Come Together (The Cityscape 3)

“Oh, dear. Bring him over.”

I smiled and kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you for being supportive.”

I found David on a barstool with a whiskey in his hand. I put my hand on his shoulder, and he turned to me. I meant to peck him quickly on the lips but lingered there for a moment. “Mmm,” I moaned. “Whiskey reminds me of our first night together.”

“Do not say another word,” he said. “I can’t meet this guy with a hard-on.”

I exhaled a laugh and held out my hand. “Come on. It’s going well.”

We made our way over and Mack stood as I introduced them. They shook hands, and David expressed his regret over Davena’s death. I remembered then that David had been at the funeral, and I squeezed his hand.

“Liv’s a different woman,” Mack said. “Thank you for that.”

“She deserves better than what she was getting,” David replied.

Mack nodded. “Bill was a bit of an ass.”

I laughed in surprise as my eyes shot to Mack. “Really?”

“Sorry, dear, but I didn’t care much for his disposition. I wish Davena were here to see this, because she asked me several times what it was you saw in him.”

“Apparently you’re not the only one. Surprisingly, others have expressed their support too. Not everyone, but that’s understandable.”

“Your mother?” Mack asked astutely.

“She insists I’ve made a mistake.”

He grimaced. “I can see why this would upset her.”

“She’s more than upset. She’s practically disowned me.”

“Once she sees you two together, I’m sure her opinion will change.”

I looked from Mack to David. Would she ever give us that opportunity? I had a hard time envisioning it. Enough time had passed that if she wanted, she could have called to apologize for what she’d said. I tried to think of a time in my life when she’d apologized for anything. “I hope so.”

“Leanore sounds like a complicated woman,” David said.

Mack laughed. “Yes. She’s always been headstrong, but complicated and difficult are also words frequently used to describe her.”

“Difficult, yes,” I agreed, and covered Mack’s hand. “Thankfully I had Davena.”

David placed his hand on the back of my neck, pulled me close and kissed my temple.

The rest of dinner was relaxed. They discovered some mutual business acquaintances, and David listened intently about Davena’s foundation, offering his services should Mack be able to use them. At some point during the night, I remembered that I’d once asked David if things were ever going to get easier. It seemed that they were.

~

I was freezing cold. Burrowing further into the bed, I wondered what was taking so long. “David,” I sang.

“Where are you?” he called.

I pulled the comforter down a little so I could see him. He was long and lean, and all six feet four of him was gloriously naked. “It’s so cold.”

I squealed when he jumped on the bed. He climbed under the sheets to cover me with his warmth, tucking my arms under his elbows and my legs between his.

“That’s perfect,” I exhaled, instantly cured. “Never leave.”

“Okay.”

I giggled when he bent his head and breathed hot air on my neck. I wanted to reach up and brush my hand through his soft hair, but he kept me securely pinned under his body. I peered closer and grinned. “Are those grey hairs?”

“Probably,” he grumbled, “considering what you’ve put me through the last few months.”

I gaped at him and held back a laugh. “You’re blaming me?”

“Yes,” he said, kissing my jaw.

“Well, that’s fine, because I actually find it really sexy.”

“Good.”

“Like really, super sexy.”

“Super sexy, huh?” He moaned against my skin and continued trailing kisses wherever he could reach. Being restrained, all I could do was squirm and bite my lip, which I instantly released since it was tender from the night before. “What’s with all the clothing?” he asked, rising onto his hands and knees, tenting the comforter.

“It’s winter, and you weren’t here to keep me warm,” I said defensively.

He began unbuttoning my pajama top, smiling like the scoundrel he was. His eyes grew hungry as he muttered to himself, “It’s like opening a present.”

I sighed happily and let my lids fall shut as my nipples hardened expectantly.

“Fuck,” he boomed.

My eyes flew open. “What?” I looked down and could just see a dark purple bruise forming on my chest where he’d bitten me the day before.

He sat back, and the comforter slid off his back. He pushed up my shirt and yanked my pants down. “What the fuck?” His fingers gently spread my thighs, and I moved up on my elbows. He ran his hands over my hip and ushered me onto my side. “You are covered,” he paused to inhale, “in bruises.”

