“That doesn’t help me at all,” I mumble.
Chuckling, he lifts his chin as he stands behind me. “It’s all I got for you. Give me a ring when you’re ready to rumble.”
Without another word, he walks past me and out of my gym area. I don’t turn my head to look behind me. There’s someone there and I don’t have to see them to feel exactly who has entered the space. I hear the door close and then the lock being flipped into place.
Inhaling a deep breath, I feel two arms wrap around my waist and a cool cheek press to the center of my back. She lets out a breath, which sounds like a ragged sigh. Clenching my fists at my side, I wait for her to say something.
She doesn’t speak. Instead, I feel her turn her head and her lips touch the center of my back. Then, she walks around me and when she’s directly in front of me, I dip my chin to look down at her and watch as she sinks to her knees.
Tulip reaches for the waist of my grey sweats and I shake my head, unclenching my fists to stop her, but she’s too fast. My sweats are wrenched down and around my ankles before I can take another breath. Then she’s got her hand wrapped around my cock and strokes me, her eyes focused on mine.
“Tulip,” I warn. “Been workin’ out, baby.”
She shakes her head once before her mouth opens and she sucks me in deep. “Fuck,” I hiss. Without a thought, I bury my hand in the back of her hair, my eyes never leaving her blue ones.
Shifting my hips forward slightly, I flex on each downstroke of her mouth. She’s warm, her lips stretched wide as she takes me inside of her.
Sinking my teeth into the bottom of my lip, I watch in awe as she swirls her tongue around the head of my dick, looking as though she’s truly enjoying the moment just as much, if not more than I am.
When she’s worked me up to the edge, I try to tug her off of me with a grunt, but she shakes her head slightly.
“Tullie,” I warn again.
Her eyes meet mine and swear to fuck, they smirk up at me, if eyes could smirk that is exactly what hers would be doing. I’m too mesmerized by her eyes to realize what’s happening before it’s too late.
I come down her throat, filling her with my release. She doesn’t seem to mind, instead of looking horrified, I watch as she swallows every fucking drop, then licks my dick clean.
“Tulip,” I rasp, my legs fucking shaking from the moment.
Sinking down to my knees, I reach out for her, cupping her jaw with my palm as I look into those gorgeous fucking eyes of hers.
“I love you, Louis. That’s not going away. I’m not sleeping anywhere but next to you. If you need to talk about what’s going on in your head, get it all out, that’s fine. If you need to fuck it out, that’s fine too, but you’re not leaving me, not like this.”
Shaking my head once, I slide my thumb along the underside of her eye to gather the tear falling there. “Okay, baby.”
“I’m serious,” she snaps.
My lips turn up into a small smile. “I know, I am too.” Lowering my forehead to meet hers, I close my eyes and I let out an exhale. “I fucking love you, Tulip.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
TULIP
Love.
It’s kind of comical how one uttered word can ease my completely uneasy world. Why is it that when Louis told me that he loved me, everything shifted in that exact moment?
Joey had said the words a million times, but I didn’t feel even a tenth of how it felt when Louis uttered them beneath his breath, almost as if he hadn’t meant to say it aloud.
I bite the corner of my lip as I finish getting dressed for work. Looking at myself in the mirror, I cringe at the sight of the red marks around my neck.
It’s too hot for a turtleneck or scarf so there’s no way to hide them without looking like I’m trying to hide something. My foundation is also not hiding a damn thing.
I would call in and skip today, except two days in a row requires a doctor’s note. I could quit, but I need as much money as I can get before I go to this meeting for school. I’m not sure how much the schooling is going to cost, but I know for certain that it isn’t free.
Pinching my eyes closed, I inhale a deep breath and decide to just buckle up and handle my shit. This is life. Things happen. Louis didn’t do it on purpose and I knew it the moment his hand wrapped around my neck. If the rest of the world wants to judge, then that’s their business, not mine.
Hitching my purse over my shoulder, I head out for work. Louis is standing at the sink, a bottle of water tipped back to his lips. As soon as his eyes catch my neck, he lets out a growl.
“I’m going to work,” I say, squaring my shoulders.
He shakes his head but doesn’t make a move toward me. “I really wish that you wouldn’t,” he murmurs.
Inhaling through my nose, I exhale and tilt my head to the side. “I’m not ashamed of anything, Louis. I’m going to work, I’ll come home to eat dinner with you, then I’m going to my second job.”
His eyes flash with something that I can’t quite read. “Where I’ll be giving my two week’s notice, tonight,” I announce.
He stares at me, then his lips twitch into a small smile. “Your notice?”
“My notice,” I confirm with a nod. “I just, I know that you don’t really like it and I know you haven’t said much, but if I’m not paying rent, then I don’t really need it anymore.”
I watch as he tosses his water bottle into the sink before his legs quickly carry him over to me. Immediately he wraps his arms around me and tugs my body against his chest. Before I can say a single word, his mouth is on mine. He gives me a hard, almost bruising kiss.
When he lifts his face from mine, his arms flex around me. “Thank fuck. It’s been killing me that you’re down there almost every night. Your body is gorgeous, but I’d like for the only man who sees my woman naked, to be me.” He smiles.
Lifting my hand, I slide my palm beneath his jaw. “How did I get a man like you, Louis Kingston? You knew that I needed to quit on my own. You didn’t want me doing it, but you also didn’t force me to quit,” shaking my head, I attempt to swallow my tears, but they start to fall down my cheeks anyway.
“Baby,” he rasps.
“I just really love you,” I hiccup.
He chuckles, using his thumbs to wipe my tears away. A throat clears from the hallway, but I can’t look away from Louis. This man, he has everything, my heart, my soul—simply everything.
“You two can smooch later. We got work to do,” Aaron barks.
Louis laughs softly, his head dipping down and his lips brushing mine. “I’ll see you tonight,” he whispers against my mouth.
He releases me, taking a step back and I can’t help but watch his ass as he walks away from me in his workout shorts.
When he walks by Aaron, my gaze lifts to the man who is still standing in the mouth of the hall. His eyes find mine and he gives me a small wink, then a scowl replaces the tender look before he turns around and stomps off toward the gym.
Unable to hide my own smile, I’m biting my bottom lip the entire way to my car. I can’t wipe the smile off of my face the entire drive toward the grocery store. I have the same, probably stupid, goofy look on my face as I make my way into the store and begin to set up for the day.