovel a little.
She spent years playing hard to get—for good reason, of course—but now I could make her work for it.
I knew Vesper would wait for me in her room.
Instead, I changed into a baggy T-shirt that fell to my knees and thigh-high socks before making a beeline to the kitchen.
She knew I was home, and it wouldn’t take long for her to find me.
I gathered ingredients to make chocolate chip cookies as I told Alexa to play my divorced dad rock playlist. Hades told me to do what felt right, and while I wanted to rip my clothes off and pounce like I was in heat, I also knew Vesper needed to fall to her knees and confess how stupid she was.
My hips swayed as I started separating my wet and dry ingredients. I heard Vesper walk into the kitchen as I popped a few chocolate chips into my mouth. She wanted me to turn first, but I wouldn’t give in. I started singing along with my music as Addicted by Saving Abel filtered into the kitchen.
“Mariposa?” I peeked over my shoulder, but looked back at my mixing bowls. “Rory, you okay?”
“I’m peachy,” I said, mixing my dough together.
“I thought you were coming to see me when you got home. Are you sure you’re okay?”
I popped another chocolate chip into my mouth.
“I thought about it, and then I realized, why should I?” I turned to look at her, and I almost crumbled at the sight of her in black boxers and a sports bra.
Goddamn. Focus, Rory. “You kept rejecting me for months, V. Why should I take my clothes off so easily for you?”
She contemplated what I was saying before falling to her knees at my feet. Well, shit, I didn’t even have to tell her to beg. Have I mentioned how insanely hot this woman was?
She kissed my thighs. “Mariposa, forgive me for being a dumbass. I am so sorry for letting fear control me when I should’ve screamed my devotion from the rooftops.
” I looked at her and goddamn, I loved how she looked on her knees.
It boosted my ego, that was for sure. “I will never forgive myself for letting the years slip away.”
“Vesper.”
“You were always worth everything, and I am the fool for never saying it out loud. I will do anything to prove it to you.”
I ran my fingers through her hair, feeling tears in my eyes. God, this woman knew how to make me weak in the knees without taking my clothes off. “I mean, how do you feel about being marked as mine?” I joked.
Vesper pointed to a perfect spot below several of her other tattoos. It was the perfect patch of skin. “It has your name on it. Property of Rory.”
I blinked at her, momentarily at a loss for words. “I—are you serious?”
“As the plague. Whatever you want. Mark me as yours, mariposa. I know you have a tattoo gun here. Worry about baking cookies later.”
Stunned quiet bloomed in my chest as she stood up and pulled me to my bedroom. I couldn’t process words. She was going to let me tattoo her and stake my claim. I wrote out Property of then, applying my favorite pink lipstick, I kissed the sheet of paper.
My fingers brushed against her skin as I pressed the finished stencil in place. “V, are you sure?”
She nodded. “Of course I am. I trust you, mariposa.”
“When I mark you, there’s no going back. You’re mine, but I am also undeniably yours.”
She smirked. “You were always mine. I was just too stupid to see it. Do it. Make me yours.”
I adjusted myself to be comfortable on her thighs and still reach my pedal as the machine buzzed to life. When I told her to grovel, I was expecting her to beg. I wasn’t expecting this. Maybe this was her way of proving her devotion to me.
There was something intimate about this. The woman I had loved for years loved me enough to have my mark tattooed on her body for the rest of our days. I didn’t know if she was insane or if she was truly in love with me. There was no denying us now.
When the tattoo was done, I admired my handiwork.
The dark lines curved against her sun-warmed bronze skin, the contrast striking.
But the pink lips sat boldly against her skin, vivid and truly marking her as mine.
I knew the color would dim when it healed, but right now, it was a neon sign marking this woman as mine.
I traced the edge of the tattoo, careful not to irritate the skin. It was perfect.
Vesper perched up on her elbows, glancing down at the fresh ink. “Rory, I hope you know this means I am never going to let you go.”
I beamed. “Good, because my mark means you’re mine. Now and forever. Don’t piss me off or I will kick your ass. I’m not playing Miss Nice Girl anymore. I will cut you next time you play with my feelings.”
Vesper grabbed me and pulled me on top of her, ignoring the fresh tattoo, and slammed her lips to mine. She pulled back ever so slightly. “Todo sobre ti fue hecho para mí. Eres perfecta, mariposa.” And then she kissed me with everything she had.
Kissing Vesper differed from kissing Hades.
Just like it was different with Widow. Hades was confident and knew what she wanted; Vesper was the same, with a hint of danger and defiance.
Thinking about Widow hurt my heart, but kissing her felt like coming home.
Except that home didn’t exist right now.
I could enjoy this moment with Vesper and not let anything ruin it.