“I could eat. Um… I, um, I’m gonna call Susanna. I promised to give her an update.”
“All right. Burgers? Burritos? Where should I stop?”
“Burgers sound good.”
“Right.”
She pulls her phone from her bag and drops it on the floor. She picks it up and then drops it again.
I stifle a chuckle, liking how she’s all flustered from that kiss. I manage to hold a straight face, though only barely, while pulling out of the parking lot.
She gets on the phone and fills Susanna in on her grandfather, telling her she will have to cancel ‘Susanna Sunday’ and then it turns into quite the cryptic conversation. I know Susanna is asking all sorts of questions – about me – and Violet’s doing a bad job of being blasé about it while also trying to communicate that I’m in the car with her. She then drags the conversation out until the last possible minute with small talk when I’m next at the drive-thru window.
“Baby,” I say, grabbing her knee. “Need to know what you wanna eat.”
“I gotta go, Suse. Call you tomorrow…will do… you too. Love you, bye.” She ends the call and looks at the screen off to the side. “I’m starving. I want everything.”
I laugh, giving her knee another squeeze and then I order a double cheeseburger and fries. She orders the same with a chocolate milkshake and a side of chicken tenders. I add a milkshake to my order. And then I pay before we pull over and wait.
Once I’m parked, she’s reaching into her wallet and trying to hand me a twenty.
“Put that away right now,” I growl.
She winces and stuffs it into the bag.
“Thank you,” she whispers.
I shake my head.
She immediately pulls out her phone and busies herself scrolling through texts. I know she’s trying to do this in an effort to disguise how flipped out she is, and to avoid me jumping her bones, which I’m close to doing.
Instead, I check my own phone and see a text message from Wes, telling me Iadanza spent three hours in that old lady’s apartment this afternoon and went to the local bar tonight. He’s still at the bar, watching a hockey game and drinking shots. I acknowledge the text with a thumb emoji and then check my emails on my phone.
“This thing tomorrow; I’ll just make an excuse about you not being able to make it and-”
“Why? You don’t want me to go?”
She’s still staring at her phone. She opens her mouth and seems to struggle to find words. “My family thinks you’re my new… um… you know, my new man.”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“I…” She looks like she’s having a brain-to-mouth malfunction.
“I’ll come. Hang out. Help them trim the tree. Rake leaves. Whatever. Eat what sounds like a nice dinner. What’s the harm?”
Her eyes meet mine and they’re full of fear. “They think we’re…”
“I heard.”
She shakes her head. “Killian… that kiss. Um… and last night, I…”
I lean over and cup her jaw. She looks freaked. She is freaked.
But I also know she couldn’t get enough of my mouth outside that hospital.
The way she reacted to that kiss, the way she kissed me back, clenched my clothes, and whimpered into my mouth isn’t the reaction of someone who doesn’t want me.
“Relax, Violet. I’m not gonna bite. Not unless you want me to.”
Her eyes widen.
I smile wide.
And we’re eye-locked. I move forward, about to become lip-locked with her, but that’s when there’s a knock on the window. The food. She looks relieved.
I turn and open the window and accept the bag and tray of milkshakes. I set the tray between us and she takes the bag from my hand and holds it in her lap. She stares straight ahead, gnawing on her lower lip the rest of the ride home.
I smirk all the way there, knowing that when I get her inside, I’ll be the one with that lip between my teeth again.
She’s terrified, but I’ll take care of that.
37
Violet
I’m terrified of being alone with him in that apartment. I’m afraid of him kissing me again. I’m afraid that if he does, all will be lost. I will be a puddle of Violet-goo, and then I’ll let him do whatever he wants to me.
What would he do to me? If that kiss was any indication of his skills…
No. Don’t think about that, Violet. You’re not ready for that.
I know I’m not ready for this. Not at all.
But that kiss was… it was incredible.
I felt absolutely, completely owned in every sense of the word by him. The way he kissed me. How he held my face. How he nipped my bottom lip playfully and the way he tasted. God, he tasted good.
I couldn’t get enough. I was lost. Completely lost. Making out against the wall of the hospital where my grandfather is! Like a wanton hussy.