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“Watching you free yourself is pretty damn satisfying.”

Jess squeezed her legs closer to her chest. Her heart was pounding away. “I think I got a job.”

Kade twitched his head, and a look of utter surprise washed through his bright eyes. “Are you serious?” he asked, standing, and God, that smile on his face was so genuine. It was everything in this moment. He was happy for her. Not threatened, like the males of Sister’s Edge would’ve been. “Are you mother-friggin’ serious?” he asked louder.

And she didn’t know why, but the tears just…streamed. She couldn’t keep them in anymore. It had been such a roller-coaster, emotionally charged few hours, and now she had no idea how to feel, and now her animal was making her skin tingle again.

He approached, but then backed off and paced to the kitchen, hands gripping the back of his hair, and then back. His grin had somehow gotten bigger. “I want to hug you because hell yes to all of this, but I get it. You don’t need anyone touching you right now.”

“No, I could maybe…” She cleared her throat and heat blasted up her neck and landed in her cheeks. “I could…you know.”

“Can I hug you?”

“Yes,” she whispered.

She had not realized how fast Kade really was. That man blurred to her and lifted her off the couch shockingly fast. Her feet were off the floor in a split second, and she was crushed to him, and now she was laughing. Crying and laughing, and whoo, she did not make any sense right now.

He spun her in a fast circle and then gripped her hair in the back and hugged her closer. Just…held her so close, like they were one person.

She melted into it because God it felt so good to celebrate like this.

“I’m so fucking proud of you,” he murmured right next to her ear, and she could hear the truth of it.

This feeling. Oh, this feeling.

Kade swayed her gently, her feet off the ground still as she hugged him around his neck so tight. Her pounding heart was racing his, and his grip tightened slightly at the back of her neck. Her body was tingling from her toes to her hair, and her skin sparked with electricity where she touched his.

He eased back his face by inches, and searched her eyes, and she could see his animal sitting right there at the surface. His gaze dipped to her lips, and then back to her eyes, and he wanted to kiss her…right? She was drunk on him in an instant. With the dominant weight of his animal, and the enticing scent of whatever cologne he was wearing. The warmth of his body enveloped her, and this was it.

She looked down at his lips, then closed her eyes and leaned in slightly. She waited, but Kade didn’t kiss her. Instead, he set her on her feet and backed off.

Mortified by the awkward moment, she rushed out, “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to…It’s just I thought…I’m…”

“You did nothing wrong,” he assured her, but the bright color of his eyes had cooled. Kade ran his hand through his hair and blew out a slow, steadying breath. “Tell me about the job.”

“Uuuh…” Her mind was swirling with the rejection he’d just given her. “It’s been a long time since I…you know…”

“I don’t know what you’re saying.”

“It’s been a long time since I kissed someone. I just got caught up in the excitement of the moment. I didn’t mean to.”

“Don’t mention it. Really, you aren’t doing anything wrong. We were Promised once.”

Her embarrassment was eternal, and she accidentally looked down at the scar across her palm, then in a rush, she clasped her hands together to hide it. His hand had the same scar. She knew because she’d cut it into him with a ceremonial knife on their Promise Day.

“That’s probably it,” she blurted out. “We were Promised once, and I just got confused. If you want to leave, you should do that. If you want.”

A smile confiscated his face, and he ducked his gaze, but she’d seen the smile before he’d hidden it from her. “I’m not good at this,” he said softly.

She didn’t know how to respond, because she didn’t understand what he was trying to say, so she just stood there like an idiot nodding.

Kade gestured to a worn paperback book on the kitchen table. “Did you find the library?”

“Oh, sort of. Actually, do you want to get out of here? I can show you where I got it. We can just walk.”

“You want me to take a walk with you?”

“Yes. So that we aren’t trapped in here with me accosting you anymore.”