Chapter 37
Chapter Thirty-Seven
A tornado shimmered in Crew’s eyes, his mouth shaping into the scowl of all scowls. He was in a mood.
But so was I.
Crew shook his head and got out of the car, his body rigid. He looked like a guy who needed to beat the shit out of someone to release the tension building within him. “What the hell is your problem?” His voice trembled with anger.
I faced him, my eyes meeting his stormy ones without an ounce of fear. Crew wouldn’t hurt me. Not physically. It was only my heart that was vulnerable. “You left,” I pointed out.
His eyes held me immobile for an intense moment. “So, you decided to throw yourself in front of a moving car? I could have fucking hit you.”
I stepped forward. “I told you I wanted to talk.”
Headlights beamed on either side of us from the front of the car. Crew’s jaw tightened. “Forgive me if I wanted to spare myself the I’m-sorry-it’s-not-you speech.”
“You’re an asshole.” This was not at all going to plan.
Advancing, Crew backed me into the car, his hands flanking either side of me on the hood. “I know. It’s how I am,” he retorted, his tone rough.
My ass pr essed into the warm hood, the engine vibrating underneath me. “And I accept that, but if you would have stuck around, you would have heard me tell you that I came here to stop you from making a mistake.”
His head angled to the side. “What mistake would that be, Killer?”
I took a breath. “You can’t marry her.” The words rushed out of me. Baby steps. As much as I wanted to blurt out my love for him, I needed to gain control of myself first.
His already furrowed brows deepened. “Marry who?”
Now I was the one confused. “Gianna. She’ll make you miserable. You hate her.”
Those gold-flecked eyes sharpened. “Why the fuck would I do that? The only person I want is you.”
My heart did all sorts of crazy things in my chest. Hearing he wanted me boosted my confidence, but it didn’t explain what I’d read. “I saw the announcement.”
His eyes darted to my lips. “Did you read it all?”
He had me there. I’d been too upset after the first line and stopped reading. Anxiety had set in, and my only thought had been to find Crew.
He took my silence as confirmation. “If you had, you would have seen Cole’s name, not mine,” he said, straightening to shove a hand through his hair.
“Cole,” I blinked. Cole was marrying Gianna. Holy fuck . My feelings were rattled by the idea. I knew they had once dated but it hadn’t ended well. Was he doing this to save Crew from having to marry her? “He didn’t say anything,” I muttered.
Crew hooked a finger under my chin, lifting my gaze back to his. “You came here to stop me from making a huge mistake. You thought I was marrying Gianna.”
“Something like that.”
“You know what. Fuck this.” He grabbed my hips, shoving me up against the hood of the car, trapping me with the body I couldn’t stop dreaming about. “I don’t want to talk about my brother. I’m the one who is in love with you. Deal with that.”
I blinked again, my heart unable to keep up with everything. It made my hea d spin. How did he expect me to concentrate on what he said when he looked at me like that? “What?”
The backs of his knuckles brushed over my cheek. “I’m in love with you, Killer. And my feelings have nothing to do with pity or guilt.” He gripped my ass, lifting me onto the car as he settled himself between my legs. The hood warmed my butt cheeks, the idling engine purring underneath me. “I don’t regret what I did. I’d do it all again because a summer with you is better than none.” His sharp tone melted into something seductive I felt deep in my bones.
“You love me?” Did he really tell me he loved me? That was supposed to be my line. How very Crew-like to beat me to what was supposed to be the biggest confession of my life.
“I’ve had a shitty day, Killer. You shouldn’t have stopped me from leaving because I’m in a mood, and I don’t have the strength to stop myself. You can continue hating me, but I need this. I need a moment with you. If you don’t want me to kiss you, then you need to leave. Now. I’m giving you three seconds.”
I said nothing, only stared into his eyes, and the flecks of gold in them flared, edging with a fieriness that made my blood race.
“One.”
I didn’t move an inch.
“Two,” he murmured, his lips brushing the pulse point on the side of my neck, drawing out the pause between counts.
I shuddered at the contact of his lips on my skin.
“Three,” he whispered, pulling back to look at me.
“What are you waiting for?” I whispered, slipping my arms around his neck, tired of the suspense. I wanted his lips on mine before he even started counting.
He lowered his mouth, kissing me with a tenderness I was only beginning to expect from Crew. And I finally understood. The kiss was loving, but what I treasured about our relationship was our intense craving for each other. Sweet was nice, but I wanted hot and possessive.
Crew didn’t disappoint, deepening the kiss as he hauled me tighter against him, and my body tingled in every crevice. I didn’t think I’d ever been this happy. Elation floated within me, making me feel like the car flew underneath me .
“You stole my line,” I said, smiling against his mouth.
He eased back ever so slightly, his brows lifting questionably.
My fingers teased the hair at the nape of his neck, and our eyes connected, much like our hearts. “I love you, Crew,” I whispered. “I’m so fucking in love with you.”
I heard his swift inhale of breath. “Do you know what you’re doing, Killer?”
My eyes stayed on his. “Yes.”
His arms tightened around me. “There’s no going back. I won’t let you go.”
I smiled. “Promise?”
His voice dropped. “You’re mine. I won’t share you. Never again.” A shade of darkness moved into his eyes.
I pressed my lips to his in a quick kiss. “You won’t have to. It’s you, Crew. It’s always been you.”
“Tell me. I want to hear you say it. I need to hear it.”
“I’m in love with you, Crew. You. No one else.”
A wolfish grin appeared on his lips. “Say it again.”
A laugh broke free. “I love you, Crew.” The words were absolutely liberating. It was like I had this huge secret I’d been keeping for weeks, eating away at me.
His eyes closed for a moment as if he required a second to compose his emotions. “There’s no one else for me but you. I stole you for the summer, but you took my heart, and now I can’t live without you, Arie.”
I breathed him in. “Good, because I’ll kill any girl who tries to get between us.”
“My killer.”