“Christ, Mila! You should’ve told me the second she left,” I snap. I break out into a run, and when the cold night air rushes over me, worry claws up my spine.
I yank my car keys out of my pocket and run to the vehicle. Getting behind the wheel, the engine roars to life, and the tires squeal as I pull out of the parking area. I search along the road as I drive, hoping she just decided to walk home, and nothing bad happened to her.
Dark thoughts start to swarm in my head, making my heart race with fear. I’m about to have a panic attack from worry when I find her down the next street, heading in the direction of Trinity’s campus. For a moment, I feel relief ripple through me.
If Mila didn’t see Jade leave the club, Jade would be walking home alone. At fucking night! God knows what could’ve happened to her.
When the headlights of my car shine over her, she doesn’t glance back, but instead, wraps her arms around her waist and keeps walking.
It’s fucking cold outside, and the jeans and silk shirt she’s wearing can’t possibly offer her any warmth. I swerve the car around her then bring it to a stop a couple of feet ahead of her. Shoving the door open, I jump out.
Jade stops walking, her eyes on me as I stalk toward her. I stop an inch from bumping into her. Shrugging out of my jacket, I drape it around her shoulders.
Tilting her head back, she stares up at me with her eyes sparking with anger. Even in the darkness, I can see how pale her cheeks are from the cold.
“Left arm,” I grumble, wanting to get her warm before we talk. Thankfully Jade listens, and I pull the sleeve up her arm, before moving the right. “Right arm.” With the way too big fabric of my jacket covering her, I feel a little better but then growl, my voice low and hoarse, “Don’t ever do that again,”
A hurt look ripples over her face as she snaps, “Fine.”
“Why did you leave the club?” I ask, wanting to know what had her so upset she’d rather fucking walk home than ask for a ride.
Her features tighten, and her eyes narrow on me before she turns her glares to the road. “I’m tired and wasn’t about to watch you and Jessica hook up.”
Her words are a shock. A good one that makes all my anger fade like mist before the sun.
“Look at me.” My eyes burn into the top of her head until she lifts her face and brings her simmering gaze to mine. “You got jealous?” I ask to make sure I’m not just hearing things.
Things I so desperately want to hear.
Fuck. Please say yes. Please. I can’t keep pretending to be friends a minute longer.
Letting out a sigh, she shakes her head at me, then snaps, “Yes, Hunter. I got jealous.”
Lifting my hands to her face, I frame her cheeks, my fingers splaying into her hair, and then I crush my mouth to hers.
I always thought a kiss was just a kiss.
Until Jade.
The second my lips touch hers, everything around us fades away. The cold. The street. The past.
Everything, but Jade.
My need to touch her, to make her mine is demanding, and filled with desperation. Jade parts her lips for me, and without a second’s hesitation, my tongue sweeps inside, staking its claim.
I move one hand to the back of her neck, and I hold onto her like she’s a lifeline.
Because she is.
She’s always been my lifeline. Even during our fights, she was my everything. I’d rather spend a lifetime of fighting with Jade than a second without her fire, bringing warmth to my life.
Jade’s hands come up, and she grabs hold of my biceps as her body presses into mine.
I nip hungrily at her bottom lip before plunging my tongue back inside the inviting warmth of her mouth.
Fuck.
The intensity of the moment crashes over me, and for a moment, I rock on my feet. I wrap my other arm around Jade’s waist and pull her tightly against me.
I’m never letting you go again.
Never.
I pour the words into the kiss, and Jade pushes her body onto her tiptoes to get closer to me. Her fingers trail into my hair as she meets the strokes of my tongue with her own.
Never in a million years would I have guessed the passion behind our fights would lead to this moment.
This is why our fire never burned out but instead kept growing out of control. It was bound to destroy us or fuse us together.
I’m so fucking relieved it’s the latter.
Our lips crush against each other, our bodies melting together. Jade clings to me as I move my hands down to her ass, and gripping hold of her, I lift her. She wraps her legs around my waist, her hands grabbing fistfuls of my hair as her tongue continues to lick the inside of my mouth.
The heat of her core pressing against my abs has my cock going hard as steel at record speed.
Fuck, I feel like superman.
Jade’s always challenged me. She took me to the highest highs and lowest lows. My blood rushes through my body with want for this woman. Wanting her all to myself, I break the kiss and walk us to the car. “We need to get off the street.”
Before I take you right here.
Jade nods, her breaths exploding over my skin as she ducks her face into the crook of my neck.
Reaching the vehicle, I drop her to her feet and open the passenger door. When I look down at Jade and see her swollen pink lips, I can’t resist and press my mouth to hers. Just a single hard kiss because I’d much rather continue this in the privacy of our suite, instead of next to a street where anyone can see us.
When I have her seated in the passenger side, I reach for the seat belt and pull it around her. Once I have the belt clicked into place, I pull back and look at her. Her flushed cheeks have me leaning in and pressing another quick kiss to her mouth.
Silence fills the car on the drive back to the campus. I park the vehicle and climb out. Rushing around the front, I go to open the passenger door. When Jade gets out, I take hold of her hand and walk into our dorm.
When we step into the elevator, Jade glances up at me. “Just so I don’t misunderstand things, what just happened?”
“We happened,” I murmur, my voice still hoarse from the intensity between us.
“We happened?” she asks, confusion flitting over her features.
Not wanting to scare her off, I bite my declaration of love back. It might be too soon for Jade to hear. She needs time to get used to the idea of us as a couple.
Us.
A couple.
A smile begins to play over my face. “Yeah, we,” I say as the doors slide open. I take hold of Jade’s hand again and walk to our suite. Using my free hand, I swipe the keycard through the lock, and once we’re inside and the door is closed behind us, I turn to face Jade and spell things out for her, “You and me. It’s happening, Jade.”
Chapter 21
JADE
Hunter wraps his arms around me and pulls me against his solid chest.
Hollllleeeeyyyyyy shit.
I can’t believe what’s happening right now. Hunter just kissed me like I’ve never been kissed before. My heart’s a happy mess, but worry still blurs the edges of what could be my happily-ever-after.
“Are you sure?” I ask, concerned that he might just be reacting to residual emotions he has left from all our fights.
Turning his head, he presses a kiss to the crook of my neck. My eyes drift shut from the amazing tingles, caused by Hunter’s lips on my skin.