Sorrow swam in the depths of those fathomless eyes.
Mystery and mourning and fidelity.
Girl so fuckin’ genuine and sweet and real that she made it difficult to sit in the purity of who she was.
“Every life has its hardships, Richard. Its trials. We could have gone through them together.” Her mouth trembled when she said it, with the loss of the years and the what-could-have-beens.
Hand shaking like a bitch, with the truth of the corruption this girl didn’t understand or see, I shifted so I could set my hand on her cheek.
“You’re not getting what I’m saying.”
Didn’t want her to.
It was what I was protecting her from in the first place.
“It’s bad, Violet. And when I say bad, I mean bad. Cruel and wicked and perverse. You don’t know what I’ve seen.”
What I’d been involved in.
How it would wreck her if she even caught a glimpse.
Moisture filled her eyes, and she attempted to blink away the tears, but one got free, her voice quivering with dread and sympathy. “You mean…like what happened to Emily? I saw, Richard, on the news. That somethin’ bad happened to her. It’s horrible. I can’t…”
She trailed off, her breath hitching in pain.
Grieved.
Gutted.
Blame lashed like a whip. Gashes that would forever bleed. “Like that. Even worse.”
And fuck, I hated to even compare what my sister had gone through because that was bad enough. But I’d seen to the full depths of depravity.
“You would have protected me.”
“What if I couldn’t? What if it was the only way to keep you safe?”
“Then you never should have been there in the first place.”
There she was.
Honest.
Real.
Right.
I never should have been there in the first place, and that had been the first mistake I had made.
“And sometimes you’re standin’ in the middle of something, and you have no idea how you got there,” I told her, words an abrasion that scraped and ground. “You’d do anything to get out, but you’re already a prisoner and there’s no hope for escape.”
Dread dampened her expression. “If you were in trouble, why couldn’t you have trusted me?”
My teeth gnawed at my bottom lip, and I stared at the woman who meant everything. I warred with what to say, finally settling, not sure if it was the whole truth or an excuse. “Because I didn’t trust myself.”
Didn’t know if the reality was that every faulty choice I’d made had been ushered in by shame.
Our gazes tangled. A fusion in the dusky light that poured from the lamppost that lit the parking lot. A labyrinth between us that I had no idea how to cross.
Finally, I pulled away and expelled the tension on a heavy exhale. Then I sent her a smile. “Come on, let’s put this all away for a while. Enjoy tonight. Each other. Have fun.”
Apparently, I’d grown another head because she looked at me like I was insane.
It could be argued.
“You want me to have fun with you?” It was all a disbelieving accusation, but beneath it was a lightness that hadn’t been there before. “And don’t think I didn’t notice you changin’ the subject. You want to talk? Then you need to actually talk.”
“We will, Vi. Soon enough. Just…want to spend a minute with you. Breathe. Besides, you and I used to have a ton of fun.” So what if the innuendo made its way in.
“Don’t you dare, Richard Ramsey.”
I hitched up an innocent grin that wasn’t innocent at all. “What?”
“Don’t try to sweet talk me.” A smile played around her lips.
“Don’t you know sweet talking you is my favorite pastime?”
“You are impossible, you know that?” She bit her lip, trying not to laugh.
A chuckle rumbled in my chest, lost to the sudden buoyancy that fluttered in the air. I reached out, touched her face, this time in straight-up adoration. Heart pressing full. My thumb traced the angle of her cheek. “God, I missed you.”
Agony and affection vied for dominance on that sweet, stunning face, girl just staring at me, our connection a steady thrum in the atmosphere.
A tether.
A bond.
Didn’t know how long we stared before she shook herself out of it. “Are you going to feed me or what, Superstar?” It was a tease. A taunt.
“Superstar? Not even close,” I told her.
“Pssh…I’ve heard the rumors about you and your band. Know you made it big. Just like I knew you would.”
She started to climb out.
“Stay right there. Don’t move.”
I hopped out and rushed around the front, opened her door, and extended my hand for her to take it.
She glared at it like it was a viper. “Richard.”
“I’m just bein’ a gentleman like my ma taught me to be.”
Those captivating eyes rolled. “You really do love to sweet talk me, don’t you?” She took my hand, those long legs exposed as she shifted around to slip out, skin glimmering in the light, that fabric sweeping up those thighs I was dying to get lost in.
To lose myself in that delirium-inducing body.
Need pulsed.
I swallowed it down, but it didn’t want to go anywhere when she climbed out and it left her standing an inch away.
Lust. Greed. Want.
They pummeled me at gale force.
I somehow got it together and took a step back.
I should have been awarded a gold medal.
“Let’s feed you, gorgeous girl.”
So I was pretty sure the no touching thing might be off the table because I couldn’t let go of her hand, and she didn’t seem like she could let go of mine as I led her into the upscale restaurant, the best in Dalton.
Inside, it was dim and swanky. Place decorated in an antique, lush vibe.
Heavy tapestries and oversized carved wooden furniture, small alcoves lit by candlelight to create an intimate setting.
At the hostess stand, I gave my name. I thought the girl who couldn’t have been more than nineteen working it might have pissed her pants because her eyes went round when she saw me. She started to stammer, “O-oh…oh yes. Richard Ramsey. Right this way.”
The girl kept stealing peeks at me
