“You don’t have to say that to make me feel better. I know you and Jayci are…together and—”
“Not anymore. Listen to me, Echo. I love you.”
Her lips part on a soft gasp. “No. You’re just saying that.”
“I’m not, shortcake. I’ve never said those words to Jayci—or any other woman I’ve been with—so I’m not blurting BS to make you feel better. You’ve opened my eyes, and I want you to know what’s in my heart. Jayci isn’t important to me. None of those girls were. But you were always beside me. Now let me be here with you.”
Echo searches my eyes. A duo of fresh tears falls down her cheeks. “You always have been.”
“Not in the way I should have. How did you stay such an amazingly loyal, wonderful friend when I kept hurting you?”
“Because I love you. And I kept hoping that, one day, you’d love me, too.”
“I do,” I assure her in a fierce whisper as I cup her face in my hands. “I love you more than I realized. More than you know. More than I can tell you with a few words. If you still want me, I won’t hold back from showing you how much. And we’ll never let the Jaycis and the Xavians of the world come between us again.”
Chapter Nine
Echo
If I still want him? I’d say that Hayes can’t possibly be serious, but the masculine angles of his face I’ve memorized because I’ve stared at them a million times says he is.
“After everything, you’re really asking if I want you? Hayes, I have since I was old enough to understand what that even meant. I don’t need experience with anyone else to know I always will.”
“Shortcake…” He sounds choked and humbled, like this moment means everything to him, the way it does to me. Is that possible?
His stare fastens on mine again, his eyes now dark with desire. Yes, it is. And it’s real.
Hayes has always been intense, doing everything with determination and purpose. His expression now tells me he intends to make love to me with that same zeal and fervor.
I gulp and shiver because there’s nothing to be nervous about. My fantasy of being the woman Hayes Elliot falls for is finally coming true.
A smile takes my face hostage, curling up my lips with abandon. We should probably talk more, mutually agree that our friendship comes first, no matter what. But there’s no need to question that. I know it does. Just like Hayes knows I’ve waited a half a lifetime for him to want me back.
I launch myself against him, wrapping my arms and legs around his muscled shoulders and narrow hips before planting my lips on his with a moan. He stumbles back for an unsteady moment, groping for balance. But Hayes is athletic. He’s mastered many sports over the last decade, so it doesn’t take him long to find his footing. The instant he does, he takes my mouth, opening his lips over mine.
His kiss turns ruthless and demanding. Against my heart, his pounds. When I rock my hips, desperate for the friction I need to ease the ache only he’s ever made me feel, he’s as hard as steel. And when I claw at his shoulders, Hayes grips my ass in his palms, his fingers biting into me as he strokes himself against my pussy with a groan.
It’s not enough.
He falls back to the bed with a frantic curse. I tumble on top of him, straddling his hips as our arms and legs tangle. He melds his mouth to mine again. I open my lips and my thighs wider, inviting him deeper and shamelessly rubbing myself against him.
Please, please…lift my skirt, unzip your shorts, and end my years of aching need.
As if he hears my silent pleading, Hayes rolls me to my back, diving deeper into our kiss and drowning me in his masculine taste. He’s like spice on my tongue. Potent. Intoxicating. Addictive. But he’s so much better than my fantasies because he’s so incredibly real.
This close to him, I feel dizzy. Euphoric. My thoughts stop. My body takes over, my heart leading the way.
He slides a spaghetti strap down my arm, baring my shoulder, along with the tan lines from my bikini. I hold my breath as he does the same with the other. Only a few tiny buttons hold my dress in place and conceal my breasts from his hungry stare.
He pauses, his stare drilling into mine. I’m afraid to blink in case this is a vivid dream. But Hayes’s expression is too penetrating to be anything but honest.
He reaches for the top button on my dress. “You sure about this?”
My heart kicks into overdrive. “Positive.”
“Shortcake, it’s okay if you’re not ready. We don’t have to do this until I make it up to you. I’ll be patient. The most important thing to me is earning your trust and making you happy.”