If I thought too hard about the fact that Silas had touched her in all the places I wanted to. If I allowed myself to think that he might not have been the only one to do so, I’d lose my damned mind. I was selfish and stupid enough to have wanted all of that to have been mine. Her innocence. Her losing it. Her finding her sexuality and exploring it. Instead, it had been given to someone else.
Telling her the truth and kissing her…it put her at risk, and yet, once she laid her lips on mine, I couldn’t deny her or myself what we wanted. The ache that had built up and been shoved down for so long came out as a torrent of desire. I devoured her lips in a way that should have scared her but didn’t. She just met the push and pull of my teeth and lips and tongue with her own wild craving.
My entire being yearned to claim her, to write my name on her with my scent and my touch, and I tried to do that by taking every breath she gave me and replacing it with my own. It was animalistic. It was chauvinistic in a way Vi would never tolerate, and yet, she didn’t once push me away. Instead, she seemed to be claiming me back, writing her own brand on me.
Glass breaking and loud laughter from the restaurant brought me back to my senses. I’d chosen the balcony, leaving the one phone I’d brought to the restaurant and her purse at the bar, because it was the safest place to talk. But the secluded nature of it had lured me into a false sense of security. There were potted plants, outdoor heaters, and a slew of tables and cushioned chairs. Any of them could have been wired. Hell, some of the planters were large enough to hide an entire person.
I drew back from the kiss, pushing away slightly so the cold air whipped between us, cooling off the heat that had grown. But I didn’t remove my hands from her hips. I held her so she couldn’t travel too far.
Her eyes darted from my lips to the restaurant with its room full of people and then back to me.
“Does Jada know?” she asked so quietly it could have been the rustle of leaves in the wind.
I gave the barest of nods.
“Dax?”
I shook my head.
“Truck?”
I shook my head again.
She breathed out. “Can you tell me more?”
“No,” I said. “I shouldn’t have even said that.”
Her face broke into a smile. “Jersey should have made you a superhero instead of me.”
I couldn’t help the small grin that echoed hers. Jersey’s comics were known across the globe, and the best known of them all was Viola the Jewel, the superhero who used beetle-like camouflage to become invisible in her surroundings. Jersey had taken some of the best of Vi, like her smarts and her love of bugs, and turned her into someone who saved the world with science and bravery, just like we knew our real-world Vi would do.
“You’re still going to save the world,” I told her.
She looked down and away, doubt filling her. I tipped her chin up, forcing her to look into my eyes.
“It may not be in the ways any of us thought, but it will be in your own, Violet way. A way none of us could see because you were a thousand levels above us.”
I kissed her, trying to reassure her that it was true and also because now that I’d started kissing her, I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to not kiss her when we were standing this close together.
The door behind us opened, and the loud chatter of the restaurant burst into the quiet of the night as a body joined us.
“Demario desperately wants to make a toast and is whining about having to wait for you.” Dax grinned.
“How long do you think he’ll talk?” I asked with snark, not even turning to look at him, eyes still locked on Vi’s.
I dropped my hand to capture hers, kissing the knuckles before letting her go completely.
I had to.
If anyone even suspected the depths I felt for this woman, it would only continue to increase the danger for her. I turned away from her to Dax and the small crowd of people waiting for us inside.
“I’ll take odds on fifteen minutes,” Dax said.
I snorted. “Only fifteen? I’ll take sixteen plus.”
We walked into the restaurant Dax had rented for the evening. Twenty or so people filled the room. Demario and Angelica were there, along with the tiny team we used to keep the yachts running.
I stepped toward Demario and the glass of champagne he was holding out toward me. When I took it, the smell hit me, making me think of Violet even more. She tasted just like it, tantalizing and sparkly with a hint of sweetness that hid the sultry perfection. My eyes skated around the room, finding her as she joined Jada on a stool at the bar where Jada was handing her a flute as well.
