“So, I chickened out what I meant to tell you and only half-said it. The last few days have been shit, and I still can’t quite believe it. But, I’m not gonna wait to honor the last advice Dave gave me. I know maybe you’re not ready, but—”
My words burst forth, interrupting him swiftly. “I am ready. I guess I’m a chicken too.” I hadn’t even scrambled up the nerve. Everything felt as if it were spinning inside of me, a swirl of emotion with all of my old fears tangling into it. On the heels of a deep breath, I finally let my heart speak. “I love you. Maybe I don’t date, but I’ll date you.”
I didn’t realize I’d started crying until I felt Walker’s thumb under one of my eyes and felt the cool path of the teardrop smear over my cheek as he brushed it away. “Hey, don’t cry,” he murmured.
I smiled and felt like an idiot. “They’re not sad tears. I promise I’m just—” I circled my hand in the air. “Overwhelmed, I guess.”
His eyes held mine for a blurry moment before he dipped his head and brought his lips to mine. Our kiss started out gentle, almost careful. The moment I sighed and his tongue tangled sensually with mine, it went from gentle to deep and searching. Suddenly, we were frantic.
For me, it was a combination of the piercing emotional ache of the last few days—no matter how misplaced—and the reckoning with my own feelings. My fierce need and emotion intensified with learning his best friend, who’d only married weeks prior, had died. I needed to lose myself in Walker, to dive into the flames and know I would come out on the other side with him.
I didn’t remember much, other than piercing sensations burning through me. Somehow, we were only half-dressed. Walker spun with me in his arms and pressed my back against the wall. With enough force, the shelf beside us shook. The clinking of boxes of wine, beer, and liquor punctured my awareness.
My jeans were hanging off one leg, and Walker had shoved my panties to the side. The rough denim of his jeans abraded the insides of my thighs. The underside of his velvety, hot shaft slid through the slick juices of my arousal.
I stared into his eyes, and my heart gave a sure, steady thump—as if in recognition of this moment, this man, and how he’d become so much of everything to me.
“I love you,” he whispered, just before adjusting the angle of his hips and surging into me in one stroke.
I cried out at the sense of fullness, and the fusion of our bodies together. Forcing my eyes open again, I pressed a kiss to his lips. “I love you too. I didn’t mean to, but there’s no going back now.”
Walker’s lips curled in a slow grin. The look in his eyes was intimate and a little dirty, sending my belly spinning in flips. “There’s definitely no going back.”
Our coupling was rushed and messy. My climax burst through me, shattering me inside and out as I felt the heat of his release filling me.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Walker
I pulled myself together quickly after we heard the door to the hallway opening. Jade had been as frantic as me, but she now stood before me fully dressed. Her cheeks were flushed, her hair was a tousled mess, and her lips were puffy from our kisses. She stared at me, her stunning green eyes wide and vulnerable.
“Who the hell is that?” I whispered. I’d slammed the door to this room shut in a hot second once we heard footsteps coming our way.
“Griffin must’ve forgotten something. If it was anybody else, they would’ve wondered why you slammed the door.” She sagged against the wall when we heard the door close again. “Can we go home now?”
“Of course. Is home your place or mine?” I reached for her hand, reeling her to me.
She relaxed into my embrace easily. She tucked her head against my shoulder and took a deep breath. “It doesn’t matter. I just want to be where you are.”
My heart felt cracked wide-open. Jade’s presence filled all the cracked spaces, and I would never be the same.
“In that case, let’s go to your place. I left in a rush, so I’m not sure if my bed is made, or if I have anything decent for food.”
Jade lifted her head, peering up at me. She placed her hand over my heart again, her gaze sobering. “I’m so very sorry about Dave.”
“So am I.” I curled my hand over hers. Although the loss of Dave would be with me always, Jade would help ease the ache of it.
I leaned against the reception desk in the vet clinic, watching as Everett walked with his crooked gait across the floor. When he reached us, he sniffed my feet, looking up expectantly.
Glancing at Shay, I commented, “He seems to want something.”
Shay cast a sheepish smile over her shoulder. “I may have been a bit too generous with the treats.” She handed me a treat that looked to be compressed fruits and nuts over the counter.
Leaning down, I held it out on my palm and Everett grabbed it with both paws. After he ate it, he wandered off to investigate the magazine basket in the corner.
The main door opened, and Jade came walking through. Her cheeks were flushed, and her hair was pulled into a ponytail with loose strands falling around her face.
“Oh my God,” she said with a sigh as she reached my side. “It’s soooo hot out.”
“According to my weather app, the heat index is 105,” Shay called over her shoulder.
Jade rested her hips against the counter. We were still adjusting to the state of our relationship. Or rather, I should say, the reality that we loved each other and even had a relationship.
My prickly, guarded, and feisty Jade had a smile teasing in the corners of her mouth and a glint in her eyes. I leaned over. “Hey,” I whispered right before I brushed my lips over hers.
Just that subtle touch sent electricity zinging through my body. I was becoming accustomed to a state of almost constant anticipation when I was around her.
While I was orienting to my feelings for Jade and her presence in my life, I was still adjusting to Dave’s passing. It had been almost a month since he died. I missed him so much, and a part of me almost kept forgetting he was gone. Since we hadn’t seen each other daily for years, I was accustomed to not seeing him on a regular basis. I’d think of something I wanted to mention to him, and then I’d have to remind myself he was gone. Although Dave’s death was a huge blow, Jade was a quiet, steady light in my life.
When I lifted my head, I saw Shay smiling at us. “Hey, Jade,” she said cheerily.
Jade’s cheeks flushed slightly, and she sighed. “Hey.” When Shay kept on grinning, she added, “It was just a kiss. You don’t have to look so excited.”
Shay shrugged. “I know, but I love it. You swore off men, and now you’re totally into Walker.”
Jade glanced over at Everett, who had climbed on one of the waiting room chairs and was looking out the window toward the parking lot. “So what’s the plan for him?”
Nimble though he was, he had a distinct limp and didn’t move very quickly. If he were left out in the wild, he wouldn’t fare too well. Shay leaned against the counter opposite us. “For now, he’ll stay here. There aren’t too many rescue programs that will take opossums.”