Page 17 of Against All Odds (Ember Falls #3)

twelve

Everett

I ’m a goddamn idiot.

I walked out of that house and the second I breathed the cold night air, I wanted to slap myself.

Also, I think I deserve a medal.

That was a Herculean effort to say any of that and then actually leave her when she looked all mussed and beautiful.

However, what I said was the truth. I will want her any day, and being with her when she’s hurting from something that douchebag did isn’t exactly what I want our first time in years to be built around. So I came back to my house, cursing everyone and everything.

I roll to my side, punching the pillow in hopes I can get comfortable now that it’s after midnight and I have to be up in four hours.

Great.

I am trying to close my eyes when my phone pings, and I sit up quickly. It could be the alarm company informing me my mother opened the doors again.

It is not that, though.

No, it’s much more ... surprising.

Violet

It’s tomorrow, and I want you. Come to my bed and let me show you what I regret.

I stare at the text, and then I’m throwing the covers off and getting to my feet before I can even think about it.

Well, there goes all the restraint I thought I had.

I’m out the door before I can even get my sweatshirt on over my head. This time, it doesn’t take me ten minutes.

No, I’m through the brush that separates our houses in less than one and across her lawn in another.

Two fucking minutes and if I had been on the first floor, I would’ve been here in one.

I’m not sure if I should knock since she told me to come to her bed, but I do, and the door opens within a second.

We stand here, staring at each other, and I clear my throat.

“Are you sure?” Giving her one last out.

Her chest rises and falls as I watch a million emotions dance in her eyes. Finally she speaks. “Yes. I want you to kiss me, because with you, I feel alive.”

I don’t know whether I’m dreaming or what, but I hope I never wake up so that this is not just a fantasy. I take a step forward and she does at the same time, wrapping her arms around my neck, and then our lips come together.

And it feels like home, despite the years between us.

I kick the door shut and then spin her so she’s pressed against it, kissing her like a starved man, which I am. I slide my knee between her legs, holding her up just a little.

My hands move from her hips to cup her breasts. She gasps as I squeeze them gently. “I remember the first time I saw you shirtless,” I say, as my thumb moves across where her nipple would be. “I remember thinking there was nothing in the world as beautiful as you.”

“You made me feel good.”

She stares at me, her gaze molten. “Do you want me to make you feel good now, Violet?” I ask again, giving her another out.

“Yes,” she replies without any hesitation.

Thank God.

Without wasting another second, I lift her shirt up and toss it to the floor. She arches her back, rubbing my hard cock. If I thought I was hard before, I’m granite now.

I move my hands to her back and undo the hook of her bra in seconds, pulling the straps down, and while I may still remember her all those years ago, it’s nothing compared to the woman in front of me now.

She’s so fucking gorgeous.

“You are perfect,” I say with a knot in my throat. “ So perfect. Tonight is for you, Violet. Whatever you want, let me be the man to give it to you.”

Violet shakes her head, but I don’t let her say anything. I lean down, my mouth watering as I swirl my tongue around her nipple before sucking it in my mouth. Then I start to flick it and alternate between the two movements, listening to the sounds she makes.

“Everett,” she moans.

When she says my name, I feel it everywhere.

I move to the other side, giving it the same attention. After a few seconds, she moves her hands to my face, pulling it back.

Her chest is heaving and she kisses me again. I groan as we devour each other. I rub my cock against her front, and she hitches her thigh around my hip. I do it again, and she gasps against my mouth.

I stare down at her, cheeks flushed and eyes swimming with desire. “More?”

“This ... I don’t ... I don’t want to use you. I don’t want to hurt you.”

She has no idea that I’ve only ever been hers. She can’t use me or hurt me. She’s just putting a piece of me back together.

“Fucking use me, Violet.”

“It’s you I want,” she says. “But this is all I can give you for now. I’m not ready for more.”

Jesus, could this be any more perfect? No strings, no promises, no demands, just fucking pleasure with the woman I’ve dreamed of for years. With my life as up in the air as it is with my mother, my job, and everything else I take care of, I’ve never had the ability to give more to a woman.

“I don’t need more. I can’t give you a future, Violet. I can’t make you any promises other than the sex will be good.”

“Then make me feel good.”

And that’s all I needed to hear.