His arm tightened around me. He dropped his head, murmuring into my ear so no one else could hear, “You okay?”
I looked back up to him, saw the concern, and the guilt went away. I said, so softly, for only him to hear, “I missed you tonight.”
He turned his head, just slightly. His lips almost touching mine, and he said quietly back, “I missed you too.”
I did not want to be broken up anymore. I rested my head on his shoulder, my lips grazing his neck. “How long do we have to do this?”
His lips touched mine, just barely. “I don’t think we have to anymore.”
“Yeah?” My eyes found his. Hope came alive in my chest.
“Yeah.” He nodded, his eyes dark with lust and love.
I felt the tingling in my body. It spread all the way to my toes and fingers. Even drunk, I could feel it. I shifted closer to him, bringing our lips in contact, just for a second. I was forgetting where we were.
“Did you fix it?” I asked.
He touched my hand, locking our fingers. “I’m trying to.”
God.
I wanted that so much. Maybe too much. The need for him swam in me, intoxicating me all over again.
“That’d be wonderful.”
“Sam.”
“Yeah?” I sat up, straddling him and not giving one shit who was with us in that car. I was selfish in that moment, and everyone had better be looking away.
He stared right back at me, and his lips curved in a smile. “I think we’re going to be okay.”
“Yeah?” I matched his smile.
He nodded. “Yeah.”
Screw it. I sank against him, letting my body mold to his, and my lips fused with his. Just fuck it. I couldn’t stay away any longer.
Mine. That was what he’d said to that guy, and I pulled back just enough to tell him, “You’re mine too.”
“Always.”
I nodded. “Always.”
Then we were kissing again, and I didn’t think anymore. I was too busy being happy.
I was stretching on the floor the next morning, getting ready to run, when I heard Mason moving on the bed. I reached for my foot and twisted so I could see him peering at me from above.
“Morning.”
I should’ve been hung over, but I couldn’t stop the pep in my voice. I was going on a run. I was itching for it. It’d been a long two weeks.
He frowned at me. “You’re annoyingly chipper.”
“I know.” I switched feet, reaching for my other one, and laughed, shrugging.
He was right. Everything felt right. He and I would be fine. Whatever my freak out had been—and I still didn’t understand it myself—something in my bones told me everything would be fine. I only had one dilemma left to deal with, and I wasn’t sure what I was going to say to Faith. I didn’t even know if I had to say anything. I was clueless, but I was ready.
My life wasn’t going to fall apart, and now I needed to run. I just needed to feel that burn in my legs, wind against my cheeks, and the sense of freedom. It wasn’t flying, but it was the closest thing I could get.
He sighed and lay back down. “It’s five in the morning. We fell asleep two hours ago.”
It was less than that. Logan had picked us up at one thirty, but I went home with Mason and hadn’t let him sleep till an hour ago. I grinned, my body warming as I remembered straddling him. I wanted to dominate, and Ninja Sam took on a whole different meaning last night—or technically earlier this morning.
“Go back to sleep.” I stood, bending my knees and hugging them to my chest one at a time. “I have to run. I haven’t gone for two weeks.”
“You haven’t?”
I paused, hearing his surprise. I felt my throat thicken. “If I started, I wouldn’t have stopped.”
“Oh.”
I grinned. “We should probably talk again.”
He growled, flipped over, and buried his head in the pillow. “Yes, but not now. God, not now.” The blanket moved off his back, slipping down to rest just above his ass, and I sighed.
Goddamn. That ass.
I bit my lip. I knew what he looked like from the back as he thrust inside of me. I’d watched in the mirror a few times, and I now had the urge to drag him into the bathroom.
“I’m too tired.”
I laughed. “What are you talking about?”
His head was under the pillow, and his voice came out muffled. “I know what you’re thinking. I can feel your thoughts, and I’m calling for a ceasefire. I’m tired, woman. Some of us are human.”
Human? I mouthed that word, still grinning to myself. He was calling me the non-human? Him? Who could outrun and outmuscle so many football players? Who was good enough to go to the NFL? Who the coaches would go to such great lengths to keep on their team? Him?
He was the machine, but I’d take the compliment. It just added to my morning. I was already on top of the world.
I reached for the door, but paused, my eyes tracing up his back. He rolled over, his eyes meeting mine with a twinkle.
The grin tugging at the corner of his lip had my lips twitching to mirror his, and the ache between my legs blossomed into an overwhelming love for him. I could feel everything inside of me soften.
“I love you,” I said softly.
“I love you back.”
“We’re going to be okay?”
He nodded. “We’ll be fine.”
My heart skipped a beat, and I felt the flutter in my stomach as I smiled back.
His words were a blanket that I wrapped around myself. I felt them as I left and started down the street.
It felt good to run, but after a five-minute sprint, I stopped.
No one else was up. No cars. I didn’t see any lights in the houses. It was just me, just the street, and I breathed it in.
I closed my eyes, spread my arms wide, and tipped my head back.
I was ready to fly.
“Okay,” Faith grumbled as she found me on the park bench. “I’m here.”
I’d called her after a couple miles. I was going to demolish this girl, but I wanted to meet with her first.
She sat down on the bench beside me, yawning, and rubbed under her eyes. “Why did you demand I meet you here? It’s Saturday. You know we have a race today, don’t you?”
“You and I don’t.”
“Yes, we do.” Her yawn stopped abruptly. Her mouth flattened, and her forehead wrinkled. “We can’t miss any qualifying race.”
“We’re going to miss one.” I stood and jumped up and down. I was antsy. “You and I are going to have our own race. Right here. Right now. And this is the last one.”
“What are you talking about?” She stood too, more cautious.
“You want me to help you? You want to make me motivate you?”
“Yeah, but you’ve been gone for two weeks. Coach said something happened.”
She wanted to know what, but she wasn’t asking. Good. I wouldn’t have told her anyway. My hand rested on my hip. “I saw Raelynn last night.”
She didn’t move, but I felt her attention snap into focus. “Yeah?”
I waited, studying her, and then I saw the guilt. My lip curled. “You’re such a liar. You never went to see her, did you?”
Shame filled her eyes. I saw it for a brief second before she looked away. She swallowed, and when she turned back it was gone. She’d gotten herself under control, and she raised her top lip to match mine.
“What about it? Why do you give a shit? You haven’t gone to see her either. Did you talk to her last night?”
“No, but that’s not my job. It’s yours. You were her best friend.”
“It’s weird!” she yelled, throwing her arms out.
“Get over it. She’s someone who loved you. She had your back against me. You don’t throw people like that away. You keep them close, and you have their back too. Trust me.” I felt a lump in my throat. “I’ve had my share of people who said they loved me, but when things got bad, they couldn’t leave me fast enough. When someone’s hurt, you shield them, you don’t hurt them further.”
Her head hung. “That’s not what I did.”