Page 53 of Violent Little Thing

Unfinished Business

DELILAH

B efore this morning, eating cake for breakfast while tangled in Adonis’ sheets was not on my bucket list. But the moment he kissed me awake and told me he brought me food, it not only became the first item on my list, but the first one I crossed off too.

Last night, after carrying me to his room so he could clean me up in his bathtub, we crawled in bed, and I was asleep before my head hit his chest.

The next thing I know I’m sitting up against his pillows, eating the cake we never got to enjoy last night while he gets dressed for work.

Titus lingers around the door, tail wagging and peeking in every few seconds before I beckon him inside.

“He’s not supposed to be in here,” Adonis grumbles when he sees the dog beside the bed with his head at my legs.

“He’s not doing anything,” I coo, shooting Titus a beaming smile after I lick whipped cream cheese icing off my fork.

Adonis doesn’t reply. And I learn why when I look up from my plate to find his searing gaze on me.

“What?” I question.

“You meant what you said last night?”

“Which part?” Butterflies free themselves in my stomach at the longing that enters his expression. He’s hanging on to my every word and that kind of power is intoxicating.

“The part where you said you loved me.”

Nodding, I pause with another forkful near my lips.

“You didn’t say it because I was making you come?”

Well …two things can be true at once.

Heat flushes me and I almost drop my fork.

Flashbacks hit me and the persistent pulse between my legs tries to take on a new cadence.

Me grinding on top of him.

Him kissing me through the pain.

And both of us shaking in the aftermath of what we did.

With my eyes shut and a shaky exhale on my lips, I cross my legs. When I lift my lids, I track his advance on me from across the room. “Answer me, Delilah.”

“I love you,” I say, voice low and steady.

There’s warmth invading his usually cool demeanor and peace written all over his face.

In the next instant, his lips steal the words resting on the tip of my tongue. Hand at my nape, forehead on mine, he meets my eyes and gives me an unguarded smile.

“That’s all I wanted to hear.” As soon as he says that, a somber look passes over his face. “We didn’t use a condom last night.”

“I don’t have anything. Silas said all my tests came?— ”

“I’m not worried about what you have, baby.” His hand brushes under my chin. “I care about putting a baby in you before you’re ready.”

Oh.

“Then we’ll use a condom next time.” Because I already know I don’t want him to pull out. It was subtle but feeling him swell inside of me before he whimpered with his release is forever stamped in my mind. It’s the new standard and I’m not giving it up.

“Next time,” he agrees on a whisper.

Then his lips cover mine again and he kisses me until the sweetness of cake on my tongue is replaced with the heady taste of him.

Once Adonis leaves for the day, I get dressed and open my laptop to finalize plans that got interrupted last night.

With Titus sprawled across my lap, I use his body as my desk and sift through site after site, searching for what I need.

“If you told me my first time in the sky would be for this…” I trail, letting my cheeks deflate.

A moment later, Ms. Agnes strides by, heading for the kitchen and I hold my breath until I hear her shoes hit the kitchen floor.

Why do I feel so guilty?

My stomach is tying itself in vicious knots. Or maybe that’s the cake I had for breakfast.

Eyes wandering over the screen, I hype myself up in my head. I can’t not go. If I don’t show him things have changed, nothing will change. And next week is perfect timing .

The round-trip ticket is the first thing I buy with my new bank card.

Three-hundred-fifty dollars well spent.

As soon as the confirmation screen loads, I sigh and call Indigo.

There was an elaborate pitch in my head, ready to go. But it takes no convincing to get her to agree to meet me outside the gates of Adonis’ neighborhood in a ride-share next Wednesday.

“Yeah, I’ll go to the airport with you. But where are you going?”

“Florida.” Much to my surprise, I feel nothing admitting that.

Indigo clears her throat after a lengthy silence stretches on the line. “What’s in Florida?”

“My brother.”