Breathless (The Breathe Series) (4 page)

My suit
was crisp, my shoes were shined, and I was in complete business mode, and for some reason it got me preferential treatment at LAX like I was someone of some importance, so who was I to reject it? My Thursday morning had been spent locked in an early morning business meeting with my business associates, amongst the talk of figures and expansion of the Red Velvet brand, I’d decided that today would be the day I went to New York. I was antsy to get out of LA, and after speaking with Savannah the night before, I knew I had to get to New York as soon as I could. The moment I’d shaken the investors’ hands and ceased the meeting, I made my way to LAX.

My body molded into the plush seat, and I couldn’t help but smile. In a matter of hours, I would be seeing Savannah. I’d be able to kiss her, hold her, and put my hands on her little stomach. I’d have my life back. My head rested back and my eyes closed as my smile grew wider.

“You look super happy,” Tanzi spoke softly beside me, lifting her eyes from the laptop in front of her. Of course she and Jack were coming to New York with me. According to Tanzi, I couldn’t go and see Sav without them. From the time I’d sent Tanzi a text to tell her of my plans to go the moment I left the bar, she and Jack were waiting for me with their suitcases packed. Did she really think I’d be sharing Sav considering I hadn’t seen her in over a week?

“I am pretty fucking happy,” I replied in a tone loud enough for the elderly woman in seat 3C to scowl at me. Smiling, Tanzi shook her head in amusement.

“What are you planning on doing when you get there? Besides the obvious.” The way she scrunched her nose up caused a deep laugh to escape my chest.

“They are going to screw each other senseless, Tanzi.” Jack laughed from the seat on the other side of Tanzi and proceeded to lean across her to give me a high-five. I couldn’t leave him hanging so I overenthusiastically returned the high-five and nodded in agreement.

“Jesus, Jack. Obviously that’s what I meant when I said ‘beside the obvious.’”

Jack’s laughed echoed through the cabin and the scowling lady from before looked at us in disgrace.

The pilot announced that we were taking off so I braced myself and sat back, my hands clasped tightly in my lap. Closing my eyes, I leaned back into my seat and held my breath as the plane took off down the runway. My mind was racing on what I was going to do when I got to New York. I had absolutely no plans; I hadn’t even packed a bag. All I had was the clothes on my back, my wallet, my cell, and a whole heap of anticipation. All I knew was that I needed to get to her. I needed to correct the fucked up thoughts Lucas had put in her head. The thought that she could be analyzing our relationship or trying to justify me being in her life made me sick to my stomach.

“Tate, stop it! Everything will be fine.”

I twisted in my seat to find Tanzi looking at me with wide, concerned eyes. Damn twin intuition. I didn’t even have to say a word and she knew what I was thinking. I gave her a weak smile and collapsed deep in my chair. Five hours of my mind playing tricks on me were ahead of me.

My thoughts went back to my last trip to New York City when all hell had broken loose, and once again it had been Lucas. My stubbornness and insecurities about my relationship with Sav were on full display and all it took was one call. I heard Lucas answer her phone and was thrown back to the moment I’d found Blake with Sarah.

I remember the day as if it were yesterday and I was pissed that it still affected me. Both of them didn’t deserve my time, and they certainly didn’t deserve the hours I had spent analyzing why they’d done it. Blake was a couple of years younger than Tanzi and me, and he and his grandparents had moved next door during my senior year. We bonded over surfing, and soon enough, every afternoon and weekend was spent at the beach. I was happy in my relationship with Candice while Blake was screwing himself around San Diego. I had to give him props though
—
he was by my side when my world came crushing down around me when I lost Candice. He was the one who got me out of the house to take me surfing, bought copious bottles of booze to numb it all, and first introduced me to Sarah. He was also the one I found pounding into her on the couch in my apartment
—
a sight that would forever be etched into my memories. I’d never forget the smirk she fired at me when she saw me or the way Blake begged for my forgiveness. It was from that moment I became the asshole Savannah first met, the asshole who spent his day drowning in booze, screwing random chicks, and being the prick of a guy I’d thought I deserved to be.

