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At that, I laughed. “Oh yeah? Prove it.” I put my hands behind my head and winked.
“Rule number one.” She traced the outline of my jaw with her finger. “Never let your guard down.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because I may just take you up on your offer.” With a smirk she pushed up my shirt and started licking.
Licking.
She was licking me.
And I was liking it.
Way. Too. Much.
“Say—”
And then she bit me, right where she’d licked me. There was sucking, something that I could only describe as swirling even though I knew it sounded insane. And more kissing.
I fought to keep my hips from driving toward her — from making this more than just kissing.
Her teeth nipped at my lower stomach where my jeans met skin, and then that damn tongue of hers went to work again.
I couldn’t focus on anything because my vision kept going blurry, so I closed my eyes.
Her hands dipped behind me, gripping my ass and then gripping harder as her fingers dug into flesh and then started to slowly massage.
Erotic, yes. Relaxing, even more so.
And before I knew it. I was getting sleepy. Not because I wasn’t as turned on as hell, but because she was just — everywhere. I felt her everywhere. I was like a fat happy cow before getting sacrificed. No doubt about it, I was going to most likely explode from want.
But in that moment… I savored every damn touch.
And allowed myself to succumb — to her.
Chapter Forty-Four
Fu
Saylor
The bastard fell asleep.
I laughed softly and tucked my body next to his on the couch. My stomach was grumbling, but I decided to nap for a bit with him before ordering food. The minute my head fell against his chest, he wrapped his arms around me.
Gabe’s mouth found mine again.
We kissed, lazily kissed, neither one of us reached for each other, we merely lay there and let our lips graze and nip at one another.
It felt beautiful.
If our first kiss was a chaotic symphony exploding with all the wrong notes in the wrong places — our third kiss? Our fourth? Were a song. A very pretty, perfectly played, song.
“I miss her,” he whispered against my hair. “I miss her so much. How can I be so happy to be with you, to be in your arms? How can I want you so badly? Yet still miss her?” Gabe’s eyes didn’t open, if anything he squeezed them shut tighter and pulled me against him.
“Because…” I played with his golden hair, in the firelight it looked like a halo. “She was your first love, and every day you see her face you’re reminded that although she’s still here — she isn’t.”
Gabe sighed. “I feel like my heart’s getting ripped in two. I feel like one day you’re going to wake up and realize that this drama isn’t worth it. That I’m not worth it. Saylor, tell me tomorrow things won’t be different.”
“But they will be.” I sighed and tucked the hair behind his ear. “Because the skeletons are finally gone, the scales from people’s eyes are going to eventually be lifted, and you’re going to have to make a choice.”
He shuddered. “I would never choose her over you.”
“But Gabe…” I felt the tears well in my eyes. “You already have. Even if it wasn’t on purpose — you already have.”
His eyes flashed open. I could tell he wanted to argue with me just by the way his eyes bored into mine as if pleading for me to take it back. But that’s the thing with truth — once you speak it out loud…
It’s out there.
He kissed my forehead. “I could love you.”
“So you keep saying.” I offered a sad smile. “But for what it’s worth. I could love you too.”
We didn’t eat.
We spent the rest of the night kissing, falling asleep, only to wake up kissing again. I had no idea what time it even was. The house felt like a fairy tale. I imagined if we stayed there forever we’d be happy — we’d still be kissing — and we’d be happy, but that wasn’t life.
The universe must have heard my thoughts because Gabe’s cell started buzzing in his pocket.
With a curse he pulled it out. “Hey, Wes, sorry… fell asleep.”
Gabe closed his eyes and let out a long sigh.
“What cha
Dread exploded all over my body as Gabe slowly rose from the couch, walked over to the large flatscreen, and grabbed the remote.
Color invaded the living room.
The picture on the screen took my breath away. It was one of Kimmy before the accident, so full of life, so gorgeous it hurt to look at her. And then a photo of Ashton Hyde.
And finally a photo of Gabe’s family with the caption. “Devastated Father finally reaches out to long lost son.”
“He’s finally come home!” Gabe’s dad said on the TV screen. “The prodigal has returned after our insistence that he allow us to be a part of his life again. We’re so saddened that he felt the need to go to such extremes to push us and the rest of his beloved friends and fans from his life. But know this, Ashton Hyde.” His dad stared through the TV screen. “Nothing will ever be the same. Now that you’ve returned — we won’t ever let you go.”
Gabe sank to the floor on his knees.
I ran to him, wrapping my arms around him as I rocked him back and forth. “It’s going to be fine,” I whispered. Even though I knew it was a lie. The thing about lies? They only work if the other person doesn’t know the truth. And we both knew.
Nothing. Would ever. Be the same.
Chapter Forty-Five
Life was passing me by. I was alive, but not awake. I hadn’t been awake in a really long time. Fu
Gabe
The lights had never bothered me. They flashed in my face, made me feel like I was going to have a seizure, but it was a necessary evil. People had a fascination with pictures — because then they could fantasize about what it would be like to be with me, to see me in the flesh.
I swore to destroy every last picture of myself. But when that didn’t work. I destroyed the perfect image they had of me. It was the only way.
And now I was regretting it.
Because the Ashton Hyde they wanted to take pictures of? He didn’t exist anymore.
But for the first time in four years, I was okay with that. I was okay with myself… who I was.
I gripped Saylor’s hand in mine as we drove toward the group home. After watching the morning news show. I knew things would get crazy with the media. I needed to make sure that everything would be set up to protect Princess from reporters.
Wes, being Wes, said he was already on top of things, which I could only assume meant he’d called his dad and brought in the US Army or something equally huge. He didn’t do anything half-assed. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if the SWAT team was standing outside the group home with Tasers set.
Saylor didn’t say much, but I kept squeezing her hand. I wasn’t sure if it was because I needed comfort or because I was trying to comfort her. Her lips were drawn into a smile, but I could tell she was putting on a face for me.
Which sucked, because how many times had I been on the offering end of that same smile? Giving a fake smile in order to make people feel good? Felt like hell.