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“Never.”
Then, I leave the only woman I’ve ever loved behind to face the fate I deserve.
Chapter Twenty-Five: Talia
Six months later
The brutal summer heat is finally starting to be offset by California’s mild autumn breeze, welcoming a coolness to the back of my neck where my hair now sits longer, the strands slick with a mixture of the October sun and nervousness, anticipation that’s sat with me for months, and that I didn’t expect to come to fruition so soon.
If I would have been told years ago, or even one year ago, lonely, controlling Talia, working as a receptionist at Apollo Sole, would be picking up the man she loves from prison, I would have likely committed myself into a mental facility to prevent that from happening.
Yet, here I am, leaning against the warm metal of my car as I wait by the doors he’s supposed to be exiting from. It’s a surprise. Kay doesn’t know that it’s me who’s picking him up. He thought it would be Kieran. It didn’t take much coaxing to get his brother to tell me the day and time he’d be released.
Since meeting Kay, I never thought the words “good behavior” would be attached to his name, but boy am I glad they are. It means I get to see him sooner.
I just hope he hasn’t lost the “bad behavior” streak that I’ve come to know and love.
The doors open, and my heart skips as the man I both recognize and don’t strides out. He let his hair grow out, too, the dark strands near his jaw, one side tucked behind his ear. His facial hair is longer, too. Scruff peppers his jawline, and he wears the same clothes he wore when we dropped him off, the last day I saw him. All black. Just when I didn’t think he could get more handsome and devilish.
At the sight of me, he stills, the distance between us too far for my liking. I push off the side of my car and take a step toward him.
“Aren’t you going to say hi?” I tease.
A grin splits his face, the kind I missed dearly as he drops his things onto the ground and crosses the space between us, strides too fast for me to prepare myself for the onslaught of his touch. He picks me up by the back of the knees and I quickly grip onto his neck as he spins me around. I bury my face in his neck.
“Prison looks good on you.”
He laughs. “The grown-out hair looks good on you.”
Even the sound of his voice starts an ache between my legs, especially at the proximity I’ve craved so deeply for six months. We’d agreed not to do visits in prison, that it would be too depressing. But we’ve written letters, and not seeing him for six months was the better choice, because now, I feel like I can’t get enough of him.
I tangle my fingers in his hair, pulling away just enough for our lips to meet. “You have no idea how much I missed you.”
“I think I do, gorgeous.” His lips crash into mine as he pushes me back against the car, his hands roaming all over my body with a hunger equal to mine as we gasp in between our kisses. I’d still rather not come up for air.
And we don’t for a while, staying just like that, me pinned against the car, legs around his waist as he grinds his body against mine. Definitelynota scene fit for a public display, but it has me thinking about what tonight with him will be like.
Wanting to save some of the desire for later, I break the kiss and drag my nails across his jaw. “Ireallylike the facial hair.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Mm-hmm.” I bite down on my lower lip.
“Mmm,” he hums, tugging my lip free with his thumb. “You can’t do that to me right now.”
“Sorry,” I say teasingly.
“No you’re not.” He smiles against my lips. “But that’s what I love about you.”
Our lips meet again, softer this time, a kiss that turns me into a puddle of need and longing. When we pull away, he rests his forehead against mine.
“Don’t ever leave me again,” I say.
He gently sets me on my feet. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”
“Ready to go to a party?”
Kay releases a sigh, running a hand through his long hair. It’s a gorgeous sight to behold. “I guess I don’t really have a choice, do I?”
