Epilogue: The Dark Duet (2 page)

“We don’t have
to go to my place. I’ll take you anywhere you want to go. I just… shit, I don’t
even know what I’m trying to say.”

Livvie gave me a weak smile, the kind
that didn’t reach her eyes. She looked so beautiful, and so sad. She looked
just as I remembered.

“I don’t know
what’s wrong with me. I’ve been a wreck for the last four hours, just dying to
get here so I could see you and now…” She crossed her arms around her stomach
and lifted one hand to pull at her bottom lip. It was one of those gestures she
made unconsciously and I remembered it well. It reminded me that no matter how
much she’d changed in the last year, there were things about her that would
never change.

It was only natural for her to wonder
about the ways I hadn’t changed. Frankly, it took every ounce of my
self-control not to grab her and abscond. I had come so close to having
everything I wanted, and in a split second it seemed things between Livvie and
me would end before we even got to the car.

I suddenly didn’t trust myself.

“Maybe... this
was a mistake?” I edged. I wanted to give her the choice, but I wasn’t sure I
could bear to hear the answer.

She closed her eyes and squeezed
herself a little tighter. Her brows knit together in what I interpreted as
sorrow. Her head shook slightly from side to side.

I took it as a good sign. Her tells
weren’t choice—they were instinct. It thrilled me to know her instinct was to
deny any possibility that meeting me was a mistake.

“I know what I want, Livvie. I want to
be a part of your life again. I know we can’t start over. I know you have every
reason in the world to want me dead, but I—”

She placed her hand over my mouth.

“Don’t. I’m not
ready for that either,” she said. She almost seemed angry with me.

I can never overstate the depth and
beauty of Livvie’s eyes. I can stare into them forever, until I forget my own
name (which, let’s face it—wouldn’t take me long).

I took my left hand out of my pocket
and covered her hand over my mouth. I kissed her fingers and nodded. It was as
close to supplication as I could come without making a groveling ass of myself.
It wasn’t pride—it was stratagem. If I had thought groveling would get Livvie
into my car, I would have made a good show of it. I’m shameless.

Slowly, Livvie pulled her hand away
from my mouth and curled her fingers around mine. She shook her head and smiled
ruefully.

“I don’t know
what I’m doing either, Caleb. I’ve wanted this for so long. I’ve put certain
aspects of my life on hold, thinking—hoping that one day you’d find me again.
And now you’re here and I have to be honest… it’s freaking me out.”

I stepped closer to her. I was elated
when she didn’t take a step back. Her hand was warm in mine and her red lips
were simply begging to be kissed again. She’d caught me off guard with the
first one. I was desperate to make the second kiss last.

“I know. I
don’t expect you to trust me, but, Livvie, I would never do anything to hurt
you again. Just give me a chance to prove it. How can I prove it to you?” I
couldn’t resist the urge to stroke her bronzed shoulder. She looked like a
goddess. She looked like sex on silky legs. Her kitten tongue, just like I
remembered it, swept her bottom lip as she pondered her response. “You’re
killing me with that, Livvie.”

Her head tilted to one side.

“Killing you
with what?”

I took a chance and tugged her a little
closer. I removed my other hand from my pocket and let my thumb run across the
curved bow of her lips. We swallowed.

“I want to kiss
you again, but I’m afraid I’ll scare you away.” I took a step back when she
tensed. “So I won’t.”

It was almost more than I cared to
take. The impulsive man in me that was used to getting what he wanted at any
cost was tempted to take control.

I realize you’ve somehow been lulled
into believing my baser urges had been overcome, but that couldn’t have been
further from the truth at the time. I had spent the year prior to our reunion
righting old wrongs, and sometimes it had meant being the man Rafiq had raised
me to be.

“How did you find me, Caleb?” Livvie’s
voice was small and her fear irritated me because I knew she had a right to it.
She cared about me. She wouldn’t have shown up if she didn’t, but I hated her
trepidation just the same.

