My lips tingle when he pulls his mouth away. “You taste just as good as you did the first time I kissed you in a fridge,” he says, his voice super throaty from our breathtaking kiss.
I tilt my head back and peer into his eyes. Unlike our kiss last week, his eyes are clear, free of any encumbrance.
“You remember our first kiss?” I query, my tone high as a wave of emotions surges through me.
He looks at me, the shock in his eyes clearly apparent. “You thought I’d forgotten?”
I nod, a little overeager. “You were drunk.Verydrunk.”
An adolescent grin stretches across his face. “It wouldn’t matter how may drinks I’d had. I would never forget kissing you,” he replies.
Hunger clenches my core with anticipation when he runs his index finger across my exposed collarbone, sending goosebumps to the surface of my skin.
“Is that why you didn’t turn up for breakfast the following morning? You thought I’d forgotten?” he asks.
My brows lower as quickly as my heart rate. I stare into his vivid eyes before shaking my head. His eyes shift between mine, his concern building by the minute.
“What happened?” he asks after a short length of time.
I swallow the lump sitting in the middle of my throat. “My dad saw my neck,” I eventually answer.
Hugo’s brows scrunch, but he remains quiet.
“He saw the mark you left on my skin,” I explain in more detail.
Hugo inhales a quick, sharp breath. “I gave you a hickey?”
I bite on the corner of my lip while nodding my head.
“And your dad saw it?” I hear his utter shock in his high tone.
My rapid head nod increases.
“Fuck! I’m so sorry, Ava,” he states with penitence in his eyes.
“That’s why I went to college on the other side of the country. My dad sent off an application that very morning,” I disclose, my voice quivering as a surge of emotions strangle my vocal cords.
Hugo’s frame stiffens, his pupils widening as the reality of the situation dawns on him. My eyes prick with tears as memories of that day I left Rochdale filter through my brain. The Marshall family were the closest family members I’d had. Leaving them was the hardest thing I’d ever endured.
Hugo cups my jaw with his hand. “I’m so sorry, Ava. If I’d known--”
“I know,” I interrupt, peering into his repentant eyes. “But there was nothing anyone could have done.”
As much as moving to the other side of the country devastated me, it also saved me from the clutches of my father, so it was both a godsend and a tragedy.
Hugo’s eyes dance between mine. “The past cannot be changed, forgotten, edited, or erased. It can only be accepted.”
I smile and nod my head. “Accept the past, embrace the present and believe in the future.”
A mesmerizingly dense stretch of time passes between us as we stand across from each other, staring but not speaking. Like always, the connection between us is intense and fired with lust, but there is something more forceful in his eyes infusing our fiery connection. It’s so strong, I can feel his yearning in the core of my heart. If I could stay in this moment forever, I would.
Our emotion-packed stare down only ends when an ear-piercing squeal screeches through the room. The scream is so loud, the windows rattle, and my heart leaves my chest. Our eyes meet at the exact moment we realize the howl of pain came from Jorgie.
Panic scorches my veins as I push off the refrigerator and bolt towards the den, shadowing Hugo as he barges past anyone in his way. My heart is wildly beating in my chest, shaking my entire body with fear. When I reach the double doors of the den, my breath hitches and tears prick my eyes.
Decked out in his full military uniform is Hawke, standing in the middle of the den with a duffle bag in one hand and a bunch of flowers in the other. A tear escapes my eye and rolls down my cheek when Jorgie squeals again before rushing to her soon-to-be husband to throw her arms around his neck.
Hawke dumps his bag and flowers onto the ground and spins Jorgie around the room. Her excited squeals project over the jukebox playing in the corner of the room. When Hawke kneels down in front of Jorgie to caresses the curve of her belly, my heart painfully clenches. That is what I want. I want a relationship like Hawke and Jorgie’s. I want a man who has no qualms in showing his affection even with a house full of spectators. A man devoted solely and entirely to me. That is what I want and crave. That is what I deserve.
