She’s afraid, I get that, but she shouldn’t be. I’d do anything for her.
Heartache laces her tone as she asks, “What are you afraid of, Hunter? You’ve lived the posh life in the Hollywood Hills. There isn’t anything that hasn’t been handed to you, but yet you run from it. Why?”
Normally, her words would make me angry. But I see a bitter hurt dancing in her eyes, and so I let her have her jab and choose a different way to handle the situation instead.
“Maybe I don’t want that life. Maybe I’ve fought my entire adulthood trying to escape it but keep getting pulled back no matter how hard I fight. I am scared. Scared there is no chance in hell I can outrun the Alexander name in those God-forsaken Hollywood hills.”
My confession shakes her. She trembles under my touch before coming a step closer and placing her hand on my heart.
“I am scared, too,” she whispers. “I am scared that one day you’ll wake up and realize that is where you belong. And that you never belonged with me.”
I grab her hand and hold it tight as she begins to tremble.
“I don’t think I can go on living if that happens,” she softly cries. “I won’t know how to return to a life without you in it when you realize I am not the girl for you and we finally stop pretending that I am, or that I will ever be.”
“How can you say that? I am the one that should be worried, Rochelle. You had my whole heart the moment you came barreling into my life out of that supply closet. Talk about being vulnerable,” I laugh. “I couldn’t help but be open to the unknown from the moment I laid eyes on you. Even if you didn’t feel the same way. Even if you didn’t want me in return. But Angel, please know, you have me. You’ll always have me. I’m not going anywhere.”
She laughs, but when she looks up a lone tear falls down her cheek. “I’m so scared. Scared that one day, I will wake up and this will all be a dream.”
Taking her face in my hands, I stare deeply into her eyes. “That will never, ever, happen. Not as long as the world keeps spinning. I am never walking away from you. You have my word on that.”
She worries her bottom lip between her teeth and I fear she won’t believe me. But then, she opens up to me and says something so brave.
“I think I’m in love with you, Hunter Alexander.”
My eyes widen as she says the words I have been holding back all week. Three little words I’ve longed to shout from the tallest fucking rooftop..
“I love you too, Angel. So much it fucking hurts.”
“Show me how much you love me,” she whispers.
Looking up into her eyes, I suck in a strangled breath as they cloud with desire. She trails her hand down my chest until she cups me through my jeans.
“I need you to show me, Hunter,” she says confidently as her small palm continues to stroke my length and my dick painfully hardens. “I need to show you, too.”
“Mercy, Angel. You know just what to say to test a man’s restraint.”
“I am not testing.” She calmly says, as she grabs my hand and places it against her heart. “I need to feel you. All of you.” Her hand slowly glides mine down her chest, across her stomach, towards her pelvis. “I want to know what it feels like,” she pants, as my fingers slide across her core. “To dance in our flames. Play in our fire.”
She inches closer and hovers her lips against mine. I fight the urge to pull up her skirt and finger her like I want to.
“Show me,” she begs as I push against the fabric of her dress. “Make love to me.”
She circles her fingertips around the crown of my cock.
“Angel,” I hiss. “Are you sure?”
Her hand guides mine under her skirt. I suck in a breath as she places it against her dampened center and she pulls my fingers down, making her lace panties lower.
“Fuck,” I growl, pulling the lace lower and slowly gliding my fingertips across her slick slit. “Not here,” I slide one finger inside her, and she purrs. “You want me to make love to you?” Her head falls back. A breathy moan escapes her lips. Even though the beach is mostly deserted and we are cloaked in the shadows of night, I pull her closer to disguise what I am doing to her in public.
“You want to know what it feels like for me to own you, body and soul, the way you own me, Angel.”
It’s a statement, not a question, as her moans grow louder the further I push into her out in the open. Pulling away, I search her eyes and see no hesitance. She wants this. Wants me. She’s about to give me everything I could ever desire and all I sure as hell don’t fucking deserve.
“Come with me, Angel,” I whisper. “I’ll let you take me to heaven so long as you let me catch you after your fall from grace.”
Chapter Thirteen
