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“I know you’ll take good care of me, Julian. But it’s also important for me to do this on my own.”
“Why?”
“Because it is,” I snap.
“You don’t have to prove anything to anyone,” he challenges. “Especially not to me.”
“I’ve been on my own for a long time. When I was starving, my belly so swollen from not eating for days, I found a way to feed myself. When kids bullied me in middle school, I sat out in front of the karate school and watch from the window, so I could learn how to fight. And when I got accepted into this school, I did everything in my power to earn enough money in grants and scholarships to get the hell out of St. Louis. I barely even had enough bus money to get here. But I managed. I always find a way. And this stupid concussion is just another stumbling block, another challenge I have to overcome.”
“Bri,” he sighs, closing his eyes as he slips his fingers between mine. We sit like this for several minutes before he opens his eyes again. “I want to take care of you. Just because you’ve had a hard life doesn’t mean you have to make it harder on yourself. This isn’t charity if that’s what you think.”
“I know.” I squeeze his hand. “Thanks for being here for me.”
He narrows his eyes at me. “Do you mean that?”
“Yeah.”
He sighs. “Just so you know, I would do anything for you.”
“You should get in with me,” I say, surprising myself.
He looks confused.
I nod in answer.
Julian kicks off his sneakers and then climbs into bed with me. As if no time has passed, I curl up next to him, sinking into his warmth and manly scent, wishing I could stay here forever. Though, I would never tell him that. He hooks his arm around me and pulls my back against his chest. His breath on my neck sends a ripple of pleasure down my arms, causing my toes to curl.
I missed him.
I missed this closeness to him.
Julian was the bright shiny light in my very dark tunnel. When we’d met, I was a different person. And I wanted to be different for him.
I cover his hand with mine, and without thinking, I rub my backside against him to get comfortable. He growls in my ear, and I moan in response. Why am I here? Why did I tell him to get in bed with me? It must be the migraine gnawing at the base of my skull that’s making me do things I would never do with Julian. I promised myself a long time ago I would never let him back into my life. And here I am, in his arms and grinding on him like one of his puck bunnies.
Julian grips my hip, his length now digging into my lower back. “Bri,” he whispers against the shell of my ear. “God, I missed you, baby.”
Five words. Those five simple words send a volt of electricity throughout my body. Even though I know I should ignore them and what he’s doing to my body, I can’t block them out. I’ve wanted to hear those five little words for so long.
I don’t answer him.
Instead, I roll over just enough to look into his emerald irises. A wave of black hair falls in front of them, forcing me to push it off his forehead. I love his eyes. They’re my favorite color, the perfect shade of green with little flecks of yellow around the edges. I swear they change color. Sometimes, they’re the brightest green with hints of yellow and other times his pupil looks like the green has swallowed it whole.
“I swear you somehow planned this.”
He rests his elbow on the side of my head and groans. “How could I have planned this? Like I would ever want to see you hurt.”
“I didn’t mean it like that.” I sigh. “It seems too convenient that Sadie wins the date with Harker after years of trying, and I end up getting a date with you when you were the last person on earth I ever wanted to see again. Sadie won’t admit that she set me up, but I know she sold me out to get a date with Harker, and I’d bet you had something to do with it.”
He chuckles, his cute dimple popping in his cheek. “And why would you think that?”
“Because you’re best friends with Harker.”
“True, but how do you explain Sadie winning the auction? She still had to outbid the other girls.”
“I don’t know. But you had something to do with it.”
“You want the truth?”
