Page 67 of Wild Promise

“I hate you.”

“No, you don’t.”

“No,” she admitted, her forehead dropping to mine. “I really don’t.”

The playfulness faded into something quieter. Her breath was warm against my lips. My hands slid under the sweatshirt to the bare skin of her waist. The fire crackled beside us, snow fell outside, and the whole world narrowed down to this. Just the two of us.

I’d told her things I’d never said out loud to anyone. Every ugly, broken piece. And she’d looked at all of it and hadn’t even flinched.

“Stay with me tonight,” I murmured. Then I kissed her before she could answer.

Her fingers threaded into my hair as she melted into me, my heart hammering between us.

She pulled back, her lips ghosting over mine with a smile. “I wasn’t planning on leaving.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

Zane

My phone rang from the bedside table, and I rolled to grab it before it woke Melina.

“Hello?” I croaked, snagging my boxers from the floor where they’d landed sometime late last night.

“Hey, man,” Reid greeted as I stood and put them on. “Hope it’s not too early.”

As quietly as possible, I slipped out of the room, checking over my shoulder to make sure she didn’t wake. “Nah, it’s okay. What’s going on?”

“Melina’s car is ready. Still looks like a piece of shit, but she runs like new. Just like you asked.”

“Oh.” My empty stomach dipped as I leaned against the kitchen counter, swiping a hand over my face. “That was fast.”

It really hadn’t been fast at all. It had taken over two weeks. But even though I’d spent every free moment I could with Melina, it still didn’t feel like enough.

Two weeks of falling asleep with her in my arms and waking up to the scent of her hair on my pillow. Two weeks of learning how she took her coffee, what made her laugh, what made her go quiet. Two weeks that had ruined me for anything less.

“Thanks, Reid.”

“No, thank you for the business.” He paused before adding, “I mean that, man. If it weren’t for you, I don’t know if I’d have made it through my first year.” His genuine appreciation was obvious, but as we said goodbye, I still didn’t feel any better.

With her wheels back and no need for a ride, would Melina even need me at all?

The thought sat heavy in my chest. We’d spent the past fifteen days getting to know each other in every way possible, and fuck, it was amazing. Not just the sex, either.

Everything about her was perfect to me. And even though I’d never deny her, it wasn’t the physical I craved most. It was the rest of it.

Sharing a meal. A moment of silence. Our favorite things. My bed every night. Even confessing all my dark secrets. I craved her company constantly, even if just to shop for her sister or hear about her day.

Going back to living without it—without her—wasn’t something I could do. Not anymore.

“Is there coffee?” Her sleepy voice washed over me as she padded into the kitchen moments later, her thick thighs peeking out from under the hem of my shirt.

“You’re practically living at my house. You think I don’t know by now that you’re intolerable without a morning cup?”

Her bare feet carried her toward me, bringing us toe to toe. “Intolerable or not, you know you want me right here.” Her flirty smile burned through me as she leaned her weight against mine.

And fuck, something inside me cracked. All I could think, all that I wanted, was to have her here like this forever.

Forever.