I could make my way through it. “Don’t fuck it up again.”
“I won’t,” I assured him.
"Holden!" Bristol shrieked even as I gave my friend a salute and carted Bristol out the room and towards my own, which I thankfully had to myself, with Mother leaving with Corbin and Alina moving in with Reece.
We didn't run across anyone as I stole down the hallways with her over my shoulder. Although I didn’t particularly care as I had every intention of making Bristol my wife as soon as possible.
Her feet wiggled as she tried to get down, and I gripped her shins to keep her from slipping away and hurting herself. She grabbed my waist, clawing me viciously. “Put me the fuck down, you brute.”
"My Siren, you can feel free to dig your claws into whatever part of me you want once I’m buried inside you. For now, perhaps it would be best if you held still so I don’t fall on my face.”
She growled, punching me in the side of my hip. I couldn’t fight back my grin at the force behind her strike. I looked forward to how my feisty queen would rule at my side. "Put me down, you ass! I'm not a sack of potatoes!"
"You're lighter, to be sure." I chuckled at the sound of frustration she made, laughing even harder when her teeth grabbed the cloth of my coat. The muffled sound of her cursing at me was the best thing I could listen to as I turned the door to my suite open.
Once inside Bristol screamed, "Let me down!"
As gently as I could but still being cautious enough not to get a roundhouse kick straight to my temple, I set her down on her feet and took two quick steps back before she could slap me. I raised my hands above my head in a gesture of defeat. "I put you down.” I smirked at her narrowed eyes, thinking it could only be perverse that I found her anger adorable, with her freckles and flushed face.
"Oh how convenient that you listen once I’m in your room. You should have put me down the first time I told you to!”
"You wouldn't have listened to me, and I need you to listen when I say that I love you." I paused and pulled at my tie when the fabric constricted my breathing. She turned for the door, holding her head high in her outrage. "You said you loved me. Has that changed so quickly?"
Bristol walked away from me, heading towards where the broken pieces of the glass I'd thrown against the wall lay shattered on the floor. "Whether it changed or not, I've made my decision." She paused and looked down. "What happened?”
"I may have thrown a glass." I paused and took a cautious step forward, waiting for her to turn and face me. When she didn't, I continued, "Because the color of the scotch reminded me too much of your eyes. A siren calling to a hopeless heart."
"Did it help? Make you forget about me?" She turned then and her hands were clasped together in front of her. "Smashing the memory of me against the wall just as you destroyed any chance we had for a future?"
"No. It just reminded me of how helpless I was. I'm not helpless now. I was wrong to push you away. I should have fought for you." I took her hands in mine, feeling the way they trembled, much like her lips.
"I can’t.” She shook her head but I reached up to touch her cheeks to stop the motion of her head.
“I never made you any promises, Bristol. Until now," I said, touching my lips to the delicate skin on her cheek and feeling the way her breath hitched in response. Even with the turmoil she must be suffering, her body was mine.
“This was never our problem was it?” She sighed, leaning into my touch and turning her head so that I could capture her mouth with mine. Her lips were pliant and warm, ready for me as I pulled her closer and took my time. I savored her mouth, knowing that I had the rest of our lives to get to know every inch of her. To discover what every hitch of breath, exhale, and sound she made meant.
For this night, I just wanted to be with her. To know that when I slid inside her, I was home.
Her hands touched the back of my neck, pulling me tighter to