CHAPTER 17

“Six,” I murmur when the credits roll. “You asleep?” No answer. Eddie Carlton hogs half of the sectional. I can’t be annoyed, because he’s the reason Emily’s breath warms my chest through my undershirt, that her hand’s wrapped around my wrist, that her legs are curled over mine. I stop the movie and scoop her up, blanket and all, and carry her did the right thing by protecting her. Right now, it’s hard to believe. The closet door is ajar, so I step inside. The first thing in it is a garment bag. I tug down the zipper, and the purple dress inside twists my guts another sharp turn. After spending the evening at prom with Carla, I didn’t think my night could get any worse. But the look on Emily’s face gutted me. There’s a real possibility Emily will never forgive me. She wanted to go tonight. I would’ve given almost anything to take her. Except I couldn’t take her—for a million reasons that now seem ridiculous. Her Dad, this thing with Carla—none of it matters when I cross the room and look at her. She’s rich, and I’m poor. She feels everything, and I guard my emotions. She’s aching to be seen, and I long to be left alone. My chest hurts when I’m with her and even more when I’m not, and I don’t know how the hell to live my life when it feels inextricably linked with hers. Emily shivers, and I pull the covers up over her. “I know you’re upset with me,” I murmur. “But I need things to be okay with us. Because if they’re not, if you’re not…” I shove both hands through my hair, at a loss to finish that sentence. “What you said about me wanting to control things—you’re right. But the thing I hate more than losing control is the thought of you hurting when I could fix it.” My name on her sleepy lips has me leaning over the bed. “Did you dance with her?” she mumbles. I have a sudden urge to trace the curve of her lower lip with my finger but settle for brushing aside a piece of hair that’s falling across her face. “Yeah.” “Did you kiss her?” Emily’s fingertips graze my bicep. I swear it’s an accident until they linger. Then they drift up, over my chest. My muscles leap in response, and I suck in a shallow breath. “Yes.” Her touch moves down my chest, tracing the lines of my pecs as if drawing me through her closed eyes. The only things between us are her thin tank top and my shirt. When her fingers reach my abs, my eyes nearly roll back in my head. “Did you fuck—” “No. Never.” It’s not a statement—it’s a plea for everything to be okay, to go back to the time before I realized how much she meant, how high the stakes got when I wasn’t looking. I can resist her innocent exploration, at least until her hand finds the hem of my shirt. When her fingers graze the bare skin over my clenched abs, right above the waistband of my pants, I want to growl. Tonight’s a war of emotions. My dick has no business being in this game, but I can’t help it. It wants her. I want her. Both of us are sick of holding back. When she speaks again, her voice is steady, her words a vow. “She can’t have you.” My lips brush the shell of her ear. I love the way she shivers. “Why’s that?” “Because you’re mine forever, Tim.” I stop breathing. I’ve told a lot of lies to survive, but the biggest one is that I can keep my distance from her. I did something tonight, and I can never take it back. I’d go to war for Emily Carlton, on this and any other day. Whatever I am, I would lay it down to protect her. Whatever pieces are left of me after tonight, they’re hers to collect, to catalog, to keep in a bottle. Silently, I cover her mouth with mine. Her soft lips part with the slightest pressure, as if she was waiting for me to ask, waiting to welcome me in. Her light, floral scent is making my senses swim, deepening the conviction that I can’t survive another second without this girl in my arms. I taste her mouth, explore her, mark her as mine. She not only lets me, she moans when I do it. You’re mine too forever My Emily. I lose it, the last of my control snapping. I unleash the need and desperation I’ve repressed for way too long. My hand tangles in her hair on the pillow, and I tear my mouth from hers to trace her jaw, the sweet arched curve of her neck. The skin that would’ve been revealed by that sexy fucking dress in the closet, the one she bought to wear for me. “Forgive me,” I bite out. It’s not a request, it’s a demand. My teeth drag along her collarbone, and she arches against my lips. “No.” But she pulls me closer. I shift over her, straddling her while I bring my mouth back to hers as if I can persuade her with my lips, if not my words. She’s fully awake now, meeting each slide of my lips and stroke of skin with one of her own. And I sure as fuck respond. I drag the covers down and roll her so she’s on top, my greedy hands yanking her hips against mine. The softness between her thighs is torture. I want to taste her, to take her, to bury myself in her and shut out the world until I’m good and satisfied. “That feels so good. Don’t stop.” Her sleep-filled voice is colored with arousal. My greedy mouth trails down the front of her tank top, the subtle valley between her breasts. She arches against me like she can’t get enough. This? I want to say. This is nothing. The things I’ll do to this girl. “I’ll keep going if you forgive me.” Her sigh makes my cock twitch. “Someday.” “Now.” My teeth scrape along her skin, and she gasps. “When you never leave me again.” My heart aches, but I laugh through it as I slide a hand under her tank top, my breath hitching as I graze the curve of her breast. It’s strange how her strength makes me give but her softness makes me rough. Fierce. Damned devout. “You realize unless I stay with you until the day we die, it’s impossible to fulfill that promise.” She pulls back long enough to look down into my face, her hair hanging in a curtain around us. “Perfect.” My heart hammers against my back as I soak in the sight of her, flushed and beautiful and wanting. I shift up on one elbow and cup her in my hand. The softness of her is unreal, even before I rub a thumb across her nipple. She moans, loud, and I drag her mouth back to mine to swallow the sound. If it carries down the hall, it’ll ruin all of this. All of us. “I could make you forgive me right now,” I murmur against her lips once she’s quiet again. “I could touch you until you’re only mine, always mine. You’d never come again without seeing my face, fucking hearing my words.” My voice is urgent, and she blinks down at me, her lips swollen and cheeks flushed. “Yeah. You could.” The truth of that hangs between us. It takes every ounce of control in me to shift out from under her and cross to the door. “You said you wouldn’t leave.” Her whisper has me turning to see her propped up on her elbows, hair wild, eyes bright. I open the door and stare down the hall. Eddie and Haley’s room is at the other end of the hall, and Sophia’s in between. Nothing. Darkness. Silence. All of that could change in a heartbeat. I shut the door. Then strip off my shirt, my pants. The wariness on her face is replaced with hunger as her gaze drops to the obvious tent in my boxer briefs. I laugh through my clenched jaw. “Yeah, that’s not what tonight’s for.” Most promises are made to be broken, but I push that from my mind because I can’t entertain any more dark thoughts. I lay down beside her, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear before I nudge her to face the other way. Then I wrap my arms around her so her back warms my chest and her ass nestles against my aching cock. I drag the covers over us, a flimsy wall of protection against the harsh world. The world can go fuck itself. Tonight, the sheets are our shield. And this girl is my heart, forever.