“What do you want me to say? You know
who I am. You know what I do.” I let go of her hand before she had a chance to
pull away from me again. The night was quickly going to shit. I was glad she
didn’t have me arrested, but I hadn’t really planned for a scenario involving
lust and incredible awkwardness.

“Hey,” she whispered. “I don’t mean it
like that. I’m happy to see you, I am! But if you found me… what makes you
think someone else can’t?”

I felt like an idiot.

“It wasn’t
easy. If it weren’t for our conversations, the things I know about you, I don’t
think I would have found you. You’re safe, Livvie. No one’s coming for you. I
swear it.” I didn’t mention that I’d killed anyone who would have bothered.

“What things?” she asked. I could hear
the hesitation in her voice.

“Do you really want to know, Livvie?
Because once you know, I can’t take it back.” I let my eyes meet hers. I was
willing to do a lot of things to win her, but she had to accept the harsh truth
that I wasn’t a man who played by society’s rules and I never would be.

“Did you hurt anyone?” Her eyes
implored me to say no.

“No,” I said honestly. I even managed a
flirtatious smile. She smiled back.

“Then I guess I
don’t need to know.” She reached for my hand and tugged me in the direction we
had been walking.

“This still doesn’t solve the problem
of what we’re going to do when we get to my car.”

“Is it a stick shift?”

“Of course. Why? Did you finally learn
to drive?” I laughed at the memory of her admitting she couldn’t drive. I
laughed even harder when she scowled at me and playfully hit my shoulder.

“Asshole.”

“Aww, you like it when I tease you.”

“No. I don’t.”

“Then why are you smiling?” I whispered
the words in her ear as we walked. All became right in my world when I felt her
nudge me with her shoulder and her hand held mine a little tighter. The void in
me sighed. I had found a way to feed it.

“I can drive. I’m not good with a stick
though.”

“I don’t remember you being quite so
bad with mine.” A smile played across her lips as she gawked at me. If there’s
one thing I know how to do, it’s flirt.

“I’ve seen you handle your stick,
Caleb. You’re much better at it than I am.” She kept eye contact with me as I
stared at her in shock, but she still blushed something furious.

I tried to make words come out of my
mouth. I settled for smiling and shaking my head. She’d made me uncomfortable
in the best way. It was a skill only she seemed to possess. I know it sounds
juvenile, but there it is.

Finally, we reached my car. I’d be
lying if I told you I didn’t expect Livvie to be impressed. If you’ve ever
stood in the presence of a Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera and not gotten a
tingly sensation in your naughty bits, you have to be very young, very old, or
completely fucking blind.

“Nice car,” she said.

I could tell she was trying to be
nonchalant. She didn’t do it well. I knew what she looked like when her pussy
was wet.

“Wait until you
get inside. It’s my favorite part.” And yes, gentle readers, I am that fucking
smooth. I didn’t open the door for her, but considering I was used to women
opening them for me, let’s call it progress.

I slid against the soft black leather
and reached for Livvie’s safety harness. Within the enclosed space of the
vehicle, her scent infiltrated my senses. I took my time pulling the straps
across Livvie’s chest. I could feel her anxiety like a physical caress, but I
didn’t think it had to do with fear.

I was mere inches from her red lips.
They were gently parted. I could hear her taking soft open-mouthed breaths. I
looked up into her eyes and noticed immediately how they seemed both vigilant,
and heavy with desire. She was watching my every move very carefully.

I leaned closer to her. I moved slowly,
giving her every opportunity to say no or push me away. Carefully, I braced
myself against her door with one hand. I didn’t want my weight against her, not
yet. I brushed the end of her nose with mine, urging her head to tilt upward. I
felt her breath against my mouth, faster and heavier than before. And at last,
I watched her eyes close as she leaned forward.

