Abel
I’m going to heal you.My own words resonate in my mind like a bell you can’t unring. I’m no more than ready and willing to heal her than I am myself, but it came with good intentions from the right place—my dusty, sooted heart.
The moon has replaced the sun as the night turns thick as navy velvet. Zoey and I are still seated hip to hip taking in the breathless grandeur that Loveless has to offer. The stars sink in as close to that bottomless lake without falling in. Loveless has always held a magical air about it. Something dreamlike, fairytale-like, and that fictional-inspired nonsense is what I blame my most recent bout of madness on. The only thing I’ll accomplish if I try to suture Zoey’s heart is watching her bleed out.
My fingers intertwine with hers, and it feels nice. Zoey is cool to the touch, soft. There is something so fundamentally feminine about her that it makes my bones ache, for exactly what I don’t know.
“What are the rules to your little game?” She sucks in her bottom lip as if to stave off a laugh and looks sharply gorgeous. Zoey has the face that could launch a thousand ad campaigns in the right direction. She’s a textbook bombshell beauty. The face of an angel, the body of a vixen. I don’t believe I have ever been so close to such sheer physical perfection. It makes me wonder if she knows she’s beautiful, and if that’s somehow brought on the trauma that ensued in her life. And just as quick as the thought comes, it dissolves. Zoey doesn’t know she’s beautiful. She doesn’t know how much power she’s capable of wielding. If she did, she wouldn’t be putting her life on hold to nurse a broken soul. Some jackass stomped on her heart, and that’s exactly what I would love to remedy.
“No game—no rules. I simply want to show you how a gentleman should treat a woman. I want you to know that whatever it is that’s happened to you isn’t the norm. It’s the rotten exception. I think you need to be reminded of your worth. I want you to feel like the smart and beautiful woman you are.” There. That is the truth. Zoey needs an infusion of reality to help her forget the trauma that asshole inflicted. He was lucky to have her, not the other way around.
A laugh bubbles from her as the breeze picks up and blows back her vanilla waves. “You think I just need a quick reminder, huh?” Her pearl white teeth graze hard over her bottom lip, and my boxers blink to life.
Down, boy. Not this one. Definitely not tonight. Lake Loveless will be just that for me, empty and celibate, a time to reflect, not a time to engage in a wild fucking spree.
“I’ll bite.” She gives an exaggerated wink. “I’ll let you wine me and dine me, but I do have one rule, and yes, if you want to pass go, you’ll need to play the game my way.”
I tick back a notch, amused. “What’s that?”
“You’re going to sleep with me, Abel.” The words come out stoic, catatonic. She holds up a finger before I can properly protest. “You want to.” She nods into the idea. “It will happen.” Her eyes widen as if casting a spell. “And when you do, you’ll want to do it again, and again, and again.” Her knees part and come together with the deftness and elegance of a ballerina. “I’ve been told I’m a bit addictive.” She gives a sly wink.
My boxers rouse to life, this time in no uncertain words. I’ve never had a woman come on so strong, with such carnal intent without offering me an out. A dull laugh huffs through me, and just as I’m about to make the obligatory protest, my lips seal shut.
“Okay.” I can’t believe the word as it sails from my lips, and her eyes widen, as she can’t believe it either. Holy hell, what have I gotten myself into? I’ve gone from healing to taking advantage of her in a single bound. So much for a cold, empty, reflective existence up at the lake. It turns out, I was more into the wild fucking spree after all, and I can’t help but be a little disappointed in myself. But my flesh is cheering. My dick is all but panting like a dog at the gate just waiting to be let out for a quick sprint. Although if and when I’m with Zoey, I can guarantee there will be nothing quick about it. My body has been thirsty,hungryfor her since the first time I laid eyes on her. She may have been watching me before we ever formally met, but I was watching her as well.
Her eyes narrow in on mine as if calling my bluff, and suddenly I’m feeling like a jackass.
“It wasn’t my intent. I’m not here trying to land you horizontal, Zoey.”
“I know you’re not.” She blinks out at the lake. “Believe me, I know. I’ve thrown myself at my fair share of men, and it’s eitherhell yesor a hardno, but I’ve never had a latent maybe, and that’s what I figure you are. So what makes you hesitate?” Her bare foot glides over my leg, and something about that smooth touch sends a shiver through me. “You don’t think you’re ready to move on? How long has it been since she’s torn you a new one? Did this just happen last week?”
“Months.” I pinch my eyes shut a moment, trying to hold Elizabeth under the surface. Whenever she corks up for air, all of the pain, all of the devastation, the wreckage of who we were cuts me all over again. “It’s getting better, though.” She’s moved on. That was the issue, but I’m starting to think maybe it was the solution to a greater problem I wasn’t yet aware of. “She’s getting back on her feet. I want that for her.”
A dark laugh comes from her. “No, you don’t.Please—nobody wants their ex totally thrilled to be moving on. Does she have someone else?”
I glance up at the dark well of the lake as his face bounces through my mind.
“She does.” Zoey picks up my slack in the conversation. “Trust me, it’s her loss. You’re Abel McCarthy of the Mount Olympus McCarthys. In the event you haven’t noticed, I’ve had a slight obsession with your family for some time now. And why not? You’re gorgeous. Educated. There’s a family fortune in there somewhere. And let’s pause the train right here—I’m no gold digger. I’m just looking to have a little fun.” Her demeanor darkens as she picks at the grass between her legs.
“Fun.” The smile slides right off my face. “You free tomorrow night?”
Zoey clicks her tongue as if to contest the idea. “Do I look like I’m running a tight schedule?”
“Good. Dinner, Blue Crab at five. Dress your best.”
Zoey’s eyes linger over mine, and a smile swims over her lips. “My best, huh? If we back it up an hour, we might get in on the early bird special.”
“I know it’s early.” My thumb circles over her palm without meaning to. “But I’ve other plans for us the rest of the evening.”
“Now you’re speaking my language.” Zoey leans in, her knee dives in between mine as she takes in my scent straight off my neck. Her face so close, all I need to do is turn my head and she’ll have that kiss she’s gunning for.
“We’re not in a relationship, Zoey. I don’t want our wires to get crossed. I’m simply going to show you how you deserve to be treated—in every good way.”
That dark laugh brews in her chest like a storm. “I know exactly how I should be treated. And it’s not in any good way.”
“That’s what I thought.” I touch my finger to the tip of her nose, and our eyes linger a moment. “I’m here to prove you wrong.”
I hope.
