Page 13

Does he mean it?

Is this just another game to him?

I don't know! But I intend to find out. Right freaking now.

"Good luck," Emelia whispers.

My boss doesn't give me any problems about leaving. I guess she's seen the news, too. Apparently, the whole damn world has seen the news.

I drive back to Nathan's with my head and my heart all tangled up and confused. If this is just another game to him, I might kill him for real this time.

It doesn't feel like a game, though. Hux is a lot of things, but he isn't cruel. He wouldn't blow up my life just for a joke or a game. He wouldn't do it to get laid, either.

He said he loves me.

I whimper at the reminder, my heart in my throat.

I've tried like hell to shut him out and shut him down, but the truth is…I've never been able to do that. I keep him at a distance because it's what I had to do to protect my own heart. Because, even though I've tried like hell not to fall, I did that a long damn time ago.

And I've spent just as long terrified that I'd fall into his bed, only to end up with a broken heart when he walked away. I've been running scared, afraid to admit just how much he makes me feel. I thought if I didn't admit it, I didn't have to feel it. That's never worked, though.

You can trick the world. You can't trick your own heart.

At least, I've never been able to trick mine.

Huxley is sitting on the porch when I pull into Nathan's driveway. His gaze locks with mine through the windshield, his burning with an intensity I've never seen from him. If I didn't know any better, I'd think he was scared. But Hux doesn't do scared. He doesn't do nervous or anxious either.

The man is unflappable, as immovable as a mountain.

My legs shake as I climb out. My knees tremble as I cross toward him.

He reaches for my hand, tugging me into his arms. Even though we have nine thousand things that need to be said, I let him pull me right up against his chest. I let him bury his face in my throat and breathe me in.

"Missed you today," he mumbles against my skin, his body wrapped around me like a security blanket.

My mouth is too damn dry to tell him that I missed him, too.

"How pissed are you right now?" he asks.

That question unleashes the floodgates.

"You posted on social media about me," I say. "Have you completely lost your mind? Nathan is going to see it! The whole world is going to see it. It's literally all over the news. There was a tsunami this morning. Your post is trending higher than an actual natural disaster, Huxley! What were you thinking?"

He tips my head back, meeting my gaze. "You done yet?"

"No," I snap, breathing hard. "The whole world thinks we're dating because of you! And I haven't had underwear on all day, also because of you. I'm so mad right now!"

"I don't give a shit what the whole world thinks, Starlight. I care what you think," he growls. "Fuck your underwear. I forgot them on purpose."

"I knew it!" I cry, jabbing him in the chest with a fingernail.

"I refuse to let you go on believing that I'm ashamed of you or embarrassed by you or that you're just a fucking game to me. You have never been that."

"I…"

"You had your chance to speak," he says, his eyes flashing. "Now, it's my turn." His thumb brushes my bottom lip. "You think I hide shit from your brother? You're wrong. He's known since the day I met you that I was into you. I told him right then and there that I was going to marry you. Never, not once, have I tried to pretend that I'm not wild about you, not to him or anyone else. The whole team knows that you're mine. Why the fuck do you think they don't flirt with you? It's because they know what will happen if they do."

"I…I didn't know that," I whisper.