All his life, he’d worked to earn people’s love and respect and never gotten it from the two people he previously wanted it from the most.
Only he no longer cared about those two people.
His parents were dead to him, even if they wouldn't care even if they knew. Now all he cared about was making this woman happy.
Her gasp told him she’d opened her eyes, but was it a shocked gasp, a happy one, or a disappointed one? Voodoo had no idea.
Unfortunately, Indigo didn't say anything else. Just stood there, her body going stiff in his arms, and the familiar sinking feeling in his gut returned. He’d tried to do something special for her, prove to her that she was never going to regret putting her trust in him, that he was worthy of her trust, but once again he’d fallen short.
Letting his arms drop, he was about to take a step back, apologizefor dropping the ball, and promise her he’d do better next time, when her hands flew up to grip his forearms with a strength that shouldn’t have surprised him but did.
“Voodoo,” she whispered, with so much emotion in that one word, and when she wriggled in his hold to turn so she was facing him, he could see her cheeks were wet with tears.
Crying was the last thing he’d wanted to make her do.
Smiling had been what he was going for. Laughter. Anything that indicated she knew he was trying to show her how much she meant to him, and how he wanted to spend the rest of his life trying to make it up to her for all the suffering she’d endured.
“I thought this?—”
“Was the most amazing, sweet, thoughtful, caring, considerate, loving thing anyone has ever done for me,” she gushed, grinning so wide that he was surprised it wasn't hurting her cheeks. Maybe it was, and she just hadn't noticed.
“Amazing? Thoughtful? Loving?” he echoed. All of those things were exactly what he’d been feeling when he planned this, what he’d hoped to show her, but he’d been so certain he’d failed.
“Of course. No one hadeverdone anything like this for me. It’s beautiful, magical, and you remembered what I told you, about the bubbles.” Her eyes still shimmered with unshed tears, but now he was beginning to understand they weren't sad tears, they were happy ones.
“I remember every single thing you say to me, honey,” he told her, and it was completely true. No one had ever cared enough about Indigo to listen to her, until now anyway.
“How did you manage all of this?” Remaining in his arms, she tilted her head back to stare in wonder at the thousands of bubbles filling the room.
“With a little help from the guys. We installed bubble machines in all four corners of the room, and on the floor and ceiling, built them in so you can't see them. There’s a switch by the light switch to turn them on. I thought this could be your special space. You can furnish it however you want, you just tell me, and I’ll get you whatever you want, anything.”
“This is the absolute nicest thing anyone has ever done for me,and there isn’t even a close runner-up.” Turning back to face him, she lifted her hands and curled them around the back of his neck, guiding his face down to hers so she could press her lips to his. “Thank you, Voodoo. For saving my life and not leaving me behind. For listening to me, for caring, and bringing me to your home. For sharing your family with me, for making me feel like I matter for the first time ever.”
Between her words, she dotted kisses to his mouth, and he could feel the heat simmering between them begin to boil over.
“I love you, Voodoo, I don’t care if it’s too soon, or if you don’t feel it back yet. I'm falling in love with you, and I want you to know.”
A growl ripped from his throat before he even realized it. Grabbing her hips, he lifted her and ground her center against the bulge in his pants. “Not falling, already fallen.”
The smile she gave him was everything. “Make love to me, Voodoo.”
And just like that, the thin leash he had on his control snapped.
February 14th
3:21 P.M.
If she was expecting any hesitation, Indigo didn't get any.
Voodoo’s grip on her hips tightened, and he abruptly spun around and headed for the door.
“No, wait!” she cried out, wrapping her legs around his waist as she grabbed his shoulders to steady herself.
“What?” For a second, panic flittered through his gaze, and she could all but feel the recrimination flooding through him and out into the room. Like he thought he had somehow misread her blatantly clear request, although how he could have done that she had no idea, she’d asked for exactly what she wanted.
“In here,” she said, her hands kneading his shoulders, not wanting any negative emotion, even in passing, into this special room Voodoo had created for her.
Glancing over her shoulder, she saw his gaze roam the room. “There’s no bed.”