I let the tip of my tongue trace her
bottom lip, coaxing her mouth open. I didn’t want to rush things. Well, I did
want to, but I know when I shouldn’t. I wanted to push her up against the door,
rip off her panties, and ram myself into her, but I suspected she wouldn’t
appreciate it as much as I would. It was enough to feel her lips opening for
me. I came a little closer and she let out a soft whimper into my mouth.

She wanted me. She wanted me as much as
I wanted her.

I kissed her for a long time. I
couldn’t get enough of her moans. I liked to threaten to pull away and let her
lean forward, chasing after my mouth. I was pretty sure if I used my skills in
the right way, I could get Livvie into my bed. I could see every glorious inch
of her. Taste her pussy in my mouth before I wrapped her legs around me and
fucked her until there was no come left inside me.

I heard myself moan, but I didn’t give
a fuck. I hadn’t had sex in months, and the sex I’d had since Livvie wasn’t
worth mentioning or even thinking about. I’d jerked off before I came to meet
her and my balls still felt heavy. I took a chance and removed my hand from the
door. I let myself caress her shoulder to gauge her reaction to my touch.

“Caleb,” she sighed. She gripped the
edges of her seat and pushed her chest out slightly. Her tongue pushed harder
and deeper into my mouth.

Fuck!
Yes!
I wanted to yell the words. I reached for her breast and my cock throbbed when
I felt how hard her nipple was against my palm. I could tell she wasn’t wearing
a bra beneath her dress and the thin fabric let me feel every contour of her.
As quickly as I could, I pushed on the harness and released the straps. I
pulled the fabric aside and Livvie’s beautiful breast came into view.

“Caleb!” It wasn’t a sigh this time.
She was a little panicked.

I didn’t let it stop me. I could still
hear the lust in her voice. I palmed her breast and put my mouth around her
puckered nipple. I sucked on her greedily. I moaned loud and gripped her harder
when her cry hit the air and her hands held on to my head, pulling me closer.

Somewhere in my lust-addled head I knew
the situation wasn’t ideal. As sexy as a Gallardo Superleggera is, it’s
incredibly cramped and certainly wasn’t conducive to the all-out fuck-fest I had
in mind. It took every ounce of self-control I didn’t possess to pull myself
away from Livvie’s delicious nipple.

It was harder not to go back to it when
I got a good look at Livvie upon pulling away. Her body was tilted at an angle,
with her head against the door, and her dress was pushed to the side to expose
one of her breasts. Her nipple was hard and wet from my mouth. Livvie’s
lipstick deserved an award because it had surprisingly stayed on her lips and
wasn’t smeared all over her face.

“Let me take you home, Livvie. Please.
I can’t stand being this close to you and not being inside you for one more
fucking second.” I put myself out there. I let her know exactly what my
intentions were.

She was slow to catch her breath. Her
dark brown eyes looked on me with lust, but also with what seemed to be a
myriad of other emotions.

“What’s wrong? I know you want this as
much as I do.” I tried not to sound annoyed, but it’s next to impossible not to
sound like an asshole when my dick is hard enough to pound nails and I’m
expected to have higher brain function.

Livvie eyed me warily. Sadly, it was an
expression I’d come to know very well in our time together. She could probably
tell I was annoyed and it was scaring her. Carefully, she set about adjusting
her dress and slipping her breast back into it. She couldn’t seem to stop
fidgeting, and with every movement it became obvious she was pondering her next
actions.

Then, with her gorgeous tits no longer
in view and her racy dress smoothed down to reflect a more demure appearance,
she spoke.

“I want to ask
you a few questions, Caleb, and I need for you to be completely honest with me.
Can you do that?” She looked toward me with her sad brown eyes.

She had me in a precarious position and
I was willing to do whatever it would take to make her happy again. I wanted
the opportunity to taste Livvie’s happy tears again.

“Ask me
anything you really want to know. But only if you think you can handle the
answer.” I couldn’t stress my point enough. She couldn’t ask me for honesty and
then hate me for following the rules. Well, she
could
—but it’s a shitty thing to do to a person.