Cursed Ecstasy (Cursed Series) (15 page)

Leaning in, he presses his lips against mine. I sit motionless, not wanting him to move.

Pulling away, he presses both hands on either side of my face.

“I could never hate you, Etty, even if I tried…and believe me, I tried. If it takes me the rest of my life to prove to you how much I want you with me, I’ll do whatever I have to.”

His words come across so sincere, so passionate, and so full of hope.

“This is really what you want?”

“You have no idea, Etty,” he replies with a smile, his dimples peeking out at me, screaming for me to pull him closer.

I pull his hands from my face and lean in. With our faces mere inches apart, I wait for him to make the next move. I want to know that he’s really in this with me and not just for a quick thrill.

He moves in, leaning his head upward to place a gentle kiss to my forehead. A smile spreads across my face—it’s as though he could read my mind.

“We’ll take this day by day, Etty. No need to rush something that we both know we want.”

“Day by day is just fine with me. When you’re ready, I’m willing for you to tell me everything. I want to be the one you turn to when you need someone the most. I want to be that person for you.”

“You already are, Etty. It just took us a bit to figure it out.”

“There’s still so much we need to work through, Dault.”

“I know, babe, we’ll get there. I told you I’ll do whatever I have to so that you know how much I care. There will be good times and bad ones, but if we do it together we’ll be fine.”

With a happy heart, I turn my body and rest my back against his chest. He reaches for my hands and interlaces our fingers while crossing his arms over my chest.

Closing my eyes, I listen to the steady rhythm of Dault’s heart.

Even though he has a rough exterior, a varied personality, and a reputation as a hard ass, he still has a heart that beats with compassion, love, and longing to find his one and only. I can only hope that together we can make this work and show each other what happiness really is.

I feel more content right now, in this moment, than I have in a long time. It’s not going to be easy to find a happy medium with one of the most stubborn men I’ve ever met, but as long as he’s willing to try… so am I.

Chapter 17

“It’s your big day today, Dault, I’m so proud of you," my aunt says while adjusting the knot of my tie.

Stepping away from her, I look myself over in the mirror hanging from my wall.

“I feel like a troll,” I reply, trying to unfasten the top button of my shirt.

“You look so handsome, Daulton, stop fussing.”

“You know I hate wearing this shit,” I respond, turning to face her.

“Just for one day. Let me look at you and marvel at the man you’ve become,” she says with a smile, swatting my hand away from my shirt.

“Thanks, Aunt Kellie, I couldn’t have done this without you,” I remark, pulling her into my arms for a tight squeeze.

She steps back and reaches to pull a tissue out of the box on my dresser. Starting to dab at her eyes, a sob escapes her lips.

“Don’t cry, Aunt Kellie, it’s just graduation.”

“It’s a big deal to me, Daulton. It feels like just yesterday I brought you here to live with me. You know how proud your mama would be.”

Pulling her into my arms, I hold her while she begins to sob. A sudden pain hits me in the chest. I miss Mama more and more every day, and the fact that she isn’t here with us today is hard.

It’s been eight years since she’s been gone. Eight long years that she’s missed seeing me grow up to be the tattered man that I am today.

Aunt Kellie has given me everything I could have ever wanted, but it still hasn’t stopped me from causing trouble and wanting to run away.

Tomorrow, I leave with Linc to start a new chapter in our lives. There’s nothing more that I want than to get out of this town and start over.

As much as Aunt Kellie has tried to make me stay and use my baseball scholarship, I just can’t do it. I need to leave, remove myself from the hell of my past, and find a way to break free from the pain that surrounds me every day.

The memories are enough to drown me in my sleep; there has to be something bigger and better out there for me.

With Linc by my side I know we’ll find it, even if we have to travel the country. It’s out there for us and I’ll be damned if I stay here and regret it later in life.

The sound of a door slamming pulls me from my sleep. For once, I’m waking up from a dream of my past that has a better ending than most.

As my eyes open, I see Linc standing in the living room, a huge smile plastered across his face

“Well, it’s about fucking time you two got your shit together,” he says with a laugh.

I give him a scowl and place my finger over my lips.

“She’s awake, shithead.”

Etty shifts her body off of mine and the warmth of her lying against me is instantly lost.

With both arms, I cradle her waist and pull her back down next to me.

“No way, Etty, you’re staying right here. We have a lot of unfinished business to work through.”

She squirms against me and I instantly feel content having her back in my arms. Closing my eyes, I nuzzle my nose into her hair, the sweet smell of strawberry assaulting my senses.

“Yeah, I don’t think so, lover boy. It’s after ten and we need to get to the shop.”

My eyes fly open and I realize we’ve slept in
way
too late. I have to get to work.

“Fuck me!”

Etty turns in my arms and rests her chin on my chest with a smile.

“No worries, Dault, we’ll talk tonight when you get home,” she says, her beautiful green eyes sparkling up at me.

Leaning my face down to hers, I place a soft kiss on the tip of her nose.

“I have a better idea. Why don’t you come in with us? It’s been a while since you’ve been to Cursed Magic and I’m sure the guys would be happy to see you.”

