“Shhh, not now. Just let me give you this. We’ve got all the time in the world to talk.”
I rock into her again and a low moan rumbles up her throat.
“I can’t even tell you how good this feels,” I tell her, pulling her down onto me harder, needing to feel every inch of her against me.
“So good,” she mutters into the crook of my neck as her hips roll with mine.
I fuck her until she passes out. I know she’s hurting after the events of the day, but I can’t lie, being buried in her for hours, having our bodies laced together, for that long, it’s the best night of my life.
As gently as I can, I slip out from beneath her, cover her so she doesn’t get cold, and pad toward my bathroom. I hate washing her scent off me, but the thought of being able to slide into bed with her again soon makes it a little easier.
I have a quick shower before pulling on a pair of sweats and slipping silently from the room.
I knock on Harley’s door and after a second she barks, “What?”
Laughing to myself, I push the door open and walk inside.
The second she sees me, she climbs from the bed, stands before me at full height ready to fight.
“What the fuck, Zayn? Don’t you think she’d been through enough today? She really doesn’t need to be fucked and chucked by you. You know she was a virgin, right? No, you probably didn’t, probably didn’t give a shit either. You can’t just go around taking whoever you want and ruining all my friends. It’s not fair, Zayn.” Her index finger pokes me harshly in the chest as she continues to rant.
“Harley. Harley...” I repeat, waiting for her to run out of steam.
“What?” she snaps, placing her hands on her waist and popping a hip out in frustration.
“It’s not like that with us.”
“Us?” She laughs but it’s anything but amused. “There’s a fucking us?”
“I’m...” I hesitate, not really wanting to tell my sister this only an hour or so after telling Poppy but I can’t see any other way out of this. “I’m in love with her.”
“What?” she screeches at a pitch I’m sure only dogs are meant to hear. “Can you even hear yourself right now?” She shakes her head and walks to the other side of the room, disbelief oozing from her. “You really expect me to believe that shit?”
“Yeah, actually. I do because it’s true.”
“But—”
“Harley, this isn’t the first time.”
Her shoulders drop and I hate that I’m doing this, but she needs to know the truth. Jake does and he was mostly okay with it, she needs to understand too.
“You’ve been going behind my back?” she asks, her brows pulling together and her bottom lip quivering. “You’ve both been lying to me?”
I don’t say anything. What can I say other than yes, we have?
“Zayn, for fuck’s sake. I told you to stay away from my friends, damn it.”
“I know, but I couldn’t. I’ve wanted Poppy for...” She looks up at me, her eyes widening in curiosity,
“For?” she prompts.
“For a long time. Since before the first time I even kissed her,” I admit.
She thinks for a second. “Your birthday party?”
I nod. “Yeah.”
“But you were horrible to her that night.”
“I know, and I’ve regretted it ever since. Then New Year’s Eve, she was my tag and things just...”
She gasps in horror. “You used her in another game?”
“Yeah, well... yeah. I wasn’t about to pass up the chance.”
“But you hate each other. You’ve fought like cats and dogs for years.”
I shrug. She’s not lying. But we didn’t hate each other for the reason she thought. We hated each other because we couldn’t accept how we really felt.
“You know what they say, Har. Hate sex is always the best.”
“I wouldn’t fucking know, asshole. Fuck it. I’m giving one of the guys from the team my V-card. Justin maybe, or Rich. Maybe both at once. See how you fucking feel.”
“Harley,” I growl, not amused in the slightest about her suggestion. “You go near them and I’ll cut their dicks off and feed it to them.”
“You’re such a hypocrite.”
“Are you in love with Justin or Rich?”
“Well, no, but...”
“There is no but here, Har. I love her. Love. Her. She’s it for me.”
“But—”
I smile at her.
“Fucking hell, Zayn.” She tugs on her hair, spinning on the spot as she tries to accept that this is happening. “Where is she now?”
“Asleep in my bed.”
“Well... you’d better get back. We don’t want her waking up alone after everything.”
I back up toward the door, not needing to be told twice to go back to my girl, especially when she’s naked in my bed.
“Har?” I ask. “Don’t be too hard on her. It’s been killing her not to tell you. She didn’t want to disappoint you.”
“Damn you, Zayn Hunter. Damn you.” As I close the door behind me, I don’t miss the smile that twitches at her lips. “You’d better be the best boyfriend to ever walk the planet because if you hurt her, you’re going to be the one choking on your own dick.”
I can’t help laughing as I push my bedroom door open, although it falls the second my eyes land on a pair of gray ones.
Poppy pulls the sheets back, revealing her naked body and inviting me back into bed.
My joggers are on the floor in a second and in the next she’s in my arms, her lips on mine where they belong.
“I love you too, Zayn,” she whispers, making my entire world tilt a few degrees.
36
Poppy
The weight of Zayn’s arm resting over my waist presses me into the mattress, and despite everything, I wake with a smile on my face.
I told myself over and over last night that coming in here was a bad idea, but as I laid in my own bed, all I could think about was being in his arms. I craved the feeling of safety he brings me. I needed him and the longer I put it off, the more desperate I became until I found myself slipping from my own bed and into his.
Part of me expected him to send me away after how I’ve treated him, but thankfully, that wasn’t what happened because it seemed that he needed me as much as I needed him.
My eyes flutter open and my breath catches when I find his dark, hungry eyes staring back at me.
“Morning, baby.”
My cheeks heat as memories from our late-night antics slam into me. I’ll be amazed if I’m able to walk away from this bed this morning after the number of orgasms he gave me.
“Good night, huh?” he says, running his knuckles across my heated cheek.
“I mean, it was okay.”
His brows rise in amusement.
“Okay?”
“Maybe I need a reminder.” I push against his chest and attempt to roll him onto his back, but he doesn’t move. “What? What’s wrong?” I ask, trying not to allow the hurt that wants to coil around my heart at his obvious rejection.