“Tate!”

Tanzi’s voice snatched me from reliving memories of my past and my ears were overcome with the sound of chatter around me. People were exiting the plane
—
I was in New York City. I was in the same city as Sav. Now what? I wasn’t just known for being an asshole
—
I was also known for spontaneity.

I grabbed my cell from my jacket pocket and scrolled through, looking for Simon’s number, and sent a text.

Me: Simon, it’s Tate. I am in New York. What’s the address of Beautify and where is she staying?

Mr Davenport: What the fuck? What are you doing?

Me: I need to see her.

Mr Davenport: Don’t fuck this up.

Me: Have faith in me, Simon. Do you think I’d fly 3000 miles to fuck this up? What more do I have to do to make you see that I am in this for good?

Mr Davenport: I knew I liked you for a reason. I’ll call Beautify and tell them to let her off for the afternoon. She needs to work though, Tate, so don’t make me ban you from the office. I’ll text you the info. Give her a hug for me. I miss her too, you know.

I jammed my phone into my pocket and rubbed my hands over my face in frustration. I knew I had a lot to prove to Simon, and if it was the last thing I did on this earth, I would prove to him that I was worthy of Savannah. Right now though I needed to shake my frustration and get to her. Unbuckling my seatbelt, I stood to stretch, looking down at Tanzi and Jack.

“Let’s go.”

“What are we doing?” Tanzi asked as we rushed through the busyness of JFK arrivals.

“I am going to see Sav. I don’t know about you two,” I said anxiously as I rushed through the arrivals, dodging other people excitedly arriving in the Big Apple with my eyes searching for a cab. I was a bundle of anxiety, excitement, nervousness, and anticipation.

“Tate, I want to see Sav too.” Tanzi grabbed my arm and pulled me back so I was walking in step with her. She was whining like a five-year-old who had her Barbie taken from her.

“Let’s go to dinner tonight in Times Square. I just really need to see her on my own. Do you really want to see your brother having sex?” I joked, desperate to ease the tension. My words were full of jokes but my eyes were pleading with her. Tanzi huffed a response before we took off in search of a cab while she desperately tried to get a room at the same hotel Sav was at.

“I’ve seen you do a lot of shit, Tate. Thankfully having sex hasn’t been one of them and I don’t plan on changing that.”

Why were there so many cabs in New York City? I was on edge, clutching my phone with a death grip. I’d been biting my bottom lip since the moment I gave the cab driver the address for Beautify. Mr. Confidence had run for the hills. My eyes darted out the window, trying desperately to find a distraction. New York City had definitely been an escape for me over the years, and I loved nothing more than getting distracted in the craziness of the city. I swear I had drunk my bodyweight in scotch in this city.

“Sir, we are here.”

I lifted my sunglasses from my eyes, turned my head, and looked out the window towards the glistening building in front of me. It towered sky high. Handing God only knows how much money to the cab driver, I opened the door and stepped out into the sunshine of Manhattan.

“Good luck!” Tanzi yelled as the cab took off with a squeal.

The interior of the building was as sleek as the exterior. The marble tiles reflected below my feet while my eyes scanned the board in front of me, desperately trying to find the floor that held Sav. Beautify NY
—
tenth floor. Impeccably dressed men and women rushed around me while I became with panic. What if Sav didn’t want to see me? What if she thought it was stupid of me to fly over on a whim? Last night she told me not to come over.
Shut the fuck up, Tate
, I scolded myself. I looked down at my phone. It was 3:14 pm. It was time to see Sav.

I nervously
strolled through the foyer, praying that I looked somewhat confident. My suit definitely allowed me to fit it. People nodded at me, and I attempted to smile back. I had no idea how I was going to even get in to see her. My goal of allowing Sav to have the experience of the thrill of surprise was key. I wanted her breath to catch in the back of her throat. I wanted her heart to beat frantically in her chest. And to be honest, I wanted her panties to explode.