My eyes flash to Linc as he starts laughing.

“What?”

“I’m sure that’s
exactly
why you want her there.”

Slowly pushing Etty off of me, I move to stand and walk toward him.

“Dude, shut the fuck up. If she wants to come, she can come. Why are you giving me such a hard time?”

Shaking his head, he moves toward the door.

“Get yourselves ready and let’s go. We have a supplier dropping stuff off at noon and a shit load of clients coming in for some ink.”

Watching Linc walk out the door, I stand in the living room feeling like an ass. He’s been on me to make amends with Etty, but now he’s blowing my shit up cause he caught us on the couch together…what gives?

“He’s just messing with you, Dault, don’t take it so personally,” Etty remarks in a sleepy voice, letting out a deep yawn.

Looking her way, I watch as she stretches her arms over her head, her toned stomach peeking out from under her shirt.

My brain sends an immediate signal to my cock and my mind goes to a place that it very well shouldn’t. As much as I want to take her upstairs and have my way with her, I have to prove to her that I’m in this for the long haul, not just a quick fuck.

She lets out a giggle as she watches my gaze pull from her waist to her eyes.

“I’m gonna take a quick shower. I’ll meet you guys next door in a half hour.”

Walking toward me, she steps on her tiptoes and kisses my cheek.

“Yeah,
that’s
going to help my raging hard-on right about now.”

She slaps me on the chest and moves past me, heading for the stairs.

“Then you’d better take a
really
cold shower, lover boy.”

I shoot a wink in her direction and make my way out of the house, hard-on still intact.

“Etty, baby doll, it’s been too long. Where have you been hiding?” Steve asks as we walk into the shop.

Etty walks toward him, her arms spread, allowing Steve to pull her into his embrace.

“I’ve been busy,” she says with a giggle.

Watching him hold on to her sends a bolt of jealousy through my veins. I know very well that Steve has no interest in her that way, but nevertheless that’s
my
girl he’s holding.

My girl?

Is that what she is?

“Chill, man, it’s just Steve,” Linc says from behind me, nudging me with his arm and moving toward the hallway.

With a fit of rage, I follow him down the hall and into his office, closing the door behind us.

“What the fuck is your deal, Linc?”

Sitting in his chair, he scoots in under his desk and looks up at me.

“Nothing, man, just be good to her. I don’t know what the hell you two were up to last night, but if you do anything to hurt her, I won’t stop myself from getting in the middle of two of my best friends.”

Letting out a heavy sigh, my rage subsiding, I take a seat across from him.

“Nothing happened last night, we just talked.”

Leaning back in his chair, he rests his arm behind his head.

“Look, I want nothing more than for the two of you to hit it off and make it work. I just know you and your past. You’re going to have to come clean to her and make some serious changes. You
have
to let her in, Dault.”

Moving forward, I rest my elbows on the desk and run my fingers through my short hair.

“You don’t need to tell me what I already know. I’ve been fighting my emotions for the past few weeks and all I can come up with is that I have to try and be a better man for her. She makes me want to be someone I never thought I could be. After I went upstairs last night, I realized that I have to try, so I went to her place and broke down. I had a fucking anxiety attack right in front of her.”

With a look of surprise, Linc stares back at me.

“You’re treading in some serious shit, Dault. Don’t do something that will hurt her.”

Resting back on the chair, I cross my arms.

“I don’t want to hurt her, Linc. I want to change…for her.”

“I get it, Dault, I really do, but it’s not going to be that easy.”

“Fuck you, man, I know. I’m going to talk to her about everything; I want to let her in and work through it together. We agreed we’d take this…whatever it is…day by day. That’s all I can do for now. If she doesn’t go running after I tell her why I am the way I am then we’ll go from there.”

“Just be straight up with her. If, and I mean
if
, you want this to work, you’ll have to cut ties with
all
other women. She’s not going to be cool with you sleeping around.”

My mouth drops open in surprise.
Why would he think I would do that to her…oh wait, I know why, but still…

“I wouldn’t do that to her.”

“And what about Christian? Do you think he’s going to back off that easily? That guy is in love with her; did you think about that?”

Shaking my head, I take a minute to think. Yeah, I know the douche is in love with her, it’s plastered across his face every time he looks at her.

“I don’t know, Linc, that’s her decision to make. All I know is if she’s willing to try to make us work, then I’m all in. I won’t back down, I won’t keep things from her, and I won’t stop until she’s mine.”

With a scrunched brow he stares me dead in the eyes.

“I want you to be happy and I want Etty to be happy. If being together makes that happen, I’m all for it.”

“Thanks, man, I won’t let you down.”

“Yeah yeah, now get to work. This whole heart to heart mushy shit is growing on me.”

A laugh escapes my lips and I move to stand.

“I’ll catch ya later.”

Opening the door and walking out into the hallway, I glance down the hall to see Etty standing at the desk. Her voice sends a chill through my body as she talks with Ashley.

How did I not see this all before?
My damn stubbornness hid my feelings for her and now…now I can’t seem to get her out of my mind.

Moving toward her, I sweep in from behind and wrap my arms around her waist.