Sugar on the Edge (26 page)

“Geez, love… how long exactly does it take for you to get ready? It’s just some drinks with your friends,” I say in exasperation as I lean against the doorjamb of my bathroom. Savannah has been diligently working on herself for the past half hour. I’ve watched as she put cream on her face and eyes, some type of frothy stuff in her hair. She then put on makeup—seemed like a million different things went on her face—yet when she was done, she didn’t look made up at all. Except for her eyes… her lashes were so long and thick that her eyes practically glowed at me. Then she dried her hair… then she took some type of wand looking thing and ran it through, causing the slight bit of wave that it naturally bore to straighten out and flip at different angles.

Finally… yes, finally, she slathered gloss on her lips, puckered said lips in the mirror, and all I could think about was getting those slick, wet lips around my cock. I had to turn my back on her and walk out the bathroom before I fucked her right then and there.

Christ, she’s so fucking beautiful and sexy that she makes my eyeballs burn sometimes. And the way she looks at me, especially after I told her all about Charlie last night, especially after the way we made love… she makes my heart squeeze, contract, jump, shiver, and moan in delight.

I thought a lot about what Savannah said… about how I didn’t just exist, but I lived. She told me I had been bent but never broken. And I suppose she’s right, to some extent… I slogged my way through the darkness that I let overtake my life for a while. I managed to pull myself up and write a book, and when additional opportunity came my way, I managed to remove myself from the life that was dragging me under and get a fresh start here in the Outer Banks. Yeah… I did that all on my own. Crawled out of the deepest hole I could have ever been able to dig for myself.

But where Savannah doesn’t acknowledge the full story is where she didn’t mention her part. I may have dragged myself up to the edge of the hole, but I think I was hanging onto the edge with my fingertips. Barely… just barely.

I didn’t get out of that fucking hole until she wandered up, looked over the edge at me, and smiled. I didn’t get out of that hole all the way, until just last night when she grabbed ahold of my wrists and with every bit of strength, care, and kindness, pulled me up out of it the rest of the way.

I woke up this morning, after having pondered that all night while I held her in my arms, and realized that I could have a different life than what I thought, starting today.

Starting right this very moment where I want to really start it off right by walking back into that bathroom, stripping her naked, and feasting on her body for hours.

“I’m ready,” she says, coming out of the bathroom.

“Finally,” I grumble, pulling her into my arms. “You look fantastic. Smell even better. I know for a fact you taste fucking amazing. Want to give me a taste?”

She nods, so I lean down. I kiss her wet lips, tasting vanilla and mint on them. Then I release her, or else we’ll never make it out of the bedroom, and I know she’s dying for me to meet her friends.

I briefly marvel at how fast all of this seems to be moving between us. Just a little over two weeks ago, I was snarling at her and she was cowering from me. Then I fingered her in my Maserati, and things definitely changed then. After I fucked her for the first time, I knew that sex would never be the same for me again. And last night… after we talked about Amanda, Charlie, and my addictions, she liberated me from the rest of my darkness with just a few small, comforting, but heartfelt, words.

And now, here we are, and she wants me to meet her friends.

I’m up for the challenge, of course. After the things I’ve been through, nothing scares me. Except the prospect of losing Savannah, when I just found her. So, maybe I am a little nervous they won’t like me. Particularly Brody, who I can tell is very protective of her.

Yes, forget her pack of girlfriends… Brody is the one whose approval I’m going to need to get.

“Are you having fun?” Savannah says as she saunters up to me with a flushed grin on her face. She’s at that place right now where she borders between slightly buzzed and really buzzed, and she’s fucking charming as all get out.

I was watching her play pool with Hunter, my eyes either pinned to her ass or the slight cleavage she shows when she bends over. Every once in a while, my gaze will stray to make sure no other guys have their eyes pinned to her ass or tits, which is something I wouldn’t take kindly to.

“Loads of fun,” I assure her, but while her friends have all been nice… except Brody, who seems a bit reserved, I’d much rather take her home and spend hours making her scream.

“So, where do you stand on PDA?”

“P-D-what?” I ask, confused.

“PDA… public displays of affection,” she says seriously. “Some guys don’t like that, and I’m curious where you stand?”

Reaching out, I place my hands on her face and draw her closer to me. “I’m not sure. Let’s test it out first… see if I like it or not.”

Bending down, I touch my lips to hers, with only the intent of grazing their fullness. But she presses in to me, opening her mouth and slipping her tongue in. I’m powerless not to reciprocate, so I do… giving her a deep, sensual kiss, so that when I pull back she is dazed and weak-kneed.

“I think I like it,” I murmur as I release my hold.

Her fingertips come up to rub her lips thoughtfully, and she stares at me intently. “I really like it too.”

My hands slip to her waist and wrap around her lower back, pulling her in flush against me. “When can we leave?”

“Already?” she asks in disbelief. “We just got here.”

“Three hours ago,” I point out, and while I have indeed been enjoying myself, I’m dying to get her alone.

