Her face filled with relief, and her tense shoulders drooped. “Oh, thank goodness. I—” She stopped suddenly and raised her eyes to meet mine. They were wary but also curious as she studied me. “How did you know I wear it all the time?”
Son of a fucking bitch.
No sooner had Paisley voiced the question than we heard a lot of shuffling and fast footsteps before the door slammed shut. Cowards.
7
Paisley
Hack’s explanation for how he knew I loved French toast had been a stretch, but I believed him since I figured a hacker could get all kinds of details off receipts and stuff. I almost always had bread, eggs, milk, and syrup in my house. Plus, it wasn’t unusual for me to order French toast on the rare times I went out for breakfast, so it wasn’t a leap to assume it was one of my favorite foods. But I couldn’t come up with a reasonable story for why he’d know how often I wear my mom’s butterfly necklace. Passing his knowledge of me off as research only went so far...no matter how good of a kisser Hack was or how easily he made me come.
Staring up at him, I braced myself for his answer. With the way the guys had left as soon as I’d voiced my concern, I expected it to be pretty bad. Hack’s hold on me tightened, and I wondered if he thought I was going to run when I heard what he had to say. “How do you know so much about me, Hack?”
“I’ve been obsessed since I first laid eyes on you.” His tone was gritty and raw, sounding as though the words were being ripped from him. “I was digging into David Clark’s past and felt like I’d been punched in the chest when I pulled up your photo. Wanted to hunt the motherfucker down and murder him when I found out how you’d been threatened to keep quiet. It fucking killed me to let Breaker be the one to take you back to your place after you saw him die. To stay away from you until the time was right. But I couldn’t stay away completely. I had to know you were safe, and seeing you helped keep me from losing my fucking mind.”
His response blew me away. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting to hear, but it wasn’t that he had become fixated on me just from seeing my picture. Or that he’d been biding his time for six months and watching me while doing it. “Right for what?”
“For you to be ready for me, baby.” He cupped my face in his palms, his lips only inches from mine as his dark eyes burned with desire. “You had good reason to be freaked the fuck out the day everything went down with David. I wanted nothing more than to force my way into your life and help you move past it all. But that wasn’t what was best for you back then, and your needs come before mine. Always.”
His declaration shouldn’t have affected me the way it did. I probably should’ve been scared because Hack was part of the MC who’d killed David Clark. Upset by the fact that he’d just admitted to stalking me for the past six months. Worried that he’d moved all my stuff into his room while I slept.
But I wasn’t.
Maybe something was wrong with me because I liked how quickly things were moving between us. How he didn’t try to hide that he was into me: that he’d protect me, no matter what it took. Even if it meant making sacrifices for me.
I didn’t want Hack to have to wait any longer to get what he wanted. Throwing caution to the wind, I closed the distance between our mouths and whispered, “You’re what’s best for me now.”
I might’ve initiated the kiss, but Hack took over as soon as our lips touched. His tongue swept inside to tangle with mine, and he tilted my head back to deepen the kiss. By the time he nipped my bottom lip before lifting his head, I was panting in need. “I’ll be what’s best for you for-fucking-ever,” he vowed.
I twined my arms around his neck and wrapped my legs around his waist. His hands went under my butt to hold me in place, and his hard length pressed against my core. “Then don’t wait any longer. Make me yours.”
That was all the encouragement Hack needed. A deep growl rumbled up his chest as he carried me over to the bed. He tossed me onto the middle of the mattress and quickly followed me down. “I’ve spent every fucking second of every single day since I saw your picture, thinking about the moment I could finally lay claim to you.”
I tugged on his shirt to lift it over his head, making him chuckle. His lips were curved up in a cocky grin when I tossed it on the floor. “C’mon, hurry up. I don’t have patience like you do.”