My eyes locked with a young girl who looked barely out of her teens. She was a pretty little thing with cropped copper hair and a huge smile gracing her face. My ego soared as her cheeks tinted when I fired a smile her way. Maybe I could use some of the Connors charm to get my way in? It wouldn’t be the first time I’d preyed on an innocent girl to get what I want. Sometimes my asshole tendencies served me well.

“Um, hi, can I help you?” she squeaked, her eyes darting between me and the computer screen in front of her.

Leaning over the desk, I threw her a thousand-watt smile and put on my flirt face. “I need a favor,” I cooed. She nodded in reply. I was an ass. Yet again I was using a girl to get what I want, but this time it wouldn’t result in an empty fuck
—
this time it would result in Savannah.

“Um, yes sure. What can I do to you? I mean do for you?” Her cheeks went the same deep red of her blouse, and I couldn’t stop the short laugh from escaping my lips.

Leaning over even farther, I closed the distance between us and whispered my plan. Thankfully she agreed to my crazy idea without hesitation.

“Miss Rae is currently on a teleconference with Mr. Davenport from the Los Angeles office. I can take you to the boardroom to wait if you like. She shouldn’t be too long.”

“That would be perfect. What was your name?”

“My name is Amanda.”

“Thank you so much, Amanda. You have been a huge help,” I said softly as I followed her through the vast office space of Beautify NY. My nerves ran rampant. I felt like my heart was trying to beat out of my chest, but it all faded the moment I heard the sexy Australian accent that brought me to my knees. My eyes flickered through the room furiously for her. It was
my
breath that caught when I found her. Standing by a desk in the far corner of the office, phone to her ear, talking and laughing, she looked relaxed, happy, and like absolute perfection. Dressed in a charcoal knee-length skirt with a crisp white skirt and black heels, she had her hair swept to the side, showing her deliciously biteable neck that I had kissed, sucked, and nibbled on so many times. She looked breathtakingly beautiful.

“New York is beautiful but I miss Los Angeles. Yes I have. I spoke with him last night. What? Since when have you been on Team Tate? Why are you letting me go home early? Yeah I will. I’ll call him tonight. Yes I am eating. You sound like Tate.”

My eyes never left Sav as she paced the area near her desk. She was smiling, and I could hear the happiness in her voice as she spoke to Simon. I couldn’t help but drink her in.

“Okay, I miss you too.” She laughed softly. “I am not saying that. You wouldn’t dare. Don’t you dare tell Tate that! Fine… I miss you too, handsome, best guy in the world who is going to be the most awesome poppa. I cannot believe I said that. I will talk to you tonight. I love you too.”

Sav smiled at the phone in her hands and pushed a lose piece of hair behind her ear. It was taking every bit of restraint not to rush to her. I slipped into the empty boardroom and stepped away from the glass wall separating the boardroom and the main office space.

The door pushed open and there she stood. “You wanted to see me.”

My breath caught deep in my chest as her green eyes grew wide at the sight of me. She stood before me like a statue, no words being said, and her mouth was opening and closing as if she was trying to find the right thing to say.

“Tate!” Savannah’s hand flew to her mouth as she choked out a gasp.

I was completely breathless at the sight of her. Our eyes never faltered as I crossed the empty boardroom two steps at a time to stand before her, needing to break the distance between our bodies. The scent of her perfume made my senses come alive, and my body reacted like a switch had been turned on. With a strong hand, I cupped her face. My fingertips ran over her cheek and traced the outline of her jaw as my thumb swept over her lips. She shivered against me and her eyes closed under my touch.

“What are you doing here?” she breathed out, opening her big green eyes to look at me with questioning hesitation.

“You left something in Los Angeles,” I replied, taking a step closer so our bodies were flush against each other and our hearts beating as one.

“What?”

“This.”

I covered her mouth with mine and instantly she collapsed against my chest. My arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her close and holding her protectively. The sigh that escaped Sav’s mouth against mine set my body on fire. My tongue traced her plump bottom lip before thrusting in and sweeping through her mouth. I wanted to own her. I wanted to taste her.

