Chapter Nineteen
It was almost impossible to get everything set up for Synamon when untamed need like I’d never felt before threatened to erupt from my body.
I craved this woman like I needed oxygen.
Not just her body. Especially now that I realized exactly who she was.
I’d thought she’d been hiding behind a character, but the truth was this was her.
She cared about what other people thought because she thought so much about how other people felt.
As Ellie, she shrank to protect other shifters.
As Synamon, she was larger than life to bring simple joy to other people’s lives.
And every part of her belonged to me. I just had to be bear enough to help her become the fucking powerhouse she deserved to be.
Time stopped when the bedroom door creaked open. The only sound was her boots clicking against the wooden floor. Butterflies rioted in my belly in anticipation. What would she be wearing? Would anything be different? What had she prepared for this performance?
She turned on her back heel of her red lace-up boot, and held her gloved hands up in front of her face like she’d cocked a gun. The tasseled gloves covered her forearms, and sweet moon, were her breasts bare?
A quick tip of her cowboy hat acknowledged my stunned expression.
“Ready?” she asked.
“Don’t think I’ll ever be.”
She strode over to the chair in front of the camera. The red, sparkly star shaped pasties came into view. She turned the seat around and straddled it. “Before you hit record, I need something from you.”
“Anything.”
That softened her. “We go until you say stop, okay?”
I nodded.
“I mean it. If you don’t tell me when you need to stop everything and fuck me, I’ll keep going forever.
And I can do it. I’ve done charity videos that have gone for hours.
My audience eats them up—but I want to make sure everyone eats, if you know what I’m saying.
” She waggled her brows and gave me a satisfied smile when my jaw dropped.
“So tell me, what symbol should I be on the lookout for? As soon as I see it, I say goodnight. Everything stops, and I belong to you.”
What the hell would my signal be? I could barely think.
“I’ll hold up two fingers, like this.” It felt silly to show her, but she needed the specific motion.
She nodded. “I can’t wait until the next time I see you do that again.” She took a deep breath. “Shall we?”
“Count yourself in,” I said as I stepped behind the camera. I watched her on the small screen and pressed record on her command.
It felt safer back here. Like I was alone in my room watching her on my phone. Like I couldn’t reach out and touch her.
Her face lit up, and her Only Bears persona blossomed to life. For the first time, I truly understood the difference between Synamon Honey and the performer.
“Long time no see, am I right?” She flashed a megawatt smile for the camera. “This live is unexpected, so I'll give you all a moment to get ahold of yourselves. Get your minds out of the gutter. Tell me how you’ve been? Tell me everything."
Her gaze was on the monitor, watching the onslaught of comments that raced up the right side of the screen. She chuckled, and her biggest fans would clock that nervousness.
Whoever had deep-faked Jen wouldn’t miss it, either.
I needed to be on my A-game, no matter how we decided when to end this. My hard cock protested as I dug my phone out of my pocket. I needed to watch those comments more than I needed to watch my mate.
“I missed you guys too!” The next chuckle was much more relaxed. “I didn’t mean to be away for so long but you know how it is. Life moves fast. Who can tell me what movie that line is from?”
Damn, she was good at this.
“Yes, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Such a masterpiece. And yes, my background is different. Sometimes it’s good to mix things up, don’t you think?” Then she sobered. “I wish our reunion was pure celebration, but unfortunately, it’s not. I’m sure you’ve heard about Velvet Ransom.”
She paused and gripped the chair. It was obvious that Synamon admired this woman.
Considered her a friend. And her murder sure as hell didn’t mean that the Centerfold Slasher was done with Synamon.
I considered this crime his opening act.
I knew enough about dudes like that to know they were never satisfied with only one kill. It only whet their appetite for more.
But she wasn’t ready for that realization, that she was even more of a target now than before.
“Velvet taught me the ropes on this platform. Oh, you naughty boys. Of course your minds would go straight to the gutter. I like to think some of you found me because of Velvet and I hope I introduced some of you to her. Yes, I know she was running a ‘Justice for Synamon’ campaign, but I can assure you, I’m perfectly fine.
Never been better. But tonight isn’t about me.
Instead, I’d like to do a little tribute to Velvet, Synamon style.
So I’m gonna tell you a bedtime story while I take off some of these pesky clothes.
