Chapter Fourteen
Lindor
Two weeks after the party, I finally felt like I could breathe.
Jonah had stopped trying to contact me after Axel's confrontation. Chelsea still hung on even when she realized he was still obsessed with me. Freddy had forgiven me for the drama at his party. And Axel...
Axel was perfect.
Not actually perfect—he left his socks everywhere, hogged the blankets, and had a terrible habit of eating the last of the ice cream without telling me. But he was perfect for me.
He made me laugh. Made me feel safe. Made me feel like I mattered.
And the sex was fucking incredible.
"What are you thinking about?" he asked, pulling me closer on his couch.
"You."
"Yeah? Good things, I hope."
"Very good things." I kissed him. "Thank you."
"For what?"
"For being you. For wanting me. For making me feel like I'm worth something."
His expression softened. "Red, you've always been worth something. Jonah was just too stupid to see it."
"I know. But you make me believe it."
He kissed me, slow and deep, and I melted into him. We'd been together every day for the past two weeks, and I still couldn't get enough of him.
"Stay tonight," he murmured against my lips.
"I've stayed every night this week."
"So make it eight nights in a row. I like having you here."
"Your sister is going to start charging me rent."
"Rennedy loves having you around. She keeps texting me about how happy she is that we're together."
"She's already planning our wedding."
"Is she?" He grinned. "What colors did she pick?"
"I'm not encouraging her delusions."
"They're not delusions if they come true." He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "I'm serious about you, Lindor. This isn't just some rebound thing for me."
"I know. It's not for me either."
"Good." He kissed me again, deeper this time, his hands sliding under my shirt. "Because I'm falling in love with you, and I need to know you're falling too."
My breath caught. "You're falling in love with me?"
"Already fell, actually. Probably happened the moment you kissed me at that party. Or maybe three years ago when I first met you. Hard to say."
I laughed, feeling tears prick my eyes. "I'm falling too. Have been since that first night."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah." I straddled him, framed his face with my hands. "I love you, Axel Princeton."
His smile was blinding. "I love you too, Lindor Hightower."
He kissed me, and it was different from all the other kisses. Softer. Sweeter. Full of promise.
Then his hands tightened on my hips, and the sweetness turned to heat.
"Bedroom," I gasped against his mouth.
"Too far." He stood, carrying me with him, and laid me out on the couch. "Right here. Right now."
He stripped me slowly, kissing every inch of skin he revealed, and by the time he finally settled between my legs, I was trembling.
"Please," I whispered.
"Please what, baby? Tell me what you want."
"You. Always you."
He pushed inside, and we both groaned. He set a slow, deep rhythm, his eyes locked on mine.
"You're so fucking beautiful," he said, his voice rough. "So perfect. Can't believe you're mine."
"I'm yours," I confirmed, meeting him thrust for thrust. "All yours."
"Damn right you are." He increased his pace, his hand slipping between us to find my clit. "And I'm yours. Only yours. Forever."
"Forever," I echoed, and then I was coming, crying out his name as pleasure crashed over me.
He followed me over, burying his face in my neck as he came, and we held each other through the aftershocks.
"I meant it," he said quietly. "Forever."
"I know." I kissed his temple. "Me too."
And I did. For the first time in my life, I could actually picture forever with someone.
And it felt right.