Her arms wrapped around my neck, and I sighed against her lips as I felt her fingertips slide though my hair. Pulling my bottom lip between her teeth in the way she knew I craved sent a shot of heat through my crotch. Grinding myself against her, I didn’t show any inhibitions. Our tongues danced with each other, swimming together, trying so hard to get even closer while our bodies tried desperately to break any distance between us. My hands cupped her perfect ass and lifted her onto the mahogany desk that was in the middle of the boardroom. I pushed open her legs with my knee and stepped between her thighs. The heat radiating from her was incredible.

“I’ve missed you so much,” she hummed against my lips and instantly I felt myself go hard. I needed to bury myself so far in her that I saw stars in my eyes. I ground my cock into her thigh, showing my delight to be back with her, and she smiled into the kiss.

I kissed her hard, fast, and with every ounce of passion I had, desperate to meet her hunger with every kiss. My hand dropped to the small of her back and I slid her body as close to mine as possible. Her hips bucked and her body crushed into mine with fevered intensity, up and down, hard and soft, wanting and needing. I wanted nothing more than to rip her skirt from her body and fuck her right here.

She groaned at the contact of my clear arousal to her heated body. “Tate,” she gasped as she pulled away, her breathing heavy and her eyes hooded with heat.

“I needed to give you that.” I leaned my forehead against hers, my eyes never leaving her. Our breathing was broken, but we were breathing together and that’s all that mattered to me.

Sav jumped off the table and, with shaky steps, moved towards the glass wall of the boardroom, closing the blinds before spinning back towards me. “What do you want to do?”

Her eyes burned into mine as she sauntered towards me. Her eyes were like a pit of hot coals, simmering, wanting, and burning for what she knew I could give her. This was the look I craved. It was the look of a thousand unspoken words that told me she was mine and I was hers. It was the one look that destroyed me in so many amazing ways. It was as if the moment she met me, she’d taken everything that I was, put it in a blender and created a new me, a better me. I had lived by the promise to myself that I would never change for anyone, but for Savannah I would do everything in my power to change the world if I knew it would make her happy.

As I licked my lips, a thousand thoughts rushed through my head. “I thought Tanzi warned you about asking me questions like that.”

Sav dropped her mouth to mine before she spoke. “And I thought you’d know by now that I kinda like breaking the rules.” I knew she could feel my hardness. A smirk swirled over her lips. My hand gripped her ass and pushed her hard against me.

“How are my two most favorite people doing?” I ran my hands down her sides, wishing we were skin to skin, and rested my palm on her stomach. The look that took over her face almost destroyed me. Her heavy eyes closed under my touch, and the lips I had just attacked with mine turned up into the most beautiful smile she had ever given me.

“We have never been happier,” she breathed out, and in that moment, everything was perfect.

My arms surrounded her and pulled her close to my body. Having her in my arms had never felt better. All of my anxiety and questioning on the flight on the way over had disappeared. All thoughts of Lucas were gone. Standing in the silence of the boardroom, we listened to only the sound of our breathing, enjoying the moments where no words were needed.

“Miss Rae, I have a Blake Ryan at reception who is returning with your jacket.”

Words I wish I’d never heard shattered the silence.

Just hearing his name almost set me off. Sav’s body tensed in my arms.

Blake fucking Ryan strikes again.

“Thanks Amanda, he can leave it at the desk.” Sav said into the intercom that was on the desk beside us.

“Blake? Really? Do you have something to tell me, Savannah?” I hissed, asking the one question I never wanted to ask.

“Blake is in town and I had lunch with him today. Before you go off the Richter scale, let me explain. He has met a girl and he is in New York with her. He saw on Facebook that I was in the city so he contacted me. Beautify is doing a feature and he is a part of it.”

“So you are in New York City and he just happens to arrive in New York City and makes contact with you via Facebook? Why are you even friends with him?”

“He must have added me when we first met.” Her eyes narrowed in on me. “And by the way, I came to New York City and he was already in New York City. I have been here on my own and it was actually nice to catch up with someone familiar.”

