Hey, book bae!
Tomorrow, 60 Days to Love goes live. If you haven’t already, you can preorder your copy here. Check out the sneak peek below.
Orion
The moment my eyes landed on Montana Dixon, getting kicked out of my brother’s championship game party was worth it. It came as a surprise to no one that my middle brother, Stax, kicked everyone out of his home when his team lost the game. My youngest brother, Major, and I were going for our favorite team—the Eagles—while Stax had to be the odd man out and bet on the 49ers.
Instead of going straight home, I went to a sports bar to talk a little shit and make a few people mad. Out of all the faces I could have expected to see, Montana was nowhere on that list. Last I heard, my college sweetheart was in New York working for a Fortune 500 company like she’d always dreamed. I didn’t know why Montana was back in Memphis, but I planned to take full advantage of her presence.
Before I could stop myself, not that I really wanted to, my feet were taking me in her direction. She looked beautiful as hell, standing in the center of a group of men… head flung back as she laughed with her eyes closed. The closer I got, the harder my heart pounded against my chest. Her last three words to me weren’t I love you; they were I hate you. I’ll never get the sight of her heart breaking right in front of me out of my head. That was a betrayal that I’d yet to be able to make atonement for, but I was hoping I’d be able to now.
Gently pressing my way through the small crowd surrounding her, I took Montana’s hand into mine and tugged her into my chest. In her heels, the top of her head lined up with my chin. She gasped, looking up at me with wide eyes and an opened mouth. The second her eyes processed who I was, her body relaxed, and she gave me a small smile.
I lowered myself to her lips, cupping her cheeks and kissing her with the urgency that fueled my love for her for the last eighteen years. I didn’t give a fuck if she had a man and he was here. Montana Dixon would always belong to me. The moment I slipped my tongue between her lips, Montana gripped the sides of my sweater. Even with all the noise around us, I heard the distinct sound of her hum of a moan.
It was like something snapped inside of her. When she realized what was happening, Montana pushed me away. Trembling fingers caressed her lips as she stared at me. Montana bit down on her bottom lip, brows bunching as her shaking hand lowered. Her eyes tightened into slits before she smacked me. Smacked me so hard, I stumbled back a little. Holding my cheek, I rolled my tongue across it as our eyes locked.
Oohs, curses, and sizzling breaths permeated the space around us, but none of that mattered at the sound of her voice calling, “Orion?”
Her voice was shaky as her eyes watered.
“It’s me, beautiful.”
I thought once she fully processed who I was, that would calm her down; it didn’t. With a frown, Montana lifted her hand to smack me again. I was able to block it this time because I was prepared, using her arm to pull her into my chest.
“You’ve never been the violent type, Tana. What’s gotten into you?”
“You can’t just walk over here and kiss me. What if my man was here?”
“I don’t give a fuck.”
Her eyes rolled as she crossed her arms over her chest. “Sounds about right. You’ve never cared about being faithful. Why would I expect you to care about if I was in a relationship?”
My shoulders slouched and countenance fell. “Come on, Montana. You know that’s not true.”
“Do I?”
Her head tilted and jaw clenched as she looked my frame over. For a while, I felt frozen under her stare. It wasn’t until our eyes reconnected that I found the strength to speak.
“You should. Even if you don’t, you should know that when it comes to you…” My head shook and hers lowered. “I’ve never been able to help myself.”
Montana softened toward me, pulling her long, flowing hair behind her ears. Avoiding my eyes, she sighed and looked away.
“Your man here or not?” I asked since she obviously wanted me to. “If he is and he hasn’t tried to knock my head off my shoulders, he doesn’t deserve you, anyway.”
That made her smile.
“No, Orion.”
“Good.” My body always had a mind of its own when it came to Montana. All these years later, I felt like that young nigga with very little discipline and self-control. I had to touch her, have her, be near her in some way. “Can we talk?”
Her eyes fluttered as she released a heavy breath. Montana nodded, and I couldn’t keep the corners of my mouth from lifting as I grinned. I led her toward the back of the bar. There wasn’t anything special about it—pool tables, electronic games, and a bar that was situated in the middle of the room. The carpet was dark and covered with popcorn and nut shells. We headed to a table that was between the kitchen and bathroom areas, and I found it increasingly difficult to keep my eyes off her.
Eighteen years was a long time.
Montana had on an oversized blue, gray, and gold cashmere Chanel sweater, shorts, and thigh-high boots. I loved her legs and the fact that she had them on full display tonight. If I had to guess, she’d arrived in a trench coat that was hanging somewhere to keep her from being too chilly.
“So what is this about?” she asked softly, cupping her hands on top of the table.
“I haven’t seen you in damn near two decades.”
“And?”
“And I wanted to talk to you. See how you’ve been.” Montana remained silent as she stared at me, forcing me to continue. “Are you… still upset with me?”
She scoffed with a shake of her head, finally pulling her eyes away from me. “The ego on you to think that after eighteen years, I’d still be upset about what you did to me.”
“I’m not trying to say that.”
“Then what are you trying to say?”
Montana had never been argumentative. She didn’t raise her voice or dwell in negative energy. Not because she was weak but because she didn’t give things beyond her control the power to fuck up her mood. It was odd seeing her this way, but I had no one to blame but myself. That made me feel like shit, knowing I was capable of bringing out this side of her.
“I’m trying to say we haven’t talked to each other since that morning. If seeing me is triggering for you, I can understand that.” Her mouth twisted to the side before her expression softened. “I do want to talk to you, but if it’s too hard to be around me, I understand.”
She licked the corner of her mouth, drawing my attention, yet again, to her juicy skin-colored lips.
“I can admit that it’s nice to see you.”
“You as well. I didn’t realize just how much you increased my peace and happiness until just now. Even with you smacking the shit out of me, the way I felt when I saw you… when I kissed you…”
Her smile caused her dimples to appear. I loved those dimples. Loved kissing them and doing whatever it took to put them on display.
“Are we just… going to pretend we didn’t end the way we did? That we haven’t spent the last eighteen years apart?”
“I would like that, yes, but if we need to discuss things, I’m okay with that too.”
Her eyes rolled as she stood. I couldn’t let her get away. Not this quickly. Standing, I gripped her hand and used it to pull her close.
I had to have her close.
“Montana,” I begged softly against her ear. When I breathed against it… she shivered. “Please… don’t leave.”
Slowly, she turned in my arms, surprising me by wrapping her arms around my neck and covering my lips with hers. I had no idea how long this would last or how far it would go, but I was going to take full advantage of this moment while she was open…