“I miss you too, Clover,” I mumble against her fingers. She finally pulls them away, relocating them to my shoulder. “I worry about you a lot. From the outside looking in, it seems like you put a lot of pressure on yourself. You’re only twenty-one. You don’t have to have your entire future planned out.”
“And that’s another problem,” she says softly. “I don’t even know if this is what I want to do with the rest of my life. I thought it was, but touring…”
“It’s a lot different than you expected it to be?”
“Yeah,” she whispers. “I still love performing, but I’m so exhausted. I’ve never been this sick for this long.”
My hand tightens on her spine. “That’s not normal touring exhaustion…”
I’m afraid to say more because every time I broach the suppressant topic, we end up in a fight. I shouldn’t have even said that much when we’re finally talking.
“No, it’s not,” she admits. “And I’m afraid of what kind of long-term damage I’m doing to my body.”
I bite my lip to keep from telling her that we’re all worried about the exact same thing. Then my head goes to why she’s been so determined to take them in the first place. Suppressants have a place in certain circumstances, but the good needs to outweigh the side effects.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you during your first heat,” I tell her, my head falling against the couch as it shakes. “I’m even more regretful because I can’t help but wonder if that’s part of the reason you’re so reliant on the suppressants. I’ve read up about them. You’re not supposed to take them longer than two years.”
“I know,” she admits. “I also know my first heat after I stop taking them is going to be hell, but it’s not your fault. My mom is the most vocal person I know about why taking suppressants is awful. I guess I thought I’d have a different reaction? And I did…” Her shoulders bounce, and she relocates her other hand to my shoulder as she climbs directly onto my lap. My heartbeat picks up to what can’t be a healthy pace. She never gets this close to me. “At least at first, I didn’t have any major side effects, but the longer I take them, the worse they get.”
“I’ll do anything I can to help you. You know that, right?” I ask, wondering why my voice is so hoarse all of a sudden. “I’ll be there for whatever you need?—”
“I’m not ready to stop taking them just yet, but I do plan to go off them after we wrap up this tour,” she says, her fingers digging into the tops of my shoulders. “And I was hoping that we could use the final couple months to get to know each other again.”
I’m probably about to blurt out something ridiculous like, “No shit?”or something even worse like, “I love you.”
Only, I don’t get the chance because she pushes her lips to mine. Her electric scent floods my nose as I suck in a sharp intake of air. To say I’m shocked would be putting it too lightly, but it’s a good surprise.
Her cold fingers trace up my neck and cradle my cheek as she licks at the seam of my lips.
I’m way too high for this.
I mean, this is real life, right?
I smile as I open for her, and she shoves her tongue into my mouth. She’s as bossy at kissing as she is at everything else in life, and unsurprisingly, I dig it.
Cove’s chest and stomach push against mine as she leans into me for support.
Okay, maybe I pulled her into me.
My hand is locked down on her back like I’m terrified that she might try to get away.
A low growl vibrates from my chest as I bring my other hand to wrap in Cove’s hair. It’s still wet from her shower, and the scent of her shampoo or conditioner hits my nose. It doesn’t take away from her pheromones in the least.
Normally Cove smells electric to me. Similar to the weather right before a lightning storm. As I breathe her in, I can pick up on those orange creamy notes Damian always mentions.
I lose myself to the meeting of our mouths.
My cock is painfully hard by the time she pulls back to breathe, and my head is a wreck. She’s been stretched up on her knees to accommodate the height difference, but she settles on my lap, and I have to bite back a groan. There’s no way she doesn’t notice how hard I am, and my face heats.
Although…
That should be a compliment, right?
Cove brings her thumb to run over my bottom lip and smiles. “That was a really good kiss.”
“Yeah,” I agree, clearing my throat.
I’d very much like to repeat that again.
