Chapter Sixteen #2
“You hate me,” I whispered, because the words felt safer than the truth.
Drew’s mouth curved, but there was no amusement in him. “I’ve never hated you,” he said.
And then he kissed me again.
He moved me back onto the bed, climbing over me with a controlled hunger. He made me gasp again and again until I was clawing at his shoulders, until my body was begging. When he finally pushed into me, it stole every thought from my head.
One powerful thrust and I was full of him. I cried out, my nails digging into his back.
“Still with me?” he asked, his voice strained.
“Yes,” I breathed. “Yes.”
He started to move, slow at first as he savored the friction, then faster because neither of us could help it.
The sound of skin, of ragged breath, and of him saying my name like he was losing his religion.
I’d spent my life controlling the room; now I was being undone, and I’d never felt more powerful.
The pressure built quickly. Drew’s rhythm changed as if he could feel my peak approaching.
“Come for me,” he said, his voice rough. “Let go.”
I shook my head, my breath breaking. “I can’t.”
His eyes held mine. “Yes, you can,” he said, and the certainty in his voice was the key in the lock.
I came hard, my body clenching around him as I made a sound that was wild and uninhibited. Drew groaned, his hips pressing deeper, and then he went still, his breath shaking as he followed me into the abyss.
For a moment, there was no feud. No fathers. No families. Only the weight of him and the fact that my heart was pounding with a terrifying kind of happiness.
Drew collapsed beside me, pulling me into his arms immediately. It wasn’t possessive; it was protective. He tucked me against his chest like it was instinct. I lay there, my skin cooling, my mind trying to catch up.
This was the part I didn’t know how to handle: the softness, the after, and the way his hand moved up and down my back, steady and patient. I’d expected him to pull away or say something smug to claim victory. Instead, he pressed a kiss to my hair.
“You okay?” he asked quietly.
Am I? “I should leave,” I whispered automatically. It was my reflex when something felt too good.
Drew’s arm tightened around me. “Don’t,” he said. Not sharp, just sure.
I swallowed hard. “I don’t know how to do this,” I admitted.
“Then don’t do anything,” he murmured. “Just breathe.”
The simplicity of it made my eyes burn.
We lay like that for a long time until Drew eventually shifted and kissed my shoulder. “Food,” he said. “We need food.”
I huffed a laugh. “Is this you being responsible?”
“This is me preventing you from passing out,” he said, a smile in his voice. “Also, I’m starving.”
He slid out of bed, pulled on his boxers, and tossed one of his shirts to me. I stared at it.
Drew’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t overthink this.”
“I’m not.”
“I can see it in your eyes.” He kissed me briefly. “Those gorgeous, guarded eyes of yours. Don’t close me out.”
I held the shirt like it carried the weight of a vow.
“It’s just a shirt,” he said gently. “Or we can eat naked, if you’d prefer.”
Heat rushed to my face, and I quickly slid the shirt over my head. He held out a hand, and I took it.
We padded to the kitchen like conspirators. He found snacks—bread, cheese, and gourmet jerky.
“You eat like a frat boy,” I said.
He paused. “I didn’t realize we’d be staying so long.”
I inhaled shakily. “Crackers and cheese it is.”
His mouth curved. We ate on the floor in front of the fireplace, because the couch felt too normal, and normal felt like something we weren’t yet allowed to have. The heat of the fire warmed my feet while Drew’s shoulder pressed into mine.
I tried not to look at him too much. I failed. There were faint marks on his neck where I’d bitten him, and my stomach flipped.
He followed my gaze and smirked. “You’re beautiful.”
I lifted my chin. “I’d rather be called brilliant.”
His expression softened. “What if I think you’re both?”
I rolled my eyes, but I couldn’t stop the smile. We ate in companionable silence until my gaze drifted to a small bowl on the counter full of root beer candies.
Who is this man? And why does he see sides of me no one else does? I pointed at them. “How did you know?”
Drew looked at the bowl, then back at me. “I pay attention.”
Those three words hit harder than anything else that night. He shifted, his knee pressing into mine. “I’ve always been aware of you,” he said quietly. “Even when I wasn’t supposed to be.”
I stared at the flames. “I noticed you too,” I admitted. “It was like we were on opposite sides of a fence. Close enough to watch. Not close enough to connect.”
Drew’s exhale was slow. “Yeah.”
I glanced at him. “If we’d worked at Mabel’s at the same time,” I said, looking for the safety of a joke, “we would have been unstoppable.”
Drew barked a laugh. “We would’ve driven her crazy. I wasn’t her easiest hire.”
“Nor was I. When it was my turn, she told me I didn’t have to stay the whole summer.”
“Mabel fired you?”
I tossed a cracker at him. “She realized I wasn’t suited for serving coffee with a smile.”
He grinned. “Nor was I, but I charmed her into keeping me.”
I scoffed. “You’re not that charming.”
He looked at me with an intensity that told me he knew exactly what I was trying to avoid. “I’m charming enough,” he said softly, “that you’re still here.”
My stomach flipped again. I looked away, desperate for one last defense. “Well, I hope that’s not how you convinced her to let you stay.”
He barked out a laugh, and the sound finally loosened the last of the knots in my chest.