He sets his cup down and scoots closer to me, taking my cup from my hands. He lifts his hands and cups my face, skimming my cheekbones with his thumbs. “Meg, I thought of you all the time. I never stopped thinking of you, especially after our kiss. I thought I made that very clear.”
His honesty hits me in the chest.
I look down at my lap. “And I thought I made it clear that the kiss…scared me.”
When I glance back up, he’s frowning. “What scared you, bunny?”
“The kiss. No, not the kiss, but…how it made me feel,” I try to explain with a frown.
He leans in close. “And how did it make you feel?”
I bite my lip and slowly raise my eyes to meet his. Taking a deep breath, I release my lip. “Like I…liked you more than just a friend.”
He grins. “Do you still, like me more than just a friend?”
I roll my eyes and his grin widens. “You’re an asshat, you know that?”
He nods. “Answer the question, Megladon.”
God, this man is infuriating. But I wouldn’t have him any other way. “Yes, I still like you more than just a friend. Even though—”
I’m cut off as he closes the few inches between us, his lips finding mine. He’s gentle and slow, almost tentative as if I might slip away at any moment. Clark’s a large guy and it strikes me at this moment that he could hurt me if he wanted to, he could crush me in his bare hands, but instead, his hands cradle my face as though I am made of glass. His lips caress mine, worshipping me. This is so much more than the eighth-grade crush I had. I’ve fallen harder than I thought possible for this goofy, sweet, slightly annoying but sexy-as-fuck man.
My thoughts snap me out of my anger over my car. All my emotions become focused on wanting Clark, needing Clark. I crawl onto his lap and straddle him as I deepen our kiss. His hands fly to my ass and grip it as I begin grinding against him. Our tongues war for control of a kiss that can’t be controlled.
“I need you, right now,” I breathe as I reach between us and unzip his jeans. I’m suddenly very grateful for my skirt and the easy access it allows. I take his erection in one hand and shove my underwear to the side with my other hand, guiding him into me as I sink down.
He groans. “Fuck, Megs,” he groans as he begins moving my hips up and down while he thrusts up into me.
Our movements quickly become frantic and needy. We’re both chasing a release that’s twenty-four hours overdue. And now it’s elevated with the raw emotions from last night and tonight. The only sounds in the room are from our heavy breathing, moaning, and bodies slapping together. He reaches between us and begins to slowly circle my clit.
“Don’t stop!” I cry out as I move faster, needing my release and needing it now. He doesn’t as he keeps one hand on my ass. I count the strokes and make it to four before I completely lose it. My body splintering into a million pieces as I scream his name into the silent void around us.
“Fuck, Meg!” he cries out as my muscles undulate around him. He comes a moment later, slamming my body hard onto his cock as he pulses inside me.
Neither of us moves as our breathing slows. Our foreheads press together. When I open my eyes, I find Clark’s looking at me.
He runs a finger over my lips. “Let’s shower. You’re staying here tonight. We are bolting that motherfucking door and you aren’t going to argue with me. OK?”
I nod. “OK.”
“Good.” He helps me to stand and we walk to the bathroom where he lovingly undresses me. He places kisses on each inch of skin as he exposes it. We step into the hot water and wash each other, neither of us saying anything.
It’s not until we’re dried off and lying on his bed that he speaks to me.
“What should we do tonight?” he asks.
I should be studying but for the first time in…forever, I don’t want to study. I pick up his laptop and place it on the bed. “Let’s watch a movie.”
His eyes widen. “Really?”
I nod.
He pushes the laptop toward me. “You pick.”
I grin and browse the selection until I stumble upon an old movie that I love. Say Anything.
He laughs. “Di made me watch this about a million times.”
I look at him. “You don’t remember, do you?”
“Remember what?” he asks.
I shake my head as I press play. He pulls me back against him and leans down toward my ear. “Of course, I remember.” I grin. Di had made us watch this when we were eleven. Every night for a week, he would stand outside my window and play songs on this ridiculous fake boombox that was actually a CD player.
We watch the movie and then another, and I finally fall asleep during the third.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Clark
I roll over and find the bed empty, again. It’s Monday morning and it’s still early. I hear noises in the kitchen and then laughter. I get out of bed and meander toward the sounds.
Peering into the kitchen, I find Grif, Evan, and Meg cooking breakfast. Meg’s wearing a rolled-down pair of my gym shorts and one of my t-shirts. She looks adorable in oversized clothing.
“Good morning, sleepyhead,” she says.
I sniff the air. “Pancakes?”
She nods. “And eggs and bacon. Grif went to the store.”
“Nice.”
I walk up behind her and wrap my arms around her shoulders. “What time is your first class?”
She shrugs. “I’m skipping it.”
I freeze. “You are skipping class? You’ve never skipped class a day in your life.”
She turns to me. “There’s a first time for everything. I’ll be fine. I have like a hundred and ten percent in the class. I could skip all the classes for the rest of the semester and still pass.”
“OK.”
“What about you?” she asks as she pops a piece of bacon in her mouth.
“I don’t have class till two.”
“Good.”
I look down at her. To be honest, I’m worried about her sudden change. She was pretty upset last night. I decide to let it go. We can discuss it later. We all grab plates and start eating.
There’s a knock on the door, and I cautiously answer it. It’s the windshield replacement guy.
“That was fast,” I state.
“Oh, my insurance called first thing this morning and the windshield people had a cancellation, so lucky me,” she says. “Dad says if I can bring my car home this week, then he can get it repainted.”
“That’s good.”
I walk with Megan to her car as she chats with the man. He has the windshield replaced in no time at all and leaves us standing to admire his handiwork. Megan walks around to the driver’s side and opens the door. I see her frown as she reaches under her seat and pulls out a note.
“What’s that?”
Her hand trembles as she snaps a photo of it.
“Megan, what is that?” I ask more sternly as I round the car and snatch the note out of her hand.
“You were a fucking cunt back then when you wouldn’t give it up and you are an even bigger bitch now. Next time, it won’t just be your house or car, it’ll be that fucking pretty face of yours after I have my cock shoved down your throat,” I whisper read the note, my anger growing with each word that I read. Did she leave her car unlocked? There is little doubt now that the culprit is Anthony. “We need to give this note to the police,” I add.