Poppy

“What the hell did I do now?” Devon growled.

“I can’t believe you don’t know,” I growled back. It was Sunday and our last afternoon together before he had to head back to Savannah. He’d pushed his departure time to early the next morning, but right now, I just kind of wanted him to piss off. We’d been bickering all morning, and everything he did seemed to irritate the shit out of me.

He threw his hands up in the air. “Since you don’t seem to want me here, I’m goin’ for a walk,” he snapped, and walked out the front door.

I dragged my hands through my hair and let out a frustrated squeal. Grace walked down the stairs and crossed her arms, leaning against the kitchen island. “Okay, Pesty. Time for you to take a breath.”

I wrinkled my nose. She called me Pesty Poppy when she felt I was being an irrational bitch. “I am not the one at fault here.”

“Sweetie, neither is he.”

“That’s not true.”

She raised an eyebrow.

“What?” I snapped. “He’s being a dick.”

“No, he’s not. You’re just spiraling.”

“How exactly am I spiraling?”

“You do this every time he has to go away... if you have any kind of warning that it’s going to happen, that is. Because you have time to melt down.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” I demanded.

She raised her hands in surrender. “I’m not going to tell you unless you promise to slow your roll.”

“Grace,” I growled.

“Do you remember when he had to head out to do something for the club, I don’t know, five years ago or so?”

“There have been several of those,” I ground out.

“And every single one of them involves you picking a fight with Devon.”

“How would you know? You haven’t always been there,” I argued.

“Okay, Pesty.” She shrugged. “You’re right, I haven’t. But think back. I’ve been at more than half of them.”

Had she? It would make sense since she and I were rarely away from each other.

“You get all stabby because your man may or may not be going into something dangerous and you freak out on him,” Grace said. “You don’t like to cry, so if you’re pissed, you don’t have to be sad.”

Shit. She had me there. I hated to cry, because I hated being sad. It just wasn’t in my DNA.

“I don’t really do that...” I bit my lip. “Do I?”

Her expression softened. “Little bit.”

“Shit,” I whispered. She was right.

I heard the front door close and Grace smiled. “I’m gonna give you two some space.”

She walked upstairs and I turned to face the music. Devon walked in and I rushed him. “I’m so sorry.”

His arms went around me and his hands slid into my hair. “You are?”

I nodded into his chest.

“Why are you sorry, Poppy?” he asked, mimicking my question to him earlier.

I scowled up at him. “I do not sound like that.”

He chuckled. “Okay, baby. You do not sound like that.”

“Grace may have pointed out that I tend to pick fights with you when I know you’re leaving me.”

“Because you don’t want to cry.”

I gasped. “Do you two compare notes about me?”

“I plead the fifth.”

I rolled my eyes. “Anyway, I’m sorry.”

He grinned, leaning down to kiss me. “I appreciate that, baby. Not gonna lie, been out there tryin’ to figure out exactly what I could blame myself for... but since I’ve been nothin’ but the perfect man to you today, I couldn’t come up with anything.”

“I know.” I sighed. “I just didn’t want to admit I don’t want you to leave.”

“I get it. This part sucks.” He stroked my cheek. “But it’s one week, then I’ll be back for your graduation.”

“Then I’ll be going home and you’ll still be here.” I frowned again. “Which brings me back to why I’m mad at you.”

“It does?”

“If you hadn’t been a jealous idiot, you wouldn’t be here, you’d be in Portland, and I’d be coming home to you.”

“I didn’t just come here because I was jealous, Poppy. The club needed help.”

“Anyone could have ‘helped.’”

“Now who’s discounting my worth?”

I bit my lip. “Goddammit. Why am I doing this?”

“Because you don’t like being sad.”

“Or I’m just a bitch.”

“Poppy,” he admonished. “You’re not a bitch.”

I dropped my head to his chest again. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s all good.” He gave me a gentle squeeze. “This shit’s temporary, anyway. In a few short weeks, we’ll be with each other so much you’ll want to kill me for other reasons.”

I laid my hands on his chest. “But you’ll be right there for makeup sex, so don’t sit there and tell me it won’t be better.”

“Well, there is that.” Devon chuckled, sliding his hands to my ass. “You wanna makeup some now?”

“Hells, yes.”

He lifted me over his shoulder and hauled me upstairs. I would have giggled, but his shoulder was in my belly and I could barely breathe. Closing us into my bedroom, he set me on the floor and reached for me, but I shook my head as I pulled off my T-shirt. “No touching.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yep.” I ran my tongue over my upper lip.

“Fuck me.”

“I definitely plan to do that. Several times.”

He reached for me again, but I stepped away.

“Devon. No means no.”

He laughed. “Fine. What do you want, Poppy?”

“I want you naked and on the bed. Immediately.”

Devon grinned, getting naked and stretching out on the mattress. I removed the rest of my clothes and stepped to the bed smiling down at him. I didn’t think I’d ever get sick of staring at his body.

He grinned. “You gonna stare at me all day, or do shit to me?”

“I haven’t decided yet.”

“Your choice, baby.”

I licked my lips and wrapped my fingers around his hardening length, sliding my hand down, cupping him before taking his cock into my mouth. Devon hissed, bringing his knees up and fisting his hands in my hair. I continued to take him deeper, knowing he was close when his legs stiffened.

“Now, Poppy,” he rasped just before he came. I milked him dry before he dragged me up his body and kissed me. “On your knees.”

Despite the fact he wasn’t supposed to touch me, I immediately went there. Devon slid into me and I dropped my head back at the sensation.

