Page 47

FORTY-SEVEN

SAINT

The only thing I’m even remotely going to enjoy about tonight is Lennon in this damn dress.

I’m half-hard behind the zipper of my pants with no sign of going down anytime soon as I watch her smooth down the black velvet fabric clinging to her body.

I nearly swallowed my fucking tongue when I watched her bunch the dress around the top of her thighs, swing her stiletto over the seat, and settle onto the back of my bike like she’d done it a thousand times before.

It was the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen, and I’ve been thinking about taking her back home and saying fuck this stupid-ass gala, one that neither of us really wants to attend in the first place.

I’d much rather spend my night buried inside of her, making her come until she blacks out and my balls are empty.

Yeah, my imagination is running fucking wild with her in that dress and heels.

It also seems pretty damn fitting that the first time she rode my bike was while she was wearing some vintage, expensive-ass ball gown on the way to another stupid fucking gala for her father.

A stark contrast to the girl she was when I first met her to who she is now.

“What?” she asks, her eyes widening when she catches me staring. “Is my ass showing?”

I chuckle, stepping closer and wrapping my arm around her waist. I want to kiss the fuck out of her, but I don’t want to mess up the makeup that she spent far too long putting on.

She doesn’t need any of that shit. She’s beautiful either way, but I do love the bright red lips.

I specifically have plans for those later.

“Your ass isn’t showing. If it was, I’d have to fight before I even got inside the door, baby.” I lower my lips to her ear. “I just can’t stop thinking about all of the things I’m going to do to you later while you wear those heels.”

There’s an audible gasp when her breath hitches, and I pull back, staring down at her. Her green eyes flare behind dark, thick lashes, and her lips tilt into a coy smile.

“You know, it’s funny that you say that because I’ve been thinking about what we could do with this.” Her fingers wrap around the black tie on my neck, and she pulls my lips down to hers, sighing when I kiss her.

I have no idea why the fuck she chose me, but I think I might be the luckiest motherfucker on this planet that she did.

When she pulls back, a giggle spills free. “I forgot about the lipstick.” She lifts her thumb and drags it along my bottom lip, wiping it away. “I don’t think I can get it all off, but it’ll be okay.”

Yeah, baby, mark me.

I want to say it out loud, but if I do… we might not make it inside at all, despite standing outside the venue for the last fifteen minutes.

“Let’s go, Golden Girl. Before I change my mind.” I grab her hand, threading my fingers in hers.

We walk through the entrance hand in hand, and I can’t stop thinking about how different shit is compared to the last event I attended with her.

How much has changed in such a short period of time.

The girl by my side is who I thought would be perfect for my revenge, but she really ended up being the thing I needed to see the truth.

If it wasn’t for her, I’m not sure I ever would have. I’ve been too blinded by hurt and rage to even consider how fucking stupid and vindictive my plan was. One I know now I could have never followed through on.

The misplaced anger. Projecting my pain onto someone innocent.

My Golden Girl doesn’t deserve to answer for her father’s misdeeds.

I have no doubt that her father will have his day of judgment. The day he’ll pay for all the fucked-up shit he’s done, but it won’t be from me.

I’m done giving both him and my own father the power to control me. My emotions. My life. I refuse to let the anger and pain they’ve caused make me anything like them.

Fuck that, and fuck them.

“God, I forgot how much I hate being around these people,” she whispers when we walk into the ballroom, her fingers tightening in mine. “The only genuine thing in here is their greed.”

I nod but remain quiet.

I want these realizations to be her own, not tainted by my own disgust. It’s not a secret that I can’t fucking stand any of this, but telling her isn’t going to help anything.

The arrangement we once had isn’t a deal anymore. We might not have put a label on things, but what we’re feeling? It’s real.

We’re real.

That doesn’t change the fact that Lennon is still trying to prove something to her father. That she’s making her own choices, her own decisions.

And I’m her choice. For real this time. Not fake.

So, the reason I’m here tonight isn’t to fuck with her father. I’m here for her . To support her. To stand by her side while she does the bravest thing she’s ever done. To show her I’m not going anywhere, even if I hate this is the life she used to live.

“I need to go to the bathroom before we go to the table,” Lennon says. “Come with me?”

I nod and place a quick kiss onto her hand.

She leads me out of the ballroom, leaving behind the buzz of people talking and glasses clinking as we make our way toward the end of a dim hallway, where there’s a restroom sign.

