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“And if you touch her like that again, I’ll kill you,” a menacing voice says behind us. The landlord and I whip ourgazes around to find Talon standing a few feet away with a deep scowl. He narrows his gaze on my landlord. “That would be a fair trade, wouldn’t it?”
The landlord lets go of me and releases a nervous laugh before dabbing at a bead of sweat on his forehead. “I was just messin’.” He waves a dismissive hand. “I was just reminding my tenant that she’s a bit behind on rent, that’s all.”
Talon continues glaring at the landlord. “Get the fuck out of here before I decide to kill you anyway,” he states firmly. “I’m already not in a good mood.”
The large man scurries back down the unstable steps, leaving Talon and me alone. While I’m glad that he showed up and stopped a potentially bad situation, it’s strange to see him standing before me when he’s been a ghost for the last week.
“What are you doing here?” I ask after a long stretch of silence.
“That’s the first thing you say?” He frowns at me. “Not a thank you for saving your ass just now?”
I fold my arms across my chest. “I could’ve held my own.”
“Sure you could.” He scoffs and moves closer to me, leaning against the wall next to my apartment door. He watches me expectantly, like he’s waiting for me to unlock the door to let him in, but he still hasn’t told me why he’s here.
“Um…hello? Your reason for being here?” I ask.
He gives me a one-shoulder shrug. “Honestly? I don’t even know.” He sighs deeply and presses his back against the wall, pulling his gaze from me. “I feel so many different things when it comes to you that it’s frustrating me.”
His words make my heart flutter a little as I try to decipher what he means. “Like what?”
He stares down at the ratty, thin carpet that lines the floor. “I don’t think that’s a conversation to have in a hallway.”
I unlock the door and allow him to come inside. He slips his hands into the pockets of his jeans and steps inside, watching me as I close and lock the door. I turn to face him.
“Okay. Like what?” I repeat.
He walks over to the couch, but he doesn’t sit down. He frowns at me again, his face changing in a way that almost makes me nervous. “I’m sure you know that I’m pissed about you not telling us who you were the moment you realized who we were.” He blows out a tense breath and runs a frustrated hand through his hand. “But it’s not even just about that. Aside from you withholding information from us, Tristan and I never got over the way you left us, as if we meant nothing after Mom died. You abandoned us, and then you waltz back into our lives and lie about who you are…for what?”
Guilt unfolds in my chest when I think about the day I left their house. On the one hand, I want to tell them what happened, but it’s something I know neither of them is ready to know. It’s something I don’t even like to think about when I think about those times. Instead, I glance at Talon and shake my head.
“I had my reasons, and it’s not anything that’s important right now with everything we’re already dealing with,” I state. Annoyance flickers over his face, but he doesn’t say anything. Besides, even if I tell them, I doubt they’ll even believe me. “And considering Tristan hasn’t bombarded his way in here, I’m assuming you haven’t told him yet.” The muscle in his jaw ticks, which is enough answer for me. “I thought so.”
“Let’s not get away from the main point about you hiding who you are,” he says, his voice stern. “That was really fucked up, Cleo. We could’ve…we could’ve seriously hurt you.”
“That wasn’t on me. I don’t know why my name was so important to begin with. You were only supposed to take my virginity and be on your way.”
“That would’ve been the case had you not reacted the way you did,” he reminds me. While I want to argue, I know that he’s right.
“Well, I’m sorry, but I had my reasons.” I wrap my arms around myself. “I didn’t want you guys to find out. I hadn’t seen you two in so long…it would’ve been awkward to have a family reunion while you were taking my virginity.”
He stares at me so long that I shuffle my weight from foot to foot as I grow nervous. A multitude of different things pass over his face before he visibly relaxes in front of me.
“Even though I can’t forgive you and have been mad as hell at you for this last stunt, I can’t help but to be drawn to you.” He holds my gaze and the sincerity in it nearly takes my breath away. “I missed you, Cleo.”
Every wall that I’ve tried to keep up comes tumbling down and tears burn my eyes as a result.
“I…I missed you, too, Talon,” I murmur. “And I’m sorry things happened that way. I just?—”
He cuts off the rest of my sentence by pressing his lips to mine, slipping his tongue into my mouth with such passion that my lungs nearly collapse. I allow myself to melt against him, relishing, and the way his hands move down my body. Our clothes disappear into a pile at our feet, and he effortlessly picks me up and carries me back to my couch without much protest from me.
After my first experience with sex, I actually thought I would be too afraid to attempt it again. But for some reason, I trust Talon enough to know that he won’t hurt me.
As if he was reading my mind, his mouth opens with gentle words. “I’m so sorry about what happened in hell, let me show you how amazing sex can feel. Let me make you feel good.”
I nod my head slightly before I force myself to relax as he kisses down my body. I try not to think about everything thathappened to me in Hell. But before any bad memories have a chance to form, pleasure blooms through the pit of my gut when Talon takes my clit into his mouth.
“Oh my god.” I gasp, immediately threading my fingers through his soft hair. My hips roll of their own volition in an effort to chase the pleasure coursing through my bloodstream. Every swipe of his tongue seems to melt away all the pain that I buried in my memories from last week.
