Her bottom lip trembles. “And you couldn’t do that if I was distracting you.”
“I should have never called you that.”
She reaches for my hand and gives it a squeeze. “I’m sorry for not seeing your actions for what they were.”
I rapidly blink. “What?”
I’m the one who hurt her.
I’m the one who drove her into the arms of another man, who ended up breaking her heart.
And I’m the one who took ten years to apologize, solely because I was a coward who didn’t want to face my fears, instead choosing to let my insecurities about my worth dictate my actions.
“Despite being hurt by all the things you said, I should have put my feelings aside and stepped up to be the bigger person. Because even though you pushed me away, I was the one who made a conscious choice to let it stay that way.”
My lungs ache. “None of this was your fault.”
“The same can be said about you.”
“Let’s agree to put the past behind us?”
“Deal.”
I wrap my arm around her before steering us toward the kitchen. She sits in my usual corner seat on the island while I fill two glasses with water.
“What did you get?” She reaches for the nondescript paper bag.
“Sushi.”
“Yes!” She grabs the top container, only for me to swap it for the other one.
“What?”
“That one is mine.”
Her brows furrow.
“It has cream cheese.”
The cute way her nose scrunches has me smiling to myself.
She rips the lid off the container. “Shrimp tempura?”
“Here.” I pass her a large container filled with spicy mayo.
“You’re annoyingly perfect at predicting my every move.”
I toss her a pair of chopsticks, and she rips them apart before plucking her first sushi roll off the tray.
I don’t dig into my food right away, which earns me another speculative glance.
“Are you going to eat?” She points at my tray.
“Yeah.”
“Well, get to it.” She clicks her chopsticks together a few times.
“What’s the rush?”
“Someone promised me dessert.”
My heart pauses for a second before returning to its normal pace.
“I’m enjoying the moment,” I confess.
Dahlia processes my words with a slow blink. “It’s only dinner.”
I pop the lid off my takeout container to give myself something to do. “I know.”
“We can do this again tomorrow if you want.” A faint pink blush creeps up the collar of her shirt.
“Would you want that?”
“Depends on how tonight goes.” She winks.
I know her words are meant as a tease, but they seem to widen the gap in my chest until the ache becomes unbearable.
Her forehead creases from her frown. “What’s that look for?”
“Huh?”
Whatever expression she copies makes me feel ten times more pathetic.
“Nothing.” I pop a sushi roll into my mouth to stop myself from revealing anything else.
“You seem sad.”
“I’m…”
“Lonely?” she offers.
I nearly break one of the wooden chopsticks because of how hard my fist clenches.
The worst kind of expression flashes across her face.
Pity.
“For how long?” she asks.
Too long.
“Not going to lie, I expected you to be married with a kid by now.”
“Married, yes. A kid? Not so much.”
“You don’t want children? For real?” Her throat visibly tightens from how hard she swallows.
“Not really.”
She only frowns harder. “Since when?”
“Since my mom returned from the hospital without my baby sister.”
She wraps her hand around my bicep and gives it a comforting squeeze. “I’m sorry.”
I halfheartedly shrug. “It’s in the past.”
She spares me a look. “We’re quite the pair, you and I.”
“Tell me about it.”
Her hand drops. “You know, a wise man once told me there are plenty of ways to have a child.”
“Is that right?”
“Yup.”
“I think I’ll start with finding a wife first and see where life takes me.”
“Right.” Her grip on the chopsticks tightens.
Cute.
Warmth spreads through my body. “Maybe when you head back to San Francisco, I’ll reconsider my mom’s matchmaking services.”
“I sucked your dick less than an hour ago, and you’re already talking about going on dates with other women?”
“Does that bother you?”
Her nose scrunches. “Ugh. You’re such an asshole.”
“And you’re jealous.”
“No, I’m not.”
“It’s nice to be on the receiving end of it for a change.” I uncurl her fingers, releasing the chopsticks from her punishing hold.
Her gaze narrows. “You said all that on purpose.”
“I did.”
“Next time you go down on me, I plan on suffocating you to death.”
I drag her hand to my lips and kiss it. “I can’t think of a better way to go.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Dahlia
“So, do I get to see your bedroom now?” I toss our empty containers in the hidden trash can beside the sink.
“I have a better idea.” Julian grabs me by the hips and lifts me onto the counter. My dress does little to protect me from the cold marble below, especially when Julian pushes it up until I’m completely exposed.
“Here?” I peek at all the curtainless windows.
He drops to his knees.
“Someone could see us from a boat or their dock,” I protest.
“Relax.” He slides my underwear down my legs before pocketing them.
“But—” My protest dies in my throat as Julian rips my thighs apart and peppers them with soft kisses.
His stubbled cheek scrapes against my skin on his mission toward the spot aching for his attention. He teases me with a flick of his tongue, making me jump in place before he pulls back.
“Should I stop?”
“Don’t you dare.” My head drops back as he rewards me with another lick.
“Are you sure? I’d hate for someone to see you like this.” He drags his tongue toward my clit and presses against it with the flat of his tongue.
“Shut up,” I hiss as my fingers sink into his hair.
“You’re so demanding.” He tsks before sliding his tongue over my clit again.
I’ll show him demanding. I throw my legs over his shoulders and line him up with my entrance. “Lick.”
We hold eye contact as he collects my arousal with the tip of his tongue. Goose bumps spread across my skin, and he runs his hands across my pebbled flesh as he sinks deeper inside me.
“Fuck.” I allow him a few more seconds of teasing before I take control again. Despite how good everything feels, I drag him away by his hair, straight toward my clit. “Suck.”
Something flashes behind his eyes as he wraps his lips around it and sucks hard enough for my hips to jolt off the counter.
The scrape of his teeth is something new, and my body lights up at the sensation.
He grins against me before repeating the move again.
Damn him straight to hell.
“Oh God,” I groan as he does something with his tongue no one has ever done before, and then shiver when I press my thighs against the sides of his head.
He pulls away. “Your needy cunt is making a mess of my counter.”
“This mess?” I spread my legs wider and gather some of my arousal on the pad of my thumb, earning a delicious groan from the man kneeling in front of me.
“I should make you lick everything clean.”