But before we make it there, she stops and turns toward me abruptly, then pushes me against the wall. Slipping her arms around my neck, she lifts on her toes to press a chaste kiss to the corner of my lips. “I just… needed that. It’s been too long.”

I laugh against her lips. “Only been a few minutes, baby.”

She shrugs coyly. “Too long.” Her fingers slip beneath the collar of my shirt, and her brow cinches tightly. “What’s this?”

I stay silent as she pulls the thin gold chain out of my shirt, and her mouth forms an O as it falls open.

“Saint… why are you wearing my promise ring around your neck?”

I watch her roll it between her pink-painted fingers.

“Because now I know what it’s meant to you.

And if it’s okay with you, I want to keep it.

This has been a reminder to you that you will always have control of your life, and I want to make sure that I always take care of it. Just like I wanna take care of you.”

Her eyes blaze, and she leans in, brushing her lips to mine again. “Keep it. I… I think I like seeing it around your neck.”

Grinning, I slide my hand up the center of her chest until it brackets her throat.

The sight of the dark ink on my hand against her pale skin makes my dick come to life.

I shake my head, squeezing her neck gently as I pull her against me.

“Fuck, you drive me crazy, Golden Girl. I’m obsessed with you. ”

“There are worse things to be obsessed with. And I am pretty amazing.”

I nip at her lips as she giggles. “ Brat .”

I capture her lips, unable to last another second without tasting her. Her fingers thread into my hair, and my Golden Girl fucking melts.

Her tongue glides along mine like she’s attempting to gain the upper hand, but little does she know, she’s always had it.

“ Lennon ?” a voice beside us calls out, ruining the moment. We break apart, both of us turning toward the interloper. I feel her stiffen against me, her entire demeanor doing a complete one-eighty in a split second when her gaze lands on the guy standing there.

He’s tall but still a few inches shorter than me, with jet-black hair combed back neatly off his face, wearing a tuxedo that makes him look like a jackass.

I don’t have a clue who he is, but now I want to know since he’s got enough nuts to interrupt me kissing my girl with her name on his lips.

“Chandler…” she says, voice tight.

Well, then.

Apparently, this is the stupid fuck who cheated on her. Instinctively, I step closer to her.

His gaze bounces back and forth between us with his lips parted, disbelief written on his face. “What are you doing? Who the hell is this?”

“This is my boyfriend, Saint. Why are you here, Chandler?” Her voice is low, laced with saccharine venom.

“Because my parents asked me to be here. Because your father asked me to be here. Why the fuck are you with this guy?” His lip curls in disgust as his eyes dart my way and then back to her.

The mention of her father inviting him makes hot, heady anger unfurl in my veins. That dick just doesn’t know how to stop, does he?

Lennon lifts her chin, her small fists curled at her side so tight her knuckles have turned white.

Fuck, baby.

I reach out and grab her hand, gently opening her fist and rubbing my thumb along the crescents indented on her palm from her nails before linking my fingers with hers.

“Why are you worried about what I’m doing? I think I was pretty clear when I told you to fuck off the last time.”

“Because he’s fucking trash. He must be giving you the dick. Funny how now you’re into fucking when you were locked up like a fucking nun when I tried. You must be dick dumb.”

It’s supposed to be an insult, but all I do is smirk. His nostrils flare when he sees that it fell flat.

I don’t give a single fuck what this fucker says about me. I’m not stepping in unless Lennon asks me to, because right now, she’s got this.

I know how important it is to her to have her own voice, to stand up for herself. And unlike these fucks, I’ll never try to take that choice from her.

“You’re right, it is such a great cock.” She licks her lips when she flicks her pretty gaze to me, and I wink. “Sorry, I know it’s probably such a foreign concept for you to wrap your little brain around—Giving a girl an orgasm.”

I watch the muscle in his jaw turn steely as he grits his teeth together, his face starting to turn red. Mhmmmm. She hit a soft spot.

“You actually fucked him?” A humorless laugh seeps through his lips. “Fuck, Len, what the hell are you doing?”

“That’s none of your business, Chandler. You lost that privilege when you cheated on me. When you used me. When you fucked my friend. When you had audacity bigger than your little-ass dick to look me in the eye and ask for another chance without even being sorry for what you did.”

That’s my girl.