Chapter 19 – Violet #2
His index finger traced my jaw, and I lifted, staring into his glittery blue gaze. Flecks of gold warred with the deeper eddies of the sea, everything about him an invitation to linger.
Slowly, he closed the distance between us, capturing my mouth in a gentle kiss.
My heart stilled as my world crystallized with Lee at its center.
The crowd, the ferry unloading behind us, everything washed away to the edges, leaving him as the only thing I could focus on.
The soft drift of his lips across mine. The sensual scrape of his teeth nipping at my lower lip.
A deep shiver struck my core, leaving me feeling alive. Electrified by our connection.
I speared my hands through his soft hair, all but mauling him in my desire to get closer. Feel more. Absorb him through my skin. He seemed just as eager, devouring me with deep kisses and tiny nips.
Time stopped. Everything was Lee. Simultaneously soft and hard, hungry and satisfied, it was difficult to remember we were in public. Slowly, the sound of distant cheers filtered through my lovesick haze.
We had no chance of flying under the radar after Lee’s ferry performance. And the entire town seemed to enjoy Act Two: us emulating randy teens, sucking face in public.
Reluctantly, I pulled back, shivering as I lost Lee’s heat.
The ferry announcer made a last call for walk-ons, and a mother rushed by with her small daughter, shielding the young girl’s gaze from us with her palm. I suppressed the instinct to apologize. We’d kept all our clothes on. By Fenwick family standards, Lee and I had been discreet.
“Your chariot awaits,” Drew broke in from his spot at my side, his voice wry, like he really didn’t want to watch me lock lips with one of his oldest friends.
Lee stepped back, releasing his grip on my hips. A whimper of disappointment trembled on my lips. While he might kiss me again, my brothers would tease us mercilessly if I showed that kind of weakness. Even with their girlfriends on my side, it wasn’t worth the kissy faces and mocking later.
Lee groaned softly as he stared down at me, eyes dark with lingering desire.
The low sound of need sent an answering ripple surging beneath my skin.
At least I wasn’t the only one affected by our kiss, wishing for more.
I let my lids drift closed, shoring up my willpower before refocusing on Lee’s handsome half-grin.
“Can I take you out to dinner?” he asked, his voice rough, as if even his vocal cords fought such an innocuous end to our kiss.
He nodded at my brother. “I asked Drew to drop us off at Nautilus if you’re game.
” He clasped one of my hands, drawing it away from my side.
“I mean, look at you – gorgeous. We can’t waste all of this on grilled cheese at home. ”
“Please put him out of his misery,” Drew moaned at my side. “I’m afraid of what he’s going to say next if you don’t. There are some things older brothers don’t need to hear.”
“I don’t know, Drew. Anya fluttered over you for weeks, and I put up with it. I think you can handle it if Lee extolls my virtues a few minutes longer. Think of it as character-building.”
Drew harrumphed loudly. Part of me expected Lee to fold under Drew’s disapproving glare. Instead, he filled his lungs, his chest expanding as he held my gaze.
“Drew – piss off. I did not just make a spectacle of myself in front of half the town to get shut down by you.” His voice was cool, words clipped.
“So much for loyalty,” Drew muttered.
Lee pressed a kiss to my forehead before turning me into his side. His arm wrapped around me, half comfort, half shield.
“That’s exactly what this is about. Loyalty.” Lee squeezed me gently. His eyes bored into Drew’s, jaw tight. Warmth spread from his hand on my arm to my chest, centering around my heart. He meant to me. He wasn’t backing down.
Drew’s mouth twisted into a grimace, but when he looked at us, his eyes softened.
“You can still count on me,” Lee said. “But not to play backup for you or keep pretending she’s off-limits. I’ve got her now – and I’m not letting go. So yeah. You can count on me. Just for something different.”
He didn’t waver. Didn’t look to me for reassurance. He stood his ground and made space for me beside him like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Something in my chest cracked open. Not because he was choosing me, but because he wasn’t asking for permission to.
“For her.”
“Exactly.”
Drew didn’t argue. That shook me more than anything else.
Something small and electric shivered at my core. I’d been claimed. Publicly. To my brothers. The town. Lee didn’t hesitate. Didn’t flinch. I wasn’t sure he’d go that far.
Maybe I should have resented that possessiveness. Except I claimed him right back. The world shifted, settling on its new axis. Where Lee and I were a unit.
And just like that, the air lightened, no longer tight with tension. Lee looked down at me, the corner of his mouth tugging up.
“I’m glad you chose that dress for tonight. It’s absolutely stunning on you. I can’t wait to see what you chose for the Sweetheart’s Dance. If you don’t want to tell me, I need you to call Joe so he can match your corsage.”
Lee was so quiet most of the time, keeping his feelings contained. But he’d gone all out, making a public spectacle of himself to make me happy. The wall I’d erected over the years, as boy after boy and man after man disappointed me, crumbled.
I’d underestimated Lee. I’d thought he was so tied up in his own world, with his make-believe characters, that he was unaware of me most of the time.
More interested in fiction than a live woman.
But he’d been paying attention. And he had a writer’s ability to plot and plan.
I still couldn’t quite believe that he’d set most of this in motion before I stole his laptop.
Had he been as secretly obsessed with me as I’d been with him? I didn’t want to contemplate how much time we’d wasted, if that was the case. I’d felt so alone. And he’d seemed so standoffish, even if I was closer to him than most. Had I missed his cues?
Suddenly, I was eager to get to dinner and have him tell me everything.