“I’m gonna touch you now,” he said as his palm connected with my bare bottom.

I whimpered and pushed my body back against him.

“More?”

“Yes,” I hissed, and he slammed into me again, his palm slapping me a little harder this time and the sensation overtook everything.

Ohmigod, it was amazing, but when he slid one hand between my legs and fingered my clit, I came the second the palm of his other hand slapped against my bottom again, and I cried out his name as I buried my face in the mattress while he continued to thrust into me. His body locked and he wrapped his arms around me, gently rolling us to the side so we were spooning, staying connected as he kissed the back of my neck.

I sighed. “Makeup sex rocks.”

“All sex with you rocks,” he countered, kissing my shoulder, then sliding out of me.

I turned to face him and he pulled me onto his chest. “I’m really sorry I was stabby.”

He chuckled. “This was worth the wounds, baby.”

I settled my chin on my hands. “Why are you always so nice to me?”

Devon slid one arm behind his head. “What do you mean?”

“I’m not too proud to admit that I have had the ability to be very... ah... shall we say, cutting, when it comes to you,” I said. “You have never reciprocated.”

“I love you, Poppy.”

“I love you, too... I loved you then as well, but it didn’t stop me from being a psycho bitch on occasion.”

“You’re a woman.”

I frowned. “That’s supposed to be an explanation?”

He chuckled. “Look, the Wallace men are all pretty laid-back. You know my dad, nothing fazes him... and you see Cricket and how dramatic she is—”

“I don’t think I’d say your aunt was drama.”

He shook his head. “Two different things. She’s dramatic... but she doesn’t cause drama. Dramatic is fun... drama, not so much.”

I giggled. “Okay, I see your point.”

“Your dad’s also totally chill, so I’ve watched them and how they treat women, I guess. Any woman worth knowin’ is one who can be free to be her in all her glory, and not have some asshole hold her down because she gets emotional or dramatic. When I see you, I see all of you, and you’re perfect, Poppy. Even if you’re yellin’ at me or being ‘stabby.’ The second you stop doin’ those things is the second you stop lovin’ me, so when you’re mad, it means you care, and I love you even more in those moments.”

“See!” I blinked back tears. “You’re always so fucking sweet to me! It’s annoying.”

He dropped his head back and laughed, before kissing me gently and rolling me onto my back. “Not gonna let you get stabby again, Poppy.”

“Yeah?” I challenged. “How are you going to stop me?”

“I’m gonna get stabby myself.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yep. Gonna stab your pussy with my tongue,” he said, and began to kiss his way down my body.

I shivered, arching against his mouth when he ran his tongue over my folds then slid it inside of me. “Oh, god, yes.” I wove my fingers into his hair and tugged gently as he assaulted my pussy with his mouth. God, it was good.

He bit down gently on my clit as he pushed three fingers inside of me and I exploded... this caused me to lose his mouth, but I gained his cock pushing into me, so I didn’t care.

“Fuckin’ soaked, baby,” he rasped, leaning down to suck a nipple into his mouth.

I wrapped my legs around his hips and gripped him as he buried himself deeper and deeper inside of me. He slammed in again and again and I felt another orgasm build, I was swamped with sadness. He was leaving again and it meant I wouldn’t see him for at least a week. I forced back tears, but as my body broke, so did my soul, and I couldn’t stop the wracking sobs as we both climaxed together.

“Fuck,” he rasped, pulling out of me and gathering me up in his arms. “Baby, what happened?”

I couldn’t speak. All I could do was cry ugly, snotty tears into his neck as he held me. I hated it. Hated myself for showing him this. I didn’t want to be vulnerable when he had a job to do... I didn’t want to be vulnerable, period.

“Okay, baby. I got you,” he crooned, running his fingers up my back.

We stayed like this for a while, him telling me how much he loved me, and me desperately wanting him to be a dick so I could go back to being mad. But I let the sadness come for a change. Admittedly, I hated every second of it... but it was real, and if there was anyone I could be real with, it was him, so I let him see it.

Once I’d calmed enough to form a cohesive sentence, I snuggled closer, my crying jag a weird sort of catharsis.

“Better?” he asked.

“Much.”

“I’m gonna miss you too, baby.”

“I know,” I said, tracing the Dogs of Fire tattoo on his pec. “I just wish we could be done, you know? Settled... together. At home.”

He stroked my hair. “We will be, sweetness. Just gotta give it a minute.”

“I love it when you call me sweetness,” I whispered.

He chuckled. “I know you do.”

“You’re supposed to act surprised and promise to call me that all the time,” I informed him.

He grinned, kissing me gently. “Never gonna lie to you Poppy, so, no.”

“I’m getting stabby again,” I retorted.

He laughed. “You don’t scare me, Poppy. You seem to forget that.”

I smiled, kissing his chest. “God, I love you.”

“Love you too...,” he grinned slowly, “... sweetness.”

“You keep doing that and I’m gonna cry again.”

“How about I take you out to dinner so you can stow all those emotions you hate so much?”

I smiled. “I think you’re going to have to spring for dessert as well. I need to eat my feelings.”

He chuckled, smacking my ass. “I can do that, baby. I’ll let you cry one more time in the shower, then you’re gonna be happy for the rest of the night.”

“Deal,” I said, and scrambled off the bed, heading for the bathroom.

I managed to keep my emotions in check as he made love to me in the shower... it helped that he devoted a little extra time on my clit... then he took me out to a ridiculously expensive restaurant and sprang for dessert.