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Standing, I picked up my laptop and bag. “I need to head back to the dorm. Lyla got back yesterday, and I feel bad for leaving her alone all weekend.” But I was kind of dreading leaving. I’d gotten comfortable at their house, and now it felt a lot like home to me. Not to mention, just thinking of spending the night away from Barrick made my heart ache.
How did I get so attached in so short a time?
“I don’t want you to go.”
Something in his voice had me pausing in the process of putting my laptop in my bag. I looked over at him, only to quickly look away. Whatever he was thinking was all over his face, which rarely happened, I’d learned over the last few days. Barrick didn’t give his emotions away easily. Sometimes I had to work to figure out what he was feeling.
But right then, I saw it perfectly.
And it matched everything that was swirling around inside me like a tornado. He didn’t want me to leave. He was going to miss me.
“If I stay, you’ll get sick of having me under your feet,” I tried to joke, but it was seriously my biggest fear. That he would get tired of having me around. Whatever was going on between us, it was white-hot and powerful. But emotions that strong had a tendency to burn out quickly.
He made an angry noise in the back of his throat and came around the couch. Wrapping his arms around my middle, he pressed his nose into my neck and inhaled deeply. “That’s the thing, firecracker,” he whispered against my ear. “I don’t think I’ll ever get sick of you being around. Right now, my chest is one big ache, just thinking of you leaving.”
“S-Sounds like a serious medical condition,” I teased breathlessly.
“Oh, it is, baby.” He sank his teeth into my shoulder, making me moan helplessly. “And it only has one cure.” He turned me in his arms, pressing himself against me.
My body began to throb. I’d lost count of the times we’d had sex the day before, as well as that morning before he’d finally let me out of bed to give me a little time to recover and study. I’d hated leaving his bed, but he’d been right that I needed a little break. My body ached in ways I didn’t know were possible, but that didn’t stop me from wanting him to the point of madness.
“What’s that?” I husked, barely an inch separating our lips.
“You never leaving me.”
I expected his voice to be full of the same need as my own. It was, but there was something else in it too. There was a seriousness to it that had my green eyes locking with his and my breath catching in my chest at the emotions I saw in their dark depths.
“Barrick…”
“Don’t go,” he commanded. “Stay tonight. And tomorrow, and the next night. And the next. Stay forever, Mia.” He pressed his forehead into mine, his hands holding on to me like he was afraid I would bolt if he didn’t.
“But Lyla,” I said weakly.
“She’s at her brother’s most of the time anyway.”
“I…I would need to get a few more changes of clothes.”
“I already picked up some more for you while I was on my run.”
A soft laugh escaped me. “You were so sure of me?”
“No,” he admitted. “I just really hoped I could talk you into staying. I called Lyla while I was out, and she let me in your dorm. I packed as much as I could fit into your suitcase.”
“Wait.” Stepping back, I held up my hands up in a time-out. “Barrick, I can’t just move in with you.”
“Why not?” he demanded, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Because we only met a week ago. Hell, not even that long yet. We barely know each other.” I started pacing, frustrated.
This was crazy. Even thinking about moving in with him this soon was mental. Yes, I liked him. I even cared about him—a lot. But living under the same roof day after day, playing house? I wasn’t ready for something like that. The whole reason I even went to college so far from home was to find myself. Living with a guy I barely knew wasn’t what I envisioned for myself.
But I’d never felt what Barrick made me feel either. This ache in my chest at the thought of going back to the dorm without him wasn’t lessening with my freak-out. It only intensified. I didn’t want to go. Hell, I was pretty sure I wanted to move in with him then and there.
Yet it wasn’t smart.
And I’d promised my mom I would make smart decisions.
“Mia, calm down.” Barrick’s voice was urgent as he caught my elbow and turned me to face him, stopping my pacing. His eyes held a wild quality I’d only seen in them when he was in the cage during his fight. “I’m sorry I freaked you out. I didn’t mean to. I…just…” Inhaling deeply, he slowly released it, trying to calm himself. “Let’s not put a name to this. Stay here with me, but don’t label it. You’re just sleeping over…indefinitely.”