But you know how we do around here, you’re a part of the show too.
Tell me, what year should we set the story in? ”
She held a gloved hand to her shoulder and ran her fingers along the tassels while she watched the comments come in.
“1986. I should’ve known you’d pick that year.
Okay, picture it. It’s a warm summer day.
We’ve spent most of it recreating Top Gun, and showing off our cheap aviators.
My feet are aching because those jelly shoes didn’t mix well with sweat.
We’ve spent a good amount of time terrorizing the neighborhood, going much farther than we told our parents we would.
Like downtown to the candy store where we obtained way too much sugar by questionable methods.
“Now, the streetlights are on, but we’ve decided we’ll ignore our parents wailing our names into the void.
I have something to show you.” She drew her gloved finger to her red lip, and it took everything I had to suppress my gasp as she bit the tip of her pointer finger and gave it a good tug.
She repeated the motion with each finger.
After a good tug, she let the glove flutter to the floor.
“We go into the woods, behind the church at the top of the hill, because there’s a hella cool rope swing there. Whoops, you'd think I was from NorCal, wouldn’t you?” She chuckled. “But that’s not why I brought you there. Someone left a boom box there.
“Not unusual—once the church staff goes home for the day, things have been known to get a little wild—or as wild as they can get for people who aren’t old enough to drive. That boom box has done some good work. But today is different.
“I reach for my fanny pack—it's hot pink and teal and has a fluorescent yellow zipper that’s lighting this mission to reach for my Thompson Twins tape. I get it, you’re sick and tired of Hold Me Now, but I still love it. But there’s already a tape in the player. What could it be?”
She drew her left hand to her lips and tugged on the fingertips of the glove with her teeth before peeling it off.
The move made my insides melt, but I wasn’t throwing my two fingers yet.
Not even when she ran her bare hands over her arms. The story had me completely enthralled.
On the surface, it was cute and fluffy. Not only did I understand why Synamon Honey worked—she wove in these details seamlessly like they were actual memories, but I felt like I was getting to know her on an entirely new level.
I could guarantee that none of these things were randomly chosen.
And I wanted to know why they were important to her. Blood wasn’t prioritizing my brain at the moment, but I made a mental note that a Top Gun movie marathon might be mandatory, and maybe I’d want to bring her to one of those penny candy stores...
You want to lay those candy necklaces over her naked body and...
“It’s a mixtape!” She gave the camera a wicked grin, bringing me back to the moment.
“Did you make this for me? Trying to get my attention? Or did someone leave it here by mistake? I pull the tape out of the compartment and look for clues. But I have to admit, it’s odd.
It says Pizza Pie Jury. Have you ever heard of that band? Me, neither.
“So I’m just as curious as you are, and I get it, you’ll give anything a try to not have to listen to the Thompson Twins again—which is your loss, but whatever. And then we hear it.
“’Shot through the heart, and you’re to blame, you give love a bad name.’” It’s not the version we know so well now, it’s rough, it’s raw, and I don’t have to tell you, it’s perfection. We’re captivated, listening to every song, and then flipping the tape over and devouring the other side.
“The only thing is, we don’t know who is singing it yet.
But we can’t get enough. Way too much time has passed.
It’s got to be like, ten o’clock now. We are so getting grounded.
So what do we do with this magical tape?
And no, the answer is not record over the Thompson Twins.
” She laughed. “We pinky promise each other—we leave it there because whoever left this here is gonna come looking for it. If it’s there the next day, then it’s ours.
That is, if we’re allowed out of the house. ”
That was my cue. I held up my two fingers.
Her face lit up, but only for a second before she went back into character. “Crap. There’s a flashlight coming down the path, and it’s my mom. Sweet moon, she’s pissed. I’ve got to go. We’ll find out what happened to the tape soon.”
Those same fingers shook as I hit the stop button on the back of the camera.
“That’s a cut,” the words were practically a growl.
She rose from the chair slowly, deliberately like the cameras were still rolling, and rested her foot on the cushion, adjusting the top of her stocking. She looked over at me, like maybe she’d forgotten I was there.
Our gazes locked, and as she strode toward me it was very clear I was the only show in town.
She pulled her hat off and went up on her tiptoes to put it on top of my head. “Ready to ride me, cowboy?”