I set my half-finished glass on a tray carried by a server quickly passing by and continue my stride until I reach her side. She tucks her long locks behind her ear with a radiant smile on her face as she listens to the group around her.
I almost trip at the sight of it. She’s laughing at some joke from some golden-haired douche clearly attempting to move in on his next conquest.
I slide up to her, and my hand slips around her waist, pulling her against me. The feel of her plump ass sends haywire signals to my brain. I grip her body even tighter into mine until she’s completely molded into me. I hear her sharp intake of breath, too small to be heard by anyone else. Wide eyes peer up at me before she hides her surprise with a quick smile. I dip down and lay a kiss on her forehead, not wanting to push things too fast, but loving the feel of her too much to let go.
“Avery,” I greet.
The world fades away as I stare into those baby blue eyes, softly lined with black and framed by her long lashes.
“Kane.” Her soft voice is husky as she peers at me over her shoulder, the top of her head coming up to my chin. Her heels give me a better view of her face.
“How was work?” I ask as I turn her around with my hands and settle both palms on her hips, effectively cutting us off from their conversation. She raises one eyebrow at me, asking without words why I’m behaving this way.
Her hands come up to rest on my chest and fiddle with my tie. It sends tingles up my spine as I feel the warmth of her fingers through my cotton shirt. The thin material is only a small barrier between me and her full warmth. She’s playing along nicely with this narrative we created, thatwe’re still together, a fact my brain seems to forget with the way my hands hold her with a bruising grip.
“It was long. We had four new intakes today. All dogs found abandoned close to the old roller rink. Clearly dumped! I mean, come on, you can’t even drop them at a shelter? Those poor babies were skin and bones. Adorable little Lab mixes. I think they were all part of the same litter. We had a call earlier, and I raced in the truck to get them. I mean, it was only thirty degrees out this morning when the call came in! Someone had tried to stop, but they were so scared. I raced out of bed,” she fumes, clearly still fired up about her day. Her face is so animated as she talks, her brows furrowing and her lips pursing with frustration.
Usually, I would have leaned down and kissed her just to make her relax a bit, watching those divots between her brows straighten out, but I keep my place on her hips. My fingers make slow circles on her back, feeling the velvety material beneath them. My heart stutters, knowing how lucky I am to get this contact with her. I have been starved for her touch. I think it would take a couple natural disasters to pull me away from her right now.
“So naturally, you did something unsafe by going to that part of town to get them. Did you go alone?” I quip, a constant argument between us about the situations she would put herself in for those dogs.
I love her passion and how much she cares for them, but sometimes I wish she cared enough about her own safety. I can remember the countless times she got a call early in the morning or late at night about a dog, and I forced her into my truck instead and drove with her. I knew while she was getting those animals to safety, I could focus on her safety. No matter how tired I was after. She would care for and look after the dog, and I would lookafter her. I would stay vigilant and alert, scanning the surroundings for anything off when she came running back with her prize.
“Before you start lecturing me,Dad,” she quips as her black nail digs into my chest. “I did not. Keith went with me, thank you very much. He met me there with all the supplies from the truck.” She tries to back out of my hold, and instead, I grab on tighter and bring my hands around her back, resting them just above her ass. The one that looks so appealing in this dress my hands are itching to slide down a little bit farther.
This back-and-forth is easy between us, a small break from the mounting tension that has filled the moments before this. It feels like a truce. It feels like a good reminder that the chemistry is still there between us, and that this is still just as it was meant to be. I stand here staring down at her, my eyes searching for those missing freckles, hoping she feels the same rightness I do.
She looks up at me, hands still playing with my tie, and her breath hitches. The moment seems to slow, and I wonder if she wants me to kiss her. I usually would have by now, and we’re here to put on a show. People think we’re still together. There is nothing to stop me from doing it.
Still, I hesitate. Would she even want that right now?
Would I be crossing some invisible line she drew when she said she needed space?
The longer I stare into her eyes, the more my gaze traces down to her soft, pillowy lips, begging to have that lipstick smeared by me. I slowly pull her in closer, giving her time to say no, but she comes willingly, her hands sliding up my shirt and linking around the back of my neck.
Seconds tick by as her body molds to mine, her front entirely flush against me. Every piece of her fits soperfectly against me, like our bodies remember exactly how to come together.
All the worries about my dad and this party fade away the longer we stay here, in the middle of the chaos, locked into each other. Her head slowly rests on my chest, and I feel some of the tension she held when she walked in fade away. My own body relaxes as I breathe in her familiar scent. The soft sounds of music and conversation surround us, the cool breeze from the finally set sun kicking up. Goosebumps trail up her arms, and I rub my hands up her back to warm her as I hear the faint hum of the outdoor heaters turning on.
“Kane!” a deep, foreboding voice yells. The tension of it goes through my body, making every muscle taut as I brace myself for an incoming fight.
Slowly, Avery picks her head up and sends me ayou ready?look. I give her a small nod and reluctantly peel myself away from her. My right hand grabs hers before she can get too far, and I guide her in front of me. My left hand lands on the small of her back, the strands of her hair so long they brush against my hand as she walks. We shoulder our way over to where my father beckons us.
CHAPTER TWENTY
kane
Let You Down – NF
As we make our way through the small gathering, I quickly get my mask in place: thefuck offlook I’ve perfected for every event like this—the look of the son worthy of Angelo D’Antonio.
My dad has taken up his throne for the night, his friends gathered around him and hanging onto every word as if he’s a god. He looks imposing where he stands near the edge of the deck, overlooking the lights below the small hill the house sits on. The acres beneath us are also owned by my father, stretching all the way to the regal golf course on the other side. A barn sits somewhere in the distance, unused since we moved in.
The gold railing comes up to his hip as he rests one arm on it. His hands are clasped around a glass, the amber color telling me it’s scotch. His suit is as pristine as his hair—the same color as mine, only perfectly styled. The contrast is stark against my messy curls, which I’ve left wild andslightly longer these past few months. The closer we get to him, the more my chest tightens.
The voices dim a bit as we get closer, the sound of the waterfalls out back growing more prominent with less music playing. The pool gleams in the moonlight beneath the balcony deck, bright lights hidden throughout the yard between trees and bushes, closer to my mother’s prized garden.
As we approach, I see the tightening around his eyes, the disapproval evident on his face. As if I could know what caused it. There’s little I do that he’s proud of. Maybe he’s assessing me and doesn’t approve. Maybe my hair is too wild for his liking. Or maybe my socks are the wrong shade today.