“Yeah, you two are real familiar,” I sneered and regretted it immediately. My hand shot out to grab hers but I was too late. The damage had already been done.

“You are such an arsehole, Tate.” She ripped herself away from my body and straightened her skirt and shirt. “A real fucking piece of work.”

The excitement in her stunning green eyes from seeing me quickly disappeared and was replaced by fire and rage. I knew the look all too well.

Sav stormed towards the door, grabbed hold of the handle, and stopped. She dropped her head before turning towards me. “Tate, seriously, when will you stop doing this?” She sighed loudly, turned on her heel, and disappeared from the boardroom.

Blake Ryan would always be the thorn in my side, and every time he climbed out of his little hole, the thorn would dig a little deeper into my flesh. Why I even thought about him pissed me off. I had no right to be jealous of anything that had happened between him and Savannah
—
she hadn’t been mine then.

But it was almost like he was a constant reminder of what I didn’t want to become. He didn’t give a shit about anyone but himself, and he was willing to hurt those closest to him for a meaningless screw
—
and that’s what he did with Sarah. The one thing that pissed me off the most about Blake wasn’t the fact that he’d screwed my ex-girlfriend or that I’d treated him like a brother and he had decided to shit all over that with one move. It was that I knew if he were in trouble I’d be there in a millisecond. He’d ripped my heart out, stomped on it, and laughed in my face, but I knew that if I ever got the call, if he ever reached out to me, I’d be by his side without question. So here’s a giant fuck you to those who think I don’t have a heart.

Standing in the loneliness of the boardroom, I watched her closely through the glass wall. Savannah was pissed and kept her eyes from mine. The sound of her slamming things down on her desk with a look of feisty annoyance plastered on her face swum through the office. She ripped open the top drawer of her desk and grabbed her handbag before raising her eyes, knowing I would be watching. Her eyes narrowed in at me. With one look she could either set me on a wave of ecstasy or throw me to hell, and now, as she glared at me, she was throwing me to fiery depths of hell. I manned up and walked out towards her, knowing I had to bite my tongue before I said something else. I was pissed about Blake
—
Sav knew how much I despised him.

“So I hear that I’m being sent home because my arsehole of a boyfriend has decided to turn up. The boyfriend that also doesn’t know when to think before he speaks.”

I moved towards her. “Sav, look, I’m
—
”But she shook her head in warning and raised her hand.

“Tate, I don’t want to hear it.”

She took off through the office, not speaking to me or anyone in her path. Following closely, I felt my frustrations bubbling deep inside me. This was not how our reunion was supposed to turn out. We should be laughing and joking with each other. Right now I should be saying and doing inappropriate things to her. We shouldn’t have this silence that was engulfing us.

She stormed through the office, only stopping briefly at the reception desk to speak to the cute girl who had helped me earlier. She looked between Sav and me and dropped her head. She didn’t have to be a brainiac to pick up on the tension.

The sounds and fiasco of New York City consumed me as soon as we exited the building. Here we were, walking down one of the busiest streets in the world with hundreds of people surrounding us, but the silence between us was strangling me. I could sense the familiar feeling of panic rising within me as we walked down Fifth Avenue. Our bodies weren’t touching, we weren’t talking, and we weren’t being us.

“Why don’t you trust me?” Sav’s voice asked quietly against the echo of New York City.

“I do trust you.”

Savannah stopped suddenly in the middle of the sidewalk and turned towards me. People stepped around us, muttering under their breath for us to move, but I didn’t give a fuck about them. My only concern was for my girlfriend, who was now looking completely defeated and crushed because of my stupid mouth.

“Well what is it, Tate? You’ve got to stop doing this. I can’t stick around, waiting for you to decide to believe that I am with you and only you. You need to decide whether you trust me or not. I have another person to think of now.” My eyes followed her hands as she cradled her stomach protectively. Our baby.

Taking a step forward, I broke the distance between us. I couldn’t let her have one single thought of doing this alone. I would not let those thoughts flicker through her mind. “Savannah! Just stop.”