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“You’re very much alive,” he murmurs.
“That’s good to know,” I drawl. My eyes nearly roll into the back of my head as Talon massages and scratches my scalp. The man has magic hands, I’ll give him that. I almost pout when he’s finished, and I reluctantly rinse the shampoo out. “That was nice. Thanks.”
“Sure.”
We lock eyes in the heat-filled space, and something flutters deep in my belly. Beads of water roll down the slates of his hard body as he towers over me. It should be a sin for him to be as handsome as he is. It should be a sin for me to feel so attracted to him. But all of that goes out the window when he leans forward and presses his lips to mine. His kiss is unsure at first, almost as if trying to check my temperature to make sure I’m okay with it.
I run my hands up his body before wrapping my arms around his neck to give him the green light, and he deepens the kiss. His hand disappears between my thighs, rubbing my clit in small circles that send bolts of pleasure sparking throughout my body.
“Talon,” I whisper. My nails dig into his skin a little when he pushes two fingers inside of me. He keeps his beautiful brown eyes on my face, tracking my expressions of pleasureto determine how fast he moves and how much pressure he applies.
“I’ve missed you so much, Cleo,” he whispers in my ear, and his genuine words bring tears to my eyes. “We’ve been lost without you this whole time.”
Guilt and lust battle each other in my heart. The reason I left had nothing to do with them, but they were the ones who suffered greatly because of it. I want to tell him the truth, but the selfish part of me isn’t ready to rock the boat, seeing as the tides are finally calm for now. Instead, I only focus on his words and respond as appropriately as I can.
“I thought about you guys all the time,” I admit on a moan. My hips move quicker against his hands. “I’ve missed you, too.”
He devours my mouth, his fingers moving quicker inside of me. My walls grip his digits for dear life as my orgasm races full speed ahead, my legs trembling and threatening to collapse from beneath me.
“That’s it, Kitten. Be a good girl and come for me,” he whispers against my lips, and I unravel for him. My moans fill the shower as I shake in his arms. A low growl rumbles in his chest as he slows his movements until his fingers stop moving inside of me but continue rubbing my clit. He keeps a tight arm around my waist until I’m stable on my legs before he finally releases me and presses a kiss to my forehead. I immediately feel empty when he pulls his fingers from me, but the fatigue coursing through me doesn’t give me much time to dwell on it.
We get out of the shower, and he hands me a thick, fluffy white towel. I dry off and don’t bother getting dressed just yet, only pulling on one of the complimentary robes Talon passes to me.
“Want to order some food?” he asks as he moves past me. I walk out into the sitting area and stretch out across the couch and shake my head as I stifle a yawn.
“Not yet. I’m kinda tired,” I say. His phone rings before he can respond to me, and he steps off into the bedroom to take the call. I close my eyes for a few moments, figuring I’d rest for a few moments until he’s off the phone.
I’m jolted awake by someone pounding on the door. I jump up and frantically look around, and it takes a moment before I realize where I am. The knocking continues, and that’s when I realize how quiet it is in the hotel room. The fact Talon hasn’t answered the door by now means he isn’t here anymore. How long have I been asleep?
I peel myself off the couch with a yawn and shuffle over to the door. After checking the little peephole, I open it to find Tristan standing on the other side of it. I step off to the side to let him in, and he walks past me.
“Talon sent me here to check on you,” he starts, his eyes moving around the room as if he’s searching for something. “And I also think I should apologize about yesterday.”
“Yesterday?” I ask with a raised brow.
“In the car.” He turns to face me, and his face blanches.
I stare at him, waiting for him to speak, but he doesn’t. “Tristan?”
And then I see it. The confusion. The surprise. The recognition. It’s in this moment that I realize my face is bare of any makeup and with some of my semi-permanent hair color coming out, more of my natural roots are showing, which is more prominent with my hair pushed back. Tristan slowly shakes his head as if he can’t believe what he’s seeing as his eyes widen, his mouth verbalizing the moment I’ve been dreading.
“Cleo?”
TRISTAN
Ican’t believe it’s her.
This entire time, I’ve thought the woman we were now helping was out to get us or blackmail us because she wouldn’t tell us who she is, but it was Cleo this whole time. The longer I stare at her, the more I recognize her. The guilty look in her eyes is the same she used to give me when we were kids, and she’d done something she knew would make me upset. In an instant, I’m pulled back to our childhood.
I nervously hold my wrapped gift up to her, my palms sweaty. I have worked all summer to save up money to be able to get her the American Girl doll she’s talked about for weeks. Money has been a little tight lately, with Mom’s treatments becoming more frequent, especially since Dad is still trying to get the real estate business off the ground. I remember how sad she looked when we passed the doll store in the mall, my father telling her that she’ll have to get the doll on another birthday. When I saw how much she wanted it, I knew I wanted to make sure that she was still able to smile on her birthday.
At least we could have a little sunshine from her smile instead of all the darkness that comes with our mom’s illness.
“What’s this?” She pushes the lollipop that was in her mouth into her cheek and takes the gift from me, giving it a shake.
“Don’t shake it, doofus. You might break it, and I worked hard to buy it,” I fuss.
She grins at me as she excitedly rips the wrapping paper off of it. “Did you steal this?”