“
Pfft
,” she says, waving her hand dismissively. “What’s three hours in the grand scheme of things?”

Laughing at her near-drunken silliness, I bend down again and give her a quick kiss on her mouth. I put my lips near her ear. “It’s three hours too long without feeling your sweet pussy wrapped around my cock. I’m dying here, Sweet. I want to leave so I can fuck you.”

“Oh,” she breathes into my neck and then pulls back to look at me. “Why didn’t you say so? That sounds like so much more fun than hanging out here.”

I give her a huge grin and release her waist, only to take her hand. “Let’s say our goodbyes then.”

I turn to start walking her over to where the girls are all standing, only to practically run into Brody. He’s holding a bottle of water in one hand and glass of Scotch in the other.

Handing the liquor to me, he says, “I bought you a drink.”

I take it from him, heaving with frustration on the inside, and say, “Thanks, mate. You didn’t have to do that.”

You really didn’t have to do that.

“Oh, sure I did,” Brody says affably, although I sense an underlying tone of censure in his voice. “Besides, I thought we could have a chat.”

I cock my eyebrow high, to let him know just what I think of that, but then turn to Savannah. “Why don’t you go hang with the rest of the gang for a bit, love? Let Brody and I get to know each other a bit better.”

Savannah’s eyes flick between Brody and me for a moment, then she sighs rather audibly. “Fine. But hurry up, Filthy. You have promises to fulfill tonight.”

I wince internally over her words because Brody seems to stiffen up beside me as we watch her flounce off to join Gabby, Alyssa, Casey, and Hunter.

Taking a sip of Scotch, I watch her thoughtfully. She’s fucking perfect. Perfect for me, that is, and I have to wonder what this means for my future. Just a few days ago, I had high plans to jet back to London when I finished my manuscript. Now I have no clue what to do. I definitely see something with Savannah for the future; I just don’t know what it is. I’m pretty confident it wouldn’t involve marriage, because with marriage comes the expectations of children. Savannah is the type of woman that would want children. Lots and lots of them, but that is something I crossed off my bucket list long ago and will never put back on.

I had my one chance at a child, and I failed miserably. I’m never going through that again, because the pain far outweighed the good. I’m never taking the chance of having to go through that pain again.

“Some deep thoughts brewing in that head of yours,” Brody says, and I turn around to blink at him. I had completely forgotten he was standing there.

“Savannah’s a deep woman,” I say. “She deserves deep thoughts, don’t you think?”

“She deserves the best thoughts,” Brody says, and I don’t miss the ominous tone in his voice.

I take another small sip of Scotch, appraising the man standing before me that Savannah has so much care and respect for. I have to say… the protectiveness in him over my woman both assures me and pisses me off. It’s nice to know Savannah has had someone looking over her, but that’s not needed anymore, so I decide to lay it on the line. “What’s on your mind, mate? Spill it.”

“I don’t want to see her hurt. Savannah is a special woman; no doubt, you already know that. But she wounds easily.”

“I have no intentions of wounding her.”

“What are your intentions, then? You’re here just temporarily, right?”

I turn my head and watch Savannah as she sips at her beer and laughs at something Gabby says. If she laughed with me like that every day, I’d have to seriously consider staying with her forever. Or convincing her to come with me back to England. Regardless, the point being, I don’t think I can give her up.

Turning back to Brody, I tell him honestly. “My original plans were to leave as soon as I finished my manuscript. But I’m thinking that’s easier said than done at this point.”

Brody seems to like my answer, and I can feel some of the ice melt away. “So what’s the problem? You can write anywhere, right?”

“That I can,” I tell him. “Seems like a simple solution, right?”

He claps me on my back and laughs. “Dude, there’s nothing simple about relationships. If it were easy, everyone would have them.”

“You make it look easy,” I point out. “You and Alyssa… you’re about as tight as I’ve ever seen two people.”

Brody’s eyes go soft as he looks at her. “We share a bond that’s hard to explain.”

Holding up my glass of Scotch, I give it a little shake. “I’ve got a glass of liquor to sip at, so I got the time.”

With appraising eyes, Brody stares at me. I can see the moment he feels like I’m worthy to hear his story, and it doesn’t have a damn thing to do with anything he knows about me. He’s trusting Savannah’s instinct about me.

Leaning back against the wall, Brody fiddles with the plastic cap on his water bottle. “Did Savannah tell you I was in prison?”

“Yeah… just that it was a drunk driving accident, someone died, and you went away for five years.”

“That’s part of the story. The other part… the part that only a select few know, and that select few includes Savannah… was that I wasn’t the one driving the car. I foolishly took the fall for my girlfriend because she begged me to… and I paid the price by losing everything that was important to me. I lost my freedom, my medical career, and my family for a time. She took everything from me.”

My jaw drops as I realize, at this very moment, Brody and I share something in common. We’ve both had loves who had taken something away from us. Granted, it was two very different ways in which we were hurt, but still hurt by women in a profound way all the same.