Chapter 13
Lila
I woke up feeling weird, and the day only got weirder from there, like I was walking in a fun house with spooky mirrors and fake smoke everywhere.
My heart felt numb the entire day. Although I hadn’t responded to Trace’s late night texts, I read them over and over.
Because frankly, it was shocking that he’d even been able to write out the sentence, “If I lived here and asked you out, would you go out with me?” Even more, the answer to that question would’ve been yes. Despite my muddled head, it was a wholehearted yes.
And yet I couldn’t tell him that because I’d never ask him to stay in Miami just for me. It was too crazy. We’d only really had one week together, and we didn’t know each other. Besides, the photographer was drunk when he wrote those texts, so I had to keep that in mind.
Confused as hell, I decided to talk to my best buddy. Annie was out in the living room, beginning to pack up some of her things. She was going to be moving in about a month, and I dreaded it. It’d be nice to live by myself, but at the same time, what would I do without my friend?
“I can’t believe you’re going to be leaving,” I said to her.
“I know,” she agreed. “I can’t even think about it for real until the day I actually leave, or I’m going to cry every damn day.”
I had to smile even if tears were in my eyes.
“I know,” was my morose reply. “By the way, I’ve got a problem, Annie.”
She huffed a little, rolling her eyes.
“When don’t you have a problem?” she said.
“Good point. Trace texted me a lot last night. He’d gone out drinking and sent me a shit ton of texts during the night.”
“Oh crap,” Annie said, eyes wide. “What sort of things did he say?”
“A lot,” I said ruefully. “He said he doesn’t want to leave ‘now that he’s found me.’”
“Oh really? Ha! Wow, that’s really sappy!”
“I know, but it was kind of nice.”
“You’re sounding kind of down,” she observed. “Why are you acting like your heart is hurting? I thought he was just a guy you wanted to bang from high school.”
“That’s what he was,” I said. “I don’t know, Annie. I just feel kind of different about him lately.”
“Are you sure it’s not just because the sex has been incredible?” she asked. “After all, outside of work, what else have you two done besides hook up?”
“We talk and text,” I said. “He’s a really good guy.”
She looked at me a little skeptically.
“What else did he say last night when he was drunk?”
One text continued to stand out to me. “He asked me if I’d go out with him if he lived in Miami.”
“Why did he ask you that?” Annie asked, flabbergasted.
“I’m not sure, I’m confused as hell,” I said quickly. “Help me.”
“You can’t ask him to move to Miami! That’s crazy, you only just met this guy.”
“I know,” was my morose reply. “Plus, I still don’t even know what I want. The longer he stays around, the more I think about him. I’m afraid if he stays much longer, I might ask him to stay. Is that crazy? Or am I talking in circles?”
“It doesn’t make sense,” Annie said firmly. “That’s madness.”
“Well then, what the hell should I do?”
“You need to talk with each other and figure out where you both really stand, no more games,” she said. “You need to go over to that house, hash out any issues you both might have, and see what you think of your options. Who knows? He could be someone you’re not supposed to lose.”
I knew she was right. “He said he was leaving tonight.”
“When?” she asked.
“I don’t know. He just said he was leaving tonight.”
“Then you still have a chance! Go over and see him now before he goes to the airport and it’s too late.”
My hands fidgeted.
“I’m nervous.”
“You’re going to do great,” Annie said encouragingly. “You always have done what is best for yourself. You’ll know what the right thing to do is once you two really get to talking.”
While I agreed with my friend, I hesitated for quite some time before actually leaving the house. Things were just so confusing and twisted. But I didn’t want to live life and wonder “What if?” either.
Taking a deep breath, I sat in the car in front of his house for several minutes, trying to mentally prepare what I was going to say to Trace, but nothing sounded good. Aggravation made me nearly drive away.
But this was never going to do, so I took another deep breath before getting out of the car and timidly knocking on the door. Nearly a minute passed, and my heart sank to my feet. Oh no. I’d missed him.
But then, Trace opened the door, that massive frame just as imposing and delicious as before.
“I’m sorry to be coming by like this, but I wanted to talk to you before you got on your plane,” were my anxious words. “Could we talk?”
He didn’t look nervous at all. In fact, he looked totally relaxed.
“Yeah, sure,” Trace replied. “Come in.”
I entered expecting to see other faces, but once again, we were alone. Flushing red, I looked around, seeing the various spots we’d used during our steamy trysts.
“What can I do for you?” he asked.
“What time is your flight?”
“It doesn’t matter,” he said. “Come on, talk to me. What’s up?”
“I just, I wanted to say that I have feelings for you,” was my embarrassed stammer. “I don’t know what to do with those feelings, but they’re here. I wanted you to know that.”
“What kind of feelings?” he ground out, suddenly serious.
“I don’t really know how quite to put it,” I said honestly. “I’ve never really felt this way before.”
“Same here, totally get it,” he replied.
“What do you think we should do about this predicament?” I asked.
“Easy. I think you should ask me to stay here in Miami,” he said.
I giggled. “Trace, I’m not going to do that.”
“Just do it,” he urged.
“I’m not going to do it, Trace, and that’s just the way it is.”
He began walking slowly toward me. I backed up, stumbling until I hit the couch.
“I’m telling you that if you ask me to stay, I will,” he said.
“I’m not going to be responsible for a choice like this,” I said, my eyes fixed to his.
“If I lived here, would you go out with me?”
“Probably,” was my coy reply. His blue eyes flashed even as he advanced.
“So, please,” he said. “Tell me to stay.”
“No, Trace.”
“Yes, Lila.”
The alpha sat down next to me on the couch. He scooted close, and I backed away from him, but I knew my efforts would be futile. This man was pure magic and my defenses were already collapsing.
“No,” I repeated.
“Yes,” he growled.
“No.
“Yes.”
He put his hand behind my neck, rubbing it, before moving my hair out of my eyes.
“No,” I moaned.
“Yes.”
He began kissing my neck. Instantly, I was completely his.
“I want you to stay,” I whispered.
His eyes flashed.
“Say it again,” he commanded. “Louder.”
“I want you to stay in Miami,” I rephrased.
Before I knew it, there was nowhere else for me to go. Our faces were inches apart, gazes locked. Slowly, our lips touched and I sighed into the alpha’s mouth. But with Trace, things always heat up fast. Within minutes, he was touching me and making me moan, my panties already moist.
“Yes,” was my breathless gasp. “Yes, Trace, like that.”
The alpha growled but didn’t go any further. And after a certain point, I could no longer take it. I had to have him. I crawled into his lap, sitting down on him, facing that handsome mien. I rode the man, dry humping him and kissing him all the while. We were feeling under each other’s clothes like hungry teens.
Once he began to growl and moan into my ear, I realized just how pent up he was.
“Give it to me,” I begged.
“We should probably go to my room,” he suggested. “I don’t know when Emerson’s gonna be back. We wouldn’t want him interrupting us.”
“What time is your flight?” I mewled against his lips.
He began to pull my hair, tugging it just how I liked it. The man sucked on my neck, ran his tongue along my ears, and insisted on driving me crazy. I humped him harder in response.
“I never booked a flight back,” he answered.
He bit into my neck, never loosening his grip on my hair. Each time Trace tugged, he would sink his teeth deeper into my flesh. I rode his lap like a maniac, bucking and tossing like a mare in heat. Trace growled against my flesh.
“Calm little filly,” he ground out. “I’ll take care of you, don’t worry.”.