Lucky rolls, pulling me into his side. I rest my head against his chest, and he looks down at me. “I love you, Willow. Like, you’re going to think I’m even more of an obsessed freak stalker with how much I’m going to say it now that you’ve opened the door.”
Who am I? I’m not a woman who grins this much, who blushes this much, who appreciates this much cheese. But I am eating every bit of it up. “I think it’s just called worship, and trust me, I have no problem with devotion.”
“Good thing I picked the name Saint Shade,” he says as he bites at my ear.
I laugh, dodging away from his teeth, when my phone buzzes on the floor where it landed in a pile with my jeans.
I know the sound of that notification. I have clients.
I groan and roll against him, dragging my nails lightly over his ribs. “I have to go play witch. People expect me to tell them if their boyfriends are cheating.”
Lucky huffs a laugh, muffled into my hair. “Spoiler: yes. If they feel the need to ask, the answer is always yes.”
I sigh because he’s right, unfortunately. But I climb to my feet and start pulling clothes on. Reluctantly, and watchingmethe entire time, Lucky pulls his rehearsal clothes back on as well. His cum is smeared in my underwear, and I fucking love it.
“This was everything, Willow,” he says as he takes my hand and walks me down the hall. “Thank you. For trusting me.”
We pause just inside the door, the rest of the outside world waiting. I reach up, brushing my knuckles over his jaw. “Thankyou for being patient with me. And for that room. I think it unlocked a kink I didn’t even know existed.”
He snorts a laugh, and it feels good to let some of the seriousness go. “Who knew, Willow Vale is into mirror play and talking her through it.”
“I am,” I say as I push the door open. “I really,reallyam. You talk a lot, but I think my favorite kind is when you’re taking my clothes off.”
“Fuck, crack her open and the woman is dirty,” Lucky says with an unhinged grin as we take a few steps toward the curb. Vegas hums around us, warm air blowing my hair as we stop on the sidewalk. His gaze drops back to me, and it’s softer, private.
“This feels different,” I whisper, caught in the weight of it. “Something. Life. It’s different now than it was this morning.”
He cups my face, thumb brushing my cheekbone. “That’s because it is.”
The kiss we share on the sidewalk is nothing like the wild heat of earlier. It’s tender. Steady. The kind of kiss that seals something larger, something life-altering. I know it in my bones—there’s nowbefore this day, andafter.
I step back, forcing myself to break away, smiling even as my chest aches. “See you later, boyfriend.”
His grin is feral. “See you tonight, girlfriend.”
chapter sixteen
LUCKY
Vale Tarot smells like incense,lavender dust, and just the faintest hint of bleach. The neon OPEN sign is dark and silent. But the lights inside are still on, and through the windows, I see Willow. She’s perched at her desk with her laptop open, boots kicked off, hair falling loose around her shoulders, and I swear if there’s a God, She put Willow on this earth just to undo me.
I walk in, the bell dinging above my head, and everything in the world feels right when she looks up at me and smiles.
“Come here,” she says, waving me over. “You need to see what I did.”
And it all comes out.
She tells me everything—about the parking garage, about how she almost bagged him right then and there, plastic suffocation special. My girl, going full Dexter with a CVS bag. And part of me wanted to scream at her for being reckless. The other part of me wanted to grab her face and kiss her senseless because hot damn, whodoesthat? Who looks a monster in the eye and says, “Not today”?
Willow does. My Willow.
Now? Now there’s a little green blip on her screen that shows us an exact location on a map. According to its history today,Phoenix drove it to this location straight after leaving the gym. It’s been there ever since, but that’s no surprise since Phoenix is driven by a personal driver most of the time. The sports car he drove to the gym has most likely been parked in a garage all day.
But that’s okay. This is exactly what Willow was trying to get: his home address.
I lean against the counter, arms crossed, watching Willow double-check the movement history on the tracker. “You think Phoenix has any idea how fucked he is? I’m sure he’s been smug all day, thinking he got the upper hand on you.”
She doesn’t even glance up. “I’d prefer he underestimate me. Makes everything so much more fun.”
