You Were Always Mine

The Coward

His mouth claimed hers without warning.

The sudden press of his lips silenced everyone at the table, all eyes now glued to the duo in shock.

Vivian froze completely, her body still at the sudden contact. She hadn't expected him to go this far in front of everyone.

His hand slid up to cradle the back of her neck, fingers threading through her hair in a way so familiar it almost made her shudder.

Then his tongue swept past her lips, stroking deep and slow in that exact way he used to when they were younger.

Back when they were both deceiving each other about being just friends.

The taste of him flooded back instantly, that same mix of mint and heat she remembered from that night.

Her hands lifted without thinking, gripping the front of his shirt as her mouth opened wider to meet him.

She kissed back hard, her tongue sliding against his in a rhythm that dragged every buried memory to the surface.

The room around them faded while their bodies pressed tighter, breath mixing hot between them.

Oscar didn't pull away.

He kept the kiss going, sucking gently on her lower lip before diving back in, his free hand holding her closer to him.

Vivian's fingers tightened in his shirt, a soft sound almost escaped her throat as the old fire reignited.

Every stroke of his tongue reminded her of the first time she kissed him and ran away. The way he had cornered her the very next day and kissed her senseless until her knees felt weak.

When he finally pulled back, their lips stayed close, both breathing hard.

Vivian's eyes stayed half-closed, the taste of him still on her tongue and the heat between her thighs pulsing.

Her heart hammered against her ribs, eyes staring into those green eyes that had always softened for her.

Even now, it did.

Oscar swallowed, his eyes glancing down on her lips again as though deliberating.

Across from them, Melody blinked. Then she slowly pointed her fork at them.

"Well." Louis said, clearing his throat before the two could take things any further.

Oscar finally pulled away, his attention shifted toward his sister.

"Satisfied?"

Melody opened and closed her mouth.

Heck, she had been teasing them for goodness sake! There was no need to remind her how single she was.

“Geez, thanks!” She snapped. "You can't even take a joke.” She muttered under her breath.

Vivian straightened, crossing her legs under the table casually like that kiss didn't awaken something deep inside her.

Oscar didn't miss the look of relief in Rick's eyes.

Good.

Melody was so close to f*****g up a deal he had with Rick and it all tied down to ‘making Vivian happy’ or he can kiss that project goodbye.

Hell, he tried convincing himself that was why he kissed her.

It was a lie. He knew that.

“Now that you're done teasing your brother, mind telling us your plans after school?” Rick asked.

Melody sent him a nervous laugh. “What plans?”

Rick seeds her a death stare. “What do you mean what plans? You don't plan to lazy around after school do you?”

“Grandpops..”

“If she doesn't have a plan, she can as well move to the branch in the countryside.” Oscar offered.

“Country side?!” Melody snapped.

She glared at her brother, evil bastard! He would be delighted to make her life a living hell for sure..

“I have a plan!” Melody blurted out. “I'm figuring it out okay? I'll tell you when I graduate..” She pleaded with Rick.

“The countryside isn't a bad idea. You could learn a lot over there..” Louis added.

“Uncle!”

Rick and Louis burst into laughter, earning an even deeper frown from Melody.

The tension around the table loosened soon after and other conversation came into play.

Vivian barely heard any of it.

She tried to.

Every few minutes, her attention drifted back to the kiss and the way the man next to her had given her those ‘f**k me’ eyes…

She hated that she kept thinking about it.

Absolutely hated it.

By the time dessert arrived, she had stopped contributing to the conversation entirely.

“I'll be right back.” She offered with a small smile before slipping out of her seat.

She took one careful step after the other towards the main building, her target location being the guest bathroom.

She's been here a dozen times. Knowing she didn't need instructions on where the bathroom was made the situation even worse.

She slipped into the room, shutting the door behind her.

The powder room was mercifully quiet; cool dark marble countertops stretched beneath soft lighting..

There were three toilets behind closed doors and a sink area that stretched along the length of the room with a mirror that reflected a woman she could barely identify.

Vivian stood in front of the mirror and exhaled slowly, trying to talk herself out if this..

She'd seen a glimpse of him from back then when he kissed her.

The hesitation in his eyes when he had to let go made her stomach flip.

She splashed cold water against her wrists, trying to ground herself but nothing worked.

The memory refused to leave.

Vivian's grip on the basin tightened; God he is so selfish!

How could he kiss her like that, knowing the history they had?

After telling her he didn't want her only to kiss her like he wanted her desperately…

The door clicked open behind her, pulling her out of her thoughts.

She glanced at the mirror and her eyes landed on Oscar.

Oscar stepped inside, eyes dark with fury and something hotter.

Vivian spun around, anger flaring hot in her chest.

"What the hell do you think you're doing? Kissing me like that in front of everyone? You had no right…"

He didn't let her finish.

Oscar crossed the space in two strides, grabbed her waist, and yanked her hard against him.

His mouth crashed down on hers again with a desperation that left her breathless.

She pulled back, wide eyes staring at him.

“Oscar!”

His mouth claimed hers again, desperate to taste her.

Vivian's back hit the wall as he pressed her there, one hand fisting in her hair while the other slid down to grip her ass.

She should have stepped away, shoved him off but here she was, in this restroom, allowing this devilish man to steal her breath away.

His tongue pushed past her lips, licking deep, tasting every corner of her mouth like he was starving for it.

She felt his hard on, straining against his pants and grinding directly into her lower belly with every shift of his hips.

The length rubbed on her as he kissed her senseless, sucking on her tongue, nipping at her bottom lip before diving back in.

Vivian's hands clutched at his shoulders, nails digging in as heat flooded between her thighs.

The man who claimed to hate her was now devouring her mouth, his erection throbbing against her while his tongue f****d in and out in a way that made her knees weak.

He kissed her deeper, tongue stroking relentlessly, his body pinning her completely to the wall.

Then he stopped.

Just as suddenly as he'd started, Oscar pulled back, breathing ragged.

Vivian stared up at him, lips slightly parted as she watched all the intensity drain from his eyes.

A frown crossed his face as he put some distance between them, leaving her still cornered against the wall in confusion.

He ran his hands through his hair, the way he always did when he had made a mistake.

He continued to step back, brows knitted as though angry at…her or himself.

Oscar turned on his heels, approaching the door.

“What is this?” She asked before he could walk out.

“Why did you kiss me?” she asked again.

Her eyes remained glued to the back of his head.

There's no way she would let him walk out of this so easily..

Not when he has that look in his eyes. Not when he had just shown her how much he wanted her.

Not when…

“Nothing. It was nothing.”

Vivian chuckled, her heart twisting painfully.

“What?”

“Melody was talking too much and I needed to convince her and everyone else,” he said.

“And now? There's no one here to convince!” She reminded him.

Oscar chuckled, glancing over his shoulder.

“You were there. That's all there was to it.”

The nerve. The audacity of this bloody bastard.

“Besides,” he turned to face her fully. “We might need to do that often. Why is this a big deal?”

Vivian stared at him with dark eyes, fist clenching against the sink.

It was like this was some sort of game to him! Watching how far he could get with her.

“Listen..”

“Don't ever touch me again.” She warned, her voice came out so cold it caught him off guard.

“Not by accident, not for a performance. If you cross that line again, I'll dig your heart out.”

Vivian walked right out of the room, brushing past him and slamming the door hard behind her.