120. Chapter One-Hundred-Nineteen
Chapter One-Hundred-Nineteen
Riley
It’s harder than I expect to give Scarlett the truth. Telling Kian and Trick was like having a weight lifted off my soul. It lessened my burden and made me feel lighter.
Telling Scarlett makes me afraid in ways I’ve never felt before.
I’m scared she won’t understand I didn’t want what happened.
And I’m terrified that she might decide I’m not a worthy mate.
My heart is pounding wildly in my ears as I finish the story.
She’s looking at me with sad eyes at the end, and I have the awful feeling she’s about to crush any hope I had that she was fated for all of us.
Then she reaches over and puts a hand on my arm. “I’m so sorry you went through that.”
I let out the breath I was holding. “It was a long time ago now.”
“It doesn’t matter how long ago it was. It’s something that shouldn’t ever happen to anyone.”
“I was a misogynistic prick back then,” I admit. “I lost track of the number of women we were letting back into our suites.”
What are you doing, moron?
She didn’t reject you, so you’re gonna reject her by being gross?
Get a grip and take the win before she changes her mind.
“Well, yeah,” she says with a laugh. “You’re part of the biggest band on the planet. There’s no way that doesn’t go to your head.”
“Which one?”
She laughs again, and it’s a dirty laugh this time.
Oh, hell. Now, we’re getting flirty.
“I hope you had as many groupies as you could handle,” she says. “Because you’re cut off now. Fated mate privilege. No more random women.”
“I quit groupies a while back. I was waiting for something more.”
“Well, you’ve found it.”
“I have.”
She smiles back. “Then, what are you gonna do about it?”
It’s a loaded question, and as much as I’d like to invite her to climb onto my lap, I’d rather take a little more time and try to make our first time together special.
I lean in close, and she pushes the arm of her chair out of her way, turning fully to face me head-on.
“I’m gonna wake you up early and take you outside to watch the sunrise before we take our time claiming each other on the beach,” I tell her, as I move in closer.
“So, you’re not gonna make me climb into your lap, right now?” she asks, her voice a husky whisper tinged with disappointment.
I shake my head. “I want it to be perfect. We’re gonna remember the moment we become mates for the rest of our lives. It needs to be special.”
She smiles slowly, as I cup her face in my hands.
“Sounds good to me,” she murmurs.
I press my lips to hers, and her hands move over my chest.
She tastes sweet, just like her perfume, and I know she’ll taste even sweeter when I wake her to watch the sunrise.