Page 49 of Tequila & Lace
I dragged my tongue from her lips down her neck to her tits where I kneaded one perfect globe in one hand and sucked the other erect nipple. Her back arched and another moan came from her mouth.
When I switched to the other nipple, I noticed the ink across her rib cage:
she always had a way
with her brokenness
she would take her pieces
and make them beautiful
I made a mental note to ask her about it later because I didn’t want to stop my path to her sweet spot. I trailed kisses and licked down her chest to her stomach, her hands finally fisted in my hair and I kissed lightly up her thigh, working my way to her pussy. Just as my hands touched her so I could spread her open and get my first taste, she slid up the couch and out of my grasp.
“I… I can’t do this. I’m sorry,” she quavered and took off out of the living room.
“Wait,” I called after her. “What do you mean?” I followed.
“I’m sorry. I thought I could, but I can’t.” She closed her bedroom door.
“Baby, what’s going on? Talk to me.”
“I’m sorry,” she apologized again. “It’s not going to work out.”
The hell it’s not!
I tried the handle of her door but it was locked. I didn’t give a shit. She couldn’t say this bullshit and get to lock herself in her room. I’d confessed to her about Vanessa. The least she could do was tell me what it was aboutmethat was so repulsive we couldn’t even fuck. Without giving it another thought, I rammed my shoulder into the door and it popped opened. The lousy lock was no match for my size or my strength. She flinched as she stood next to the bed when I barged in.
“You don’t get to do this,” I declared.
“It’s not about you!” she hissed, tears streaking down her face. She was holding a piece of paper that was recently folded into fours.
“The hell it’s not!” I started to walk closer to her and she backed up, causing me to stop. “Are you scared of me?” She shook her head. “Then what is it? Why are you crying?”
She stared up at the ceiling for a beat then back to me. “If I told you my flaws would you still want to be with me?”
“Of course,” I admitted without needing to think about it.
“They’re really bad, Paul.”
“So we’re back to Paul now?”
She set the paper down on the bed and I saw that it was a drawing of a birthday cake—something a kid would have drawn and colored. She then crossed her arms over her chest and that’s when I realized she was dressed in her normal tank top she wore to bed—not the spaghetti strap thing she had on earlier.
“What I’m about to tell you, you can’t change. So don’t even think you can. It’s in the past. It’s done. Just like your past, I can’t change what happened with your high school girlfriend.” I nodded. “These things make us who we are today and yes, I’m dealing with shit and before you… Just… I’m okay if you don’t want to be with me anymore once you find out.”
“Why do you keep saying that?”
“Because my mom sold my virginity when I was seventeen and I haven’t had sex since!”
She fell to the floor, sobs coming from her throat. I rushed to her, scooping her up and carrying her to my room. “Shh, it’s okay,” I whispered, placing her in the center of my bed and wrapping her in my arms.
She cried until she fell asleep. I, on the other hand, didn’t get a wink of sleep. All I could think about was even though this woman next to me was broken, I didn’t care because I was certain I was falling in love with her.
Chapter Fifteen
Andi
The sun seeped through the blinds and my eyes felt dry and crusty as I tried to open them. My mouth was dry, my head pounded, and when I felt the warm, hard body pressed firmly against me, everything came crashing back.
