Page 53 of Then and Now (The Edge of Retaliation 3)
He looks over to me, his eyes scanning over my face. “What would you have done?”
I think about that, really ponder it. I don’t honestly know what I would have done. I think about loving someone that much and being that close to them. My mind goes to Callie, and honestly, I’d probably have done the same for her. In fact, I would have done the same. Because she’s my family.
“I would have done the same,” I tell him, and it’s the truth.
He looks away, and the muscle in his jaw jumps. “I need to talk about something else. I feel like I’m goin’ to combust. If I think about Chase any longer, I’m goin’ to do somethin’ stupid. Knowing he’s in there, and I can’t do fuck-all about it, is eating me up. Tell me something, talk to me about something, anything to get my mind off this.”
“Okay,” I say softly. “What do you want me to talk about?”
He shrugs. “Do you hear from Patrick anymore?”
I snort. “Gosh no. As soon as I signed that document and we got divorced, that was it. I still see him in the media here and there, or on Facebook if I’m looking, but mostly I don’t see anything about him and I’m totally okay with that.”
“I saw him once, and he tried to pull me up, but I told him unless he wanted me to smash his pretty fuckin’ face, then he’d want to get out of my way. He moved. That was the end of it.”
I giggle, the vodka already hitting my head. “I can only imagine how that would have looked.”
“He’s not a strong man, not by a long shot.”
“No, you’re right. He isn’t. He didn’t protect me at times he should have.”
“You’re right about that,” he murmurs. “You were too good for that piece of shit.”
I giggle again. “Well thanks.”
Tatum looks to me, his eyes dropping to my lips. He’s well on the way to being drunk, I can see it in his face. “I missed that.”
“What?” I whisper, heart racing.
“That sound. Your laugh. I fuckin’ missed it.”
Oh god.
My heart aches.
It feels like it’s just going to launch right on out of my chest.
I wish I could tell him just how much I missed him, too, but there are no words to describe it. Nothing to explain the longing in my heart.
“I missed yours, too,” I tell him.
He looks back out over the patio.
I take another sip of vodka.
I feel like it’s going to be a long, interesting night.
I’M DRUNK.
My back is pressed against the wall on the patio outside, and I’m staring up at the stars, the wind blowing softly on my face. It feels nice, standing here, for one moment forgetting about the world. The laughter trailing out from inside tells me everyone is finally getting along, finally relaxing.
Alcohol has a way of doing that to people, bringing the walls down and letting them feel the truth.
I feel like we’re all in need of a good truth serum right about now. We need to bring it all out into the open, we need to just get it over and done with and move on from it. It’s the only way we’ll ever forgive each other and move forward.
“Hiding?”
I turn my head to the left and see Tatum standing at the open doorway, looking over at me. I’m on a part of the wall that you can’t see from inside, so I don’t know how he knew I was here.
“Yeah,” I laugh softly. “Maybe.”
He places his glass down, his eyes on mine, and walks over, catching me off guard. He stands in front of me, places his hands on the wall either side of my head and leans in closer, “You’re not makin’ this easy for me.”
“Huh?” I ask, confused.
“You, walkin’ around, looking so fuckin’ perfect, makin’ me wonder just how good you feel, rememberin’ how good you taste, and twisting my fuckin’ mind. I want to hate you sometimes, it would be so much easier, but …”
“But what?” I whisper holding his eyes.
“But I fuckin’ don’t. I don’t hate you. So far from it. I miss you, like fuckin’ crazy.”
Oh god.
Oh, my sweet lord.
“Tatum,” I say, my voice soft, but he cuts me off by stepping closer, bringing his lips close to mine.
“Tell me I can taste you, Jo. Tell me I don’t have to wait a second longer.”
“But …” I whimper when his lips graze my neck. “They’re just inside.”
He lowers down, getting to his knees and taking the hem of my dress, sliding it up, “Then you’ll have to make sure you don’t scream.”
Oh god.
Oh lord.
This is happening.
He pulls my panties to the side and then his mouth is in my pussy, tongue sliding up through the already damp depths. I grit my teeth to stop from crying out as he gets to work, and boy does he get to work. His mouth devours me, his hands grip my thighs, my fingers tangle in his hair, and the most incredible pleasure builds slowly in my body.
