I lean into her touch, begging her to give me more. “Got into a fight at school. Asshole shoved my face into a wall. Broke my nose in three places.”
“Ouch.”
“I broke his jaw in two places, so I’d call it even.” I shrug before taking another toke of the joint. We’re down to the dregs now, and I wish I had more. I don’t want her to go. My skin feels like it’s lifting off, such is the need to touch her, taste her, claim her, own every inch of her. My inhibitions are lowered, and I’ve always been a risk-taker, so I just act on instinct. Looking deep into her eyes, I hold her hip and pull her in close until our bodies are touching.
My lips caress hers in the softest touch. I feel it in every part of my body. Tingles are going off like rockets, and I can’t deny this any longer. I have never wanted to touch a girl as badly as I want to touch Vivien Grace Mills in this moment. Taking the last drag on the joint, I tilt her chin up and blow directly into her mouth. She inhales deeply, drawing it into her lungs. Her skin is flushed, her eyes alive, and I’ve never seen anything more beautiful. “You have the most flawless skin,” I whisper, brushing my lips across her cheeks in light kisses while my thumb rubscircles against her hip through her dress, and I wish I was touching her bare flesh.
“What are you doing?” she croaks, but she doesn’t pull back, and her eyes dip to my mouth, conveying she wants this too.
“I don’t know,” I whisper, pressing a kiss to the corner of her tempting mouth. Tossing the butt of the joint aside, I cup her face in both palms. “I just know I want more of it.” Without stopping to second-guess myself, I smash my lips to hers and kiss her.
“Vivien Grace!” Ash shouts. “Get your tongue out of my brother’s mouth and your arse over here now!”
You have got to be bleeding kidding me! Is every woman on this planet determined to come between me and this girl?
I’m beyond aggravated when Vivien tears her mouth from mine after one brief kiss and climbs to her feet.
Lifting a knee, I tip my head to the side and stare at her. “Running scared, Hollywood?”
“That never happened,” she says, attempting to sound nonchalant, but she can’t hide the little tremor in her voice or the blush spreading across her chest and up her neck. She was as into it as me. “We were stoned, and it was barely a kiss anyway.”
I run a hand along my stubbly jawline, smirking at her. “If you say so.”
“Ahh. I’m going.” She’s a cross between pissed off and turned on when she stomps off towards my sister. I’ll take that.
I chuckle to myself. She can deny it all she wants, but this changes things, and we both know it.Game on, Hollywood.I’m coming for ya, and I’m not taking no for an answer.
27
AGE 20
In the days that follow, I hide away in my bedroom and write like a madman. My muse is on fire. Jay, Conor, and I jam in the sitting room, working out melodies to my new lyrics on our guitars, and when Ro arrives on Friday, we head to our small rented practice room and start pulling a couple of new songs together.
I haven’t seen Vivien since last weekend, but she’s all I’ve been thinking about. It’s pathetic to admit, but I’ve replayed that kiss over and over in my head until it feels like I’m going crazy. I’m jerking off nonstop, and if I don’t get to touch her again soon, I might need to be committed. Ash told me her best friend Audrey arrived from L.A. She’s spending a few days in Dublin around Paddy’s Day, so I guess I’ll get to see Vivien soon.
I haven’t heard anything from Glen Hansard yet, but it’s still early days, and these things take time. Something my impatient little brother does not understand. Ro is driving me nuts going on about it. He’s extra pissed off because he heard about my kiss with Vivien in the orchard, though he hasn’t admitted he knows, and I haven’t said anything to him either. Vivien better be planning to set him straight soon, or I’m going to have to askher outright. I don’t want Ronan hurt. He needs to be left out of this.
I’m in the middle of the best fucking dream, moaning as Vivien strokes my dick and plants kisses along my neck, when reality comes crashing down, instantly rousing me from slumber. My eyes pop open. My bedroom is still pitch-black because it’s nighttime and I was sleeping.
Horror engulfs me as I look down at the hand pumping my cock, knowing it’s not the hand I want it to be. Gripping her wrist, I pull her hand from my dick and push it away. Flipping onto my back, I glare at Aoife. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”
“What?” She feigns innocence as she leans down to kiss me.
I shove her back, disgusted when my palm meets bare skin. She crawled into my bed fucking naked in the middle of the night to…what? Seduce me under the pretense of being anyone else? This bullshit ends now. “Jamie,” I yell at the top of my lungs, loud enough to wake up the whole county.
“You want to fuck my cunt while he takes my ass?” she asks, climbing onto my lap.
I can’t work out if she’s dumb or calculated. I push her away—hard—uncaring when she falls off the bed just as Jay rushes into the room. “What’s wrong?” he asks in a sleep-drenched tone.
“What’s wrong,” I say in a cold voice, tugging the duvet up to my waist to cover myself as I sit up against the headboard. “Is that cunt climbed into my bed uninvited and started jerking me off while I was asleep.”
His eyes dart wide as his gaze swings to Aoife. Predictably, she’s turned on the waterworks, sniveling as she pushes to her feet completely starkers. I look away, not wanting to see any naked part of her.
“What the fuck, Aoife?” Jay says, clearly angered. “That’s not cool.”
“I miss him,” she sobs, “and I just needed to remind him of how good it is between us.”
“Listen here, cunt,” I snap, jabbing my finger in her direction. “I told you I’m done with you. I don’t miss you. I don’t want to touch you, kiss you, fuck you. The only reason you’re still here is because of my best mate, and he and I will be having words about that.” I pin her with the full extent of my glare. “After you get your things and get the fuck out of my gaff.”
