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“No,” I nearly shouted, making the other people in the elevator jump. “No, I want you to stay. I was just worried about you, that’s all.”
“Oh.” She let out a sigh that sounded relieved.
The elevator felt like it took forever to descend. I tapped my hand against my thigh as I impatiently waited for the doors to open. Once they were wide enough that I could get through, I jogged through the lobby and out to the street where Kin was waiting by the door. Relief washed over me in a way I didn’t understand and scared the hell out of me as I wrapped my arms around her.
She fell against my chest, her body almost limp from exhaustion. “Lucy’s leaving,” she burst out. “She’s leaving.”
I jerked in reaction. “What?” I grasped her chin and tilted her head up to meet my eyes. “She’s leaving? Where the hell is she going?”
“Georgetown,” she said, wiping at her tear-stained face. “Her mom thinks it will be the best thing for her. She didn’t want to go, but Lana convinced her it would be a good idea. She’s leaving and I won’t have anyone…” She stopped, shaking her head. “Fuck, that sounds so selfish.”
I pulled her into the building and toward the elevators. We needed privacy. I didn’t want anyone to overhear us talking about Lucy. Thankfully we were the only ones on the elevator this time and I pulled her against me as I tried to wrap my mind around Lucy actually leaving.
How could she do that to Harris?
How?
It pissed me off that she was just going to abandon him. It wasn’t right, damn it.
Back in the apartment, I took Kin into my room and pushed her down onto the edge of my bed. “So she’s really going to leave? What about Harris?”
Kin grimaced. “She didn’t want to go, Jace. It wasn’t her idea. It’s what her mom wants and Lana agreed it would be best for both her and Harris to have some time and space to clear their heads.”
Some of my anger at Lucy evaporated. She didn’t want to go, but her family was pushing for it. With my head a little clearer I could see what her mom meant. Maybe the distance would help her and Harris through the shitstorm Tessa had stirred up.
Blowing out a long breath, I dropped down next to Kin on my bed. “Well, fuck.”
She nodded her head. “Agreed.”
I wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her head down onto my chest. “You going to be okay, baby? I know she’s your best friend.”
“I’ll miss her, but I agree that Lucy needs some time to clear her head. She’s a mess though, Jace. Whatever was in those texts fucked her up. Do you know what it was? Did Harris tell you?”
My hand tightened and I had to let her go or risk hurting her. “Yeah, babe. It was some ugly shit that I don’t want to fill your head with. She took videos of her and Harris doing things and tried to post them to revenge porn sites. Emmie was able to get them down before they went viral.”
“That’s so fucked up. No wonder Lucy is so destroyed.” She shook her head, her eyes glassy with more tears. “If that had been us it would’ve killed me to see you with another chick.”
“You won’t ever have to worry about that happening, Kin. I haven’t been with anyone since I saw you at First Bass that first night. Once I saw you again, I knew there would be no one else for me.” I’d been blindsided by how much I’d been lying to myself. I’d missed her, but up until I’d seen her again I hadn’t realized just how much. This girl was my world and I’d fucked up royally when I’d walked away from her.
“So you never took any of those girls you used to make me jealous home?” she looked up at me with a mixture of amusement and hurt.
I cupped her face in my hands. Tracing my thumb over her full bottom lip, I told her the truth. “No. Not one of them. I was only trying to get a reaction out of you; other than that they meant nothing.”
Relief flooded across her face and she gave me a tiny smile. “I’m glad. I had some pretty ugly pictures running through my mind of you with them. And me cutting off your balls.”
I winced at the last part. “Damn, baby. Have some mercy on my boys.”
She laughed and it was music to my ears.
She was so beautiful right then that my breath got trapped in my chest and I couldn’t have kept my hands to myself even if I’d tried. Lowering my head, I caught her mouth with my lips and dived in for a kiss that had us both seeing stars.
She followed me under as a wave of need consumed us both. Her hands went to my bare chest, her nails biting into my flesh as she raked them down over my stomach. We fell back onto the bed and I pulled her over me, letting her have the upper hand. If she wanted this to stop, she could stop it, but I needed her too damn much to put the brakes on myself.
The kiss went on and on, her tongue exploring my mouth while I savored the taste of her on my own. Fuck, she tasted good. Her body stretched out along mine, her thighs spreading so that she was practically straddling my waist. With her hair falling over her shoulder I felt like we were being curtained in and we could hide from the world for as long as we wanted.
Gasping for air, Kin lifted her head, but only long enough to pull her shirt over her head. I wanted to push her onto her back and feast my eyes on the skin she had just bared for me, but she was already lowering her head and I was lost once more in the taste of her.
My body was aching—throbbing—for her. I needed to be inside of her, needed to have her wrapped around me while I marked her as my own. Her hands explored me and it was only as her fingers traced over my heart that it came to me what my life was missing.
