“Autumn, the day you see God is the day I go to jail.”
She rolled her eyes at me. “I’m not going to be your little sister forever, Christian.”
“I hate to break it to you, but you’ll always be my little sister.”
She rolled her eyes again. “Julian, can you tell him that one day I’m going to have a boyfriend, and he’s going to love me something fierce?”
Julian narrowed his eyes at her. “I’m going to go with your brother on this one, kid. No little shit is going to make you see God on our watch.”
“What does God have to do with having a boyfriend? We’re not even religious.”
I laughed, I couldn’t help it. The shit that came out of her mouth was hilarious.
“Are you guys still fighting?” Autumn asked, sitting on my bed.
“Can you not tell? Look at your brother, he looks like my worst nightmare.”
Autumn narrowed her eyes at me. “I think you should go to her house, tell her how sorry you are, and then remind her of why she loves you.”
“You think it’s that simple?”
“Christian, love is easy. It’s you who’s making it hard.”
“Bro, you just got schooled by an eleven-year-old.”
“I’m almost twelve, Julian, if you haven’t noticed.”
“Twelve.” He smiled, appeasing her. “Such a big girl.”
“Only three more years and I can have a boyfriend.”
“Says who?” I countered, eyeing her.
“Our parents.”
“Over my dead body.”
“Christian! I’m allowed to be in love too!”
“At fifteen, you’re not going to be in love, Autumn.”
“Why not? You were.”
I jerked back from her response, realizing she was right.
For the rest of the day, I thought about Kinley until I suddenly found myself on her doorstep.
Taking my little sister’s advice.
—Kinley—
I opened the door. “Christian,” I breathlessly stated, at a loss for words. Instantly, I gazed into his blue-green eyes that always did things to me.
My heart fluttered, my stomach dropped, and my mouth parted the moment he greeted, “Hey, sweetness.”
I hid back a smile, unaware of how to proceed with him. Blurting, “What are you doing here?” instead.
He flinched from the sharp tone of my voice, not trying to hide his emotions, unlike me. Which had always been a consistent trait with Christian. He never tried hiding from me. Always showing me his true colors.
I didn’t know what to say. We’d barely spoken since my birthday, and when we did it was short and awkward. Neither one of us knew how to proceed. This was a first for both of us, and it was obvious with how we were acting with each other.
I didn’t want to lose him, but I didn’t want to lose Jax either, and it was unfair he expected me to choose.
I was allowed to have friends outside of him, and he needed to understand that if things were going to continue between us.
“I can’t stop thinking about you,” he expressed out of nowhere, warming my heart. “I’m sorry about your birthday, Kinley. That wasn’t supposed to happen.”
“I know.” I nodded, leaning against the doorframe. “I’m sorry too. I hate fighting with you. Especially over Jax. It’s so silly, Christian.”
“The last thing I want is to talk about Jax right now.”
“Then why are you here?” I asked in a detached tone.
“Come on.” He cocked his head to the side with a sly grin. “Who do you think you’re talking to?”
“What do you want me to say?”
“That you forgive me.”
I swallowed hard, taking in every last word that fell from his lips. By the expression on his face, he was being sincere.
“I love you, Kinley, and I don’t want to lose you. Especially to fucking Jax.”
“How many times do I have to tell you it’s not like that between us?”
“Then prove it to me.”
“How?”
He smiled, stepping into my house before closing the door behind him to lean against it. “By letting me have another one of your firsts.”
I arched an eyebrow, smirking. “What are you saying, Christian?”
Leaning forward, he whispered in my ear, “I want to make love to my girl.”
“Whoa, you go from zero to a hundred like no one I’ve ever met before.”
“Let me take care of you, sweetness.”
I thought about it for a second. “What happens after?”
He grinned. “I make you come again.”
“Christian.” I blushed. “You know what I mean.”
With another honest expression, he vowed, “I’ll love you forever.”
“What about Jax?”
“What about him?”
“He’s still going to be a big part of my life.”
“As long as I have a bigger part in it, then we won’t have a problem.”
“Of course. I want to love you forever too. I’m yours,” I stated with sincerity.
“Not yet, but you will be soon.” With that, he gripped onto my ass and pulled me against his body. Wrapping my legs around his waist, he walked us back to my bedroom.
He knew we were alone. My aunt was at work. She was always at work.
With each step he made toward my room, I felt the butterflies bubbling in my stomach. I wasn’t nervous, more like anxious for what was to come.
“I missed you,” was all I could say as he laid me down on my bed before he hovered over my small frame, caging me in with his arms around my face.
“I missed you too, baby.”
I was only wearing a flimsy sundress, and it was easy to throw over my head after he kissed me. Once I was naked, he eyed me with a predatory regard that had my thighs clenching. He did this to me every time I was bare for him, as if he was taking me in for the first time.
I loved it.
Nobody made me feel what Christian could. At seventeen-years-old, I was already aware no one else ever would.
I could sense he was hesitating probably on my behalf, knowing this was the first time for me. I wanted to feel him in every possible manner. I had for months now, but he never tried more than just us messing around. He respected me, and coming from a guy like him, it meant everything.
Recognizing his uncertainty, I made it easy for him. Tugging his lips back to mine, I coaxed, “Touch me, Christian.”
“Where?” he said into my mouth.
“Anywhere you want.”
He smiled as he slipped his tongue past my parting lips. Working it in ways that had my legs spreading and wrapping around his waist. My arms quickly followed, doing the same around his neck.
No space or distance between us.
He kissed me gently, adoringly, fervently.
Christian pulled back a little, resting his forehead on mine to look deep into my eyes. There was a hunger in his stare that I’d become familiar with. Although he wasn’t even touching me, I felt him all over.
I craved his touch.
His taste.
The feel of him on top of me and in between my legs.
All his adoration.