Page 11 of Breathtaking
“Next month.” I switch my fingers to her other foot and watch her eyes close again. This woman is so damn responsive. She’s also dangerous, and there aren’t many things I consider dangerous. “How about you? How are Atticus and Rhys?”
Lennon’s shoulders relax at the mention of her brothers. “Well... after Mom’s death, Rhys had a bit of a reckoning. Being next in line to the throne is very different from being second in line. The weight is different. But he’s holding it well. He doesn’t smile as much as he used to, but then again, we all have our parts to play for the crown, and this is his. And Atticus... well, he’s doing his thing. I’m not sure exactly what that is, but it makes him happy, so I don’t question it. I’m pretty sure he’s putting his brain power to good use as one of Rhys’s top advisers, much to Grandfather’s dismay. He doesn’t really take Atticus seriously. Which I think is part of my brother’s evil plan. The less people expect of you, the less you have to do. When Mornea gets to be too much for Atticus, he’ll come stay with me for a few days and fuck his way through the dancers in my company. The girls and the guys. He’s not picky.”
My proper little princess loves to surprise me with her dirty mouth.
“And how about you, Lennon? Are you happy?” My chest tightens as the words hang heavy between us. In all my adult life, I’ve cared about exactly one woman, and she’s sitting here on my couch, with another man’s ring on her fucking finger. Let her at least be happy.
“I’m happy right now.” She reaches out and grabs my face, and I’m not sure if she’s trying to convince herself or me. Either way, that fucking ring might as well be burning my fucking skin.
“Don’t.” I grab her wrists and hold her there. Not sure if I’m pulling her closer or pushing her away.
Lennon ignores the warning in my voice and traces the lines of my face with her thumbs. I know Ineedher to stop, but fuck if Iwanther to. “It was always so easy between us, Maddox,” she sighs softly.
“It was never easy, princess. You were always his,” I remind her, but I’m lying. To her and myself.
“I’ve never been his...” she whispers, and there’s the lie.
I know she means it. I know she thinks that’s true. And in some ways, it is. But that fucking ring on her finger is still there. And that goddamned wedding date still looms. “I hate him. I hate my life. I don’t even like ballet anymore. It’s just a means to an end. As long as I’m performing in London, I can live there and have some semblance of freedom... from my family. From the crown. From Monty.”
Red blurs my vision at the mention of his name.
“Don’t, Lennon?—”
She ignores my sharp words and climbs into my lap, framing my face with her hands. “I’ve missed you, Madman.”
Fuck...
“What are you doing, Lennon?” I groan but pull her closer instead of pushing her away.
She drops her forehead to mine. “What I should have been doing all along.”
“You said no. You turned me down. You fucking begged me to walk away, Lennon. Walking away from you once was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Don’t ask me to do this.” Christ. I’ve never been able to say no to this beautiful girl.
“My memories of those nights with you are what have gotten me through the past five years. But we...” She nibbles her lip, and I know what she’s thinking. I can read her mind and her body better than I can read myself. Time and distance haven’t faded a fucking thing between us. “Maybe this is why I’m here. The universe’s way of putting me where I need to be. I know the hell I’m going home to after this weekend. Give me one more memory to take with me. Give me this weekend, Maddox. Give me memories to last me the rest of my life. Memories I can have for when that’s all I’m left with.”
She pulls back and rubs her soft thumb under my eye. “Please.”
LENNON
Five Months Ago
“Please,” I beg softly... so softly, it’s barely an echo of a whisper caught in the night. It hangs there between us, beaten and battered by the years and distance I asked him to give me. And now, I’m asking for more. “Maddox...”
No sooner does his name fall like a plea from my lips before he seals his mouth over mine. Strong, warm hands cup the back of my neck and angle my head as he steals my breath from my lungs and swallows the whimper that’s ripped from my throat with the first delicious taste.
God. I’ve waited a million lifetimes for this.
I dig my fingers into his hair, and Maddox pulls back. A fire behind his eyes burns brighter than a towering inferno as he seems to hold himself back. Every muscle locked like it’s taking all his strength.
“The ring comes off,” he growls, andohmygod... It’s like those angry words have a direct line to the hypersensitive nerve endings in my body. My pussy clenches, and my nipples peak, and my mind goes dark.
What ring?
I’m not sure I know my own name right now, I’m so tied up in him.
“Lennon...” he warns, and it snaps me out of my sex-starved stupor.
I rip the diamond from my finger and drop it to the table, not caring where it falls.
