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Chapter 14
Harris
The condo was quiet. The twins had crashed not long after the Thorntons had arrived, and Layla and Jesse had gone to bed more than an hour ago. Even though I’d asked them if it was okay that I stayed with them at the condo, I’d been sure that Jesse would have tossed my ass off the balcony. I would have just gotten a hotel for the duration of their stay there if I’d had to. Instead, the Demon had shaken my hand, asked if I’d had a good flight and if I was hungry then disappeared into his bedroom with his wife moments later.
I was pretty sure he’d disappeared to get out of the line of fire. I’d asked Lucy’s parents not to tell her I was coming, that I wanted to surprise her. When she realized that Jesse and Layla had known I was coming, she’d huffed and gone to her room, slamming the door behind her.
That had been an hour ago.
Now I was sitting on the edge of my bed in the room next to hers, waiting on the shower to stop. I ached to be in there with her, but knew that we needed to talk before we took things that far again. I wasn’t going to fuck this up again. If I did, then I might lose her forever.
That didn’t stop my mind from picturing the water running over Lucy like a caressing hand. Didn’t stop me from imagining her rubbing her hands over every inch of her luscious body as I craved to do. With each minute the shower continued to run, my dick thickened even more. I was going to go insane if she didn’t hurry up in there.
The water shut off just as I raked my hands through my hair for the hundredth time. I jumped to my feet and quietly left my room. As I closed the door behind me, I couldn’t help but glance over my shoulder. Jesse was cool, but I wasn’t stupid. If he caught me going into his daughter’s room late at night, then he wouldn’t hesitate to throw me out via the balcony.
Her door was unlocked, so I stepped inside and silently closed and locked it. She was still in the bathroom, but the door to the balcony was open so I stepped outside. The lights in the bedroom were dimmed, and the moon was at the perfect position to glow off the water, causing me to suck in a deep breath at the beauty.
I wasn’t completely sure why this balcony was the best view in my eyes. My parents thought the best view was from the balcony off the living room. It had the same view from every room on this side of the con
do, but this one had always called to me. Now that I knew Lucy loved it just as much as I did, I understood the draw a little more.
Turning my back to the view, I waited for Lucy. The door to the bathroom was open now, letting out the lingering steam from her shower and filling the room with the sweet scents of her body wash. That sweetness mixed with the salty sea air was enough to make me dizzy. I grasped the rail behind me and sucked in a harsh breath.
Fucking hell.
Talk to her, you idiot. Don’t fuck this up. Don’t. Fuck. This. Up.
The voice of reason echoed through my head over and over again until she stepped into her room. From where I was standing I could see every inch of her. Every inch that was dressed in only an old T-shirt that fell to mid-thigh on her.
My T-shirt.
Holy fuck.
It had been so long since I’d seen that shirt, but I knew it was mine. I’d left it on the tour bus the summer Demon’s Wings and OtherWorld had toured together. Had she been sleeping in that shirt ever since? God, I hoped so.
Lucy moved toward the French doors of the balcony, turning off the lamp that was dimming the room as she went. I gripped the rail harder to keep myself from grabbing her the second she stepped outside.
This far up, the glow of the moon was the only light to see by with all the lights off in her room. It gave the entire moment a dreamlike feel to it as I watched her step outside. She didn’t move toward the rail immediately, but paused. She closed her eyes and breathed deep, as if she was letting herself relax for the first time that day. My cologne must have given me away, because she opened her eyes and looked right at me.
“Hi,” she murmured almost shyly.
“Are you wearing anything under that, Lu?” Fuck, why had I asked that? Now all I could do was picture what she was—or wasn’t—wearing under my old shirt.
She shrugged and crossed the distance to the rail, putting herself less than a foot from me. I saw the smallest ghost of a smile on her lips before she bit down into the plump bottom one. “What are you doing here, Harris?”
“Trying to keep my hands to myself, mostly.” She turned her head, meeting my gaze and I tried to remember what my plan had been for tonight. “You’re here, sweetness. That means I’m here too. I’ve wasted enough time, Lucy. Too much fucking time when we both could’ve been happy instead of slowly dying without each other.” Even in the moonlight I saw how she flinched. “I’m sorry, so goddamn sorry.”
“Is that how it felt for you too?” she whispered. “Like you were dying without me?”
“No,” I told her honestly. “No, it wasn’t like I was dying. I was dead, Lucy. I was dead without you.” Releasing the rail, I lifted a hand to push her damp curls back from her face and cupped her chin. “I woke up each morning, hating myself because I’d fucked up. I ate because Nat would yell if I didn’t. I went to work because there was nothing else to do but lie in bed hating the world. And I fell into bed at night, wishing I could go back in time and change everything. On the outside it might’ve looked like I was alive and breathing, but on the inside I was fighting for each breath I took and not giving a damn if I took it or not. My heart was shriveled up and just lying in my chest, completely dead because you weren’t there to make it beat again.”
I felt her shiver, saw the tears fill her eyes, and couldn’t have stopped myself from kissing her right then even if I had a gun pointed at my head. Wrapping my hands around her waist, I lifted her. She didn’t seem to be able to stop herself either, as her fingers dived into my hair, holding me right where she wanted me as she met my lips with a hunger that burned us both.
She tasted like heaven and hell mixed in one. So sweet, so enticing, and I couldn’t have what that taste was offering. I had to hold back, had to give her time to think, and for me to show her that what we had was forever. I loved this girl more than anyone else on the planet and I needed her to understand that before I let my dick get in the way.
My heart was trying to explode out of my chest and my hands where already exploring her curves. There was still a part of my brain that was trying to remain sane and I was fighting to hold on to that one tiny piece before I screwed this up. I wanted inside of her. Wanted to make up for all the lost time when we could have been together.
A loud cackling laugh from the balcony a few floors down had us pulling apart and I’d never been so happy to hear such an annoying sound in my life. Sucking in one lungful of air after another, I pressed my forehead to hers and prayed I didn’t nut off in my shorts. Right then the smallest breeze would have set me off.