“They’re nothing. I can’t even feel them.”

“I was too rough with you yesterday,” he said, staring at my legs.

“No.” I shook my head emphatically. “I loved it.”

He pushed a hand through his hair and looked away.

“Hey,” I said, trying to catch his gaze. “Look at me. I’m fine.”

His jawline flexed. He muttered something about Bill, and I instantly recoiled. “David, the marks he left behind came from anger. This is completely different. Remember what you said about us? It’s all love.”

He blinked his eyes to me then. “I’m so sorry. It won’t happen again.”

“No, listen to me.” I crawled onto my knees and took his face in my hands. “You didn’t hurt me,” I said again. “Sometimes we’re loving. Sometimes we’re rough. I would tell you if it was too much.”

“You didn’t though. You bit your lip bloody instead.”

“I didn’t stop you because I liked it. I trust you.” His eyes narrowed on me. I fell back onto the bed and kicked him playfully. “Come back here.”

He hesitated a moment before pulling my pants back up and fixing my top.

“David, sweetie, don’t do this.”

“It’s late, you should sleep.”

“Where are you going?”

“Office,” he said, jumping off the bed and pulling on his sweatpants.

“What? You’re going to leave me here, horny and alone?”

“The more I do tonight, the more time I can spend with you tomorrow.”

“Yeah, I’m not buying that.” I rolled over onto my side and muttered something about blue balls. The mattress gave when he climbed over me.

“Don’t pout, honeybee. I really do have work to do, but I’ll be in soon.” He kissed me on the cheek and then on the shoulder before disappearing.

He turned down sex? Couldn’t he see he was hurting me more by doing that? I was no longer cold, just angry, so I kicked off my pajamas. Maybe he’d wake me up and we could do it then, I reasoned. Despite him telling me not to pout, that’s exactly what I did until I dozed off.

CHAPTER 23

I AWOKE IN THE CLUTCHES of

big arms, surprised that I hadn’t felt David come to bed. I was perfectly content to remain pinned against him while I waited for him to wake up too, but he stirred and sighed against my hair.

“The first time we woke up together, you jumped out of bed before I even had the chance to kiss you. It was bullshit.”

I smiled and rubbed his arm. “Here we are though.” I rolled my head back to take in his sleepy face. “Were you up late?”

He just nodded, and shifted to kiss me. I moaned into his mouth, and he pulled back. His eyes fell to my chest, he released me and climbed out of the bed.

I groaned and rolled back, cursing my sex-battered body. This act was going to get old really fast. I decided to try convincing him it was nothing again and headed into the bathroom.

“I’ve got an issue,” he said before I could speak. He spit into the sink and set down his toothbrush. “I spoke with my engineer yesterday and things are falling behind on my New York project. I’ve been away too long. I need to make a trip.”

“Oh. When?”

“I’m going to see if I can get a ticket this afternoon.”

“Today?” I exclaimed. “Tomorrow is Thanksgiving.”

“I know,” he said, rubbing his brow. “But this is important. I’ll have to stay through the weekend.”

“Your sister is expecting us.”

“She’ll understand that I can’t make it. You can still go.”

“Of course I’m going to go. It would be rude not to.”

“All right.” He walked over and kissed the top of my head. “Come on, beautiful. I’ll fix you something to eat.”

As I followed him to the kitchen, I couldn’t help wondering if his sudden trip had anything to do with the night before. Would he go all the way to New York to ensure he didn’t hurt me again? “What about Miami?”

“I’ll have to cancel with Brian.”

“But you already bought the tickets.”

“They’re just miles,” he said, retrieving a mug from a cabinet.

“This is about the bruises, isn’t it?”

He paused and let his hip fall against the counter. “No. I need to be there. But they do concern me.”

“There’s nothing to be concerned about.”

“Maybe the bruises don’t hurt. But they’re there because I lost control. Sometimes I’m so consumed with you that I don’t think straight, and it hit me last night that I could go overboard.”