“You’re never leaving me again.”
“Never,” I promise—and it’s an easy promise to make.
I know now where I belong is with him.
Always.
He picks me up, cupping my butt, and I wrap my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck. He kisses me as he lowers me to the bed.
He presses his forehead to mine and breathes me in.
“We’ve had a lot of heartbreaks in our lives,” he whispers, “but losing you is one thing I know I could never survive.”
I close my eyes at the pain in his words. It stabs me like a knife, though I know he doesn’t mean for it to. I hate I’ve put him through this, that I was so selfish.
He rubs his thumb over my bottom lip, his eyes roaming my face like he’s memorizing my face.
I clutch his wet hair between my fingers.
“Are you going to stare at me all day?” My voice is aching and desperate.
His lips quirk. “Maybe I am.”
He presses his lips forcefully to mine and my breath leaves my body.
“I’m so afraid you’re going to disappear from beneath me,” he admits.
I take his face in my hands. “I’m not going anywhere.”
He swallows thickly, his hands sliding down my torso.
His hand latches around my hip and he curls one finger into a belt loop.
“Confession—I’ve missed you so fucking much.”
I inhale a shaky breath. “I know. I’m sorry.”
A dam seems to break in him and he presses his lips forcefully to mine with a bruising pressure. My mouth opens beneath his and I breathe him in. My body melts into him like it’s been aching for his touch.
He pops the button on my jeans and slides the zipper down. He pulls them off my hips and I wiggle, helping him get them down my legs.
I shiver, the cool air of the room combined with my damp body making me feel like a Popsicle.
Jace clucks his tongue and presses his lips to the crook of my neck. He kisses his way over my breast and down my stomach.
The cold I felt a moment ago ceases to exist.
He curls his fingers into the sides of my underwear and removes them in one sure movement. I sit up and reach for the back of my bra. It falls down my arms and I toss it aside. His eyes devour me like I’m a feast and he’s starving.
I bite my lip and creep closer to him. He’s frozen, only his eyes following my movements.
I reach for his belt and undo it, then get to work on the button and zipper.
He steps back and kicks off his jeans and boxer-briefs.
Before I can blink he’s on me and my back hits the bed.
“I feel like I haven’t touched you in years.”