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“Alyssa.” Sad eyes answered him. “I need you,” he croaked.

John’s voice was a broken whisper in the air. He was so full of agony that her heart ached. Alyssa opened her arms, welcoming him in her embrace. With the accident and unknown condition Jace was currently in, she wasn’t expecting anything from John tonight other than sleep, but hearing him say he needed her made her heart blossom even during a time like this. It was a feeling she longed for. There was no erasing his pain completely, but if she could mend it for a few hours, she would.

Truthfully, she needed John. Jace was her friend, too.

Tonight was a wakeup call. Life was precious. Each moment mattered. No way was she holding back on the things she wanted to do.

John pressed his knee down onto Alyssa’s bed. He crawled over to her, his sad eyes never leaving hers, then dropped his weight on her as if he couldn’t take another step. John let out a long sigh. He was completely depleted of energy. Alyssa immediately wrapped her arms around John’s tense shoulders and pulled him to her. He nestled his head into the curve of her shoulder as his nose grazed her neck. Before she could close her eyes and savor the moment to comfort him, John pulled back and rolled over so that she was on top of him now.

“Sorry if I was crushing you,” he mumbled. The hushed silence in the early dawn of the morning reflected their thoughts and emotions perfectly. Nothing needed to be said because it was felt deep inside between them. Their emotions were intertwined together, wrapping around one another and holding on for dear life. They needed each other desperately. Alyssa could feel everything John felt. He was pouring himself out through his eyes and she knew exactly what he was saying. It moved something inside of her knowing that he was confiding in her in such a way.

Alyssa’s fingers drifted back and forth over John’s chest hoping that her touch eased him as his presence did her. “You weren’t,” she said softly.

Alyssa looked into his helpless eyes. “Have faith, John. Try. I know it’s hard, but have faith in Jace.”

“I’m trying, Alyssa, trust me, I’m trying,” his voice broke. “It’s just so hard. He’s my boy, my best friend, my brother. I can’t lose him,” he cried, gripping the sides of his head trying to hold back the tears.

Rolling her back over, he leaned close to her face and asked quietly, “Can I make love to you? I know my timing is shitty, but I need to feel you. I need to feel all of you, Alyssa. Make me feel alive because right now I feel like I’m dying inside. It hurts … make me forget.” He shook his head as he laid his forehead to hers closing his eyes. He had never been so candid in his life.

“Shhh …” she press

ed a finger to his lips, silencing his heartache. “I’m yours, Johnny. You already know this. You don’t have to ask. Have me.”

The back of his knuckles grazed the side of her temples, pushing her wispy blonde strands away from her beautiful face. He was lucky to have someone like Alyssa. With what he experienced tonight, John wasn’t going to take things for granted anymore. In the blink of an eye everything could be gone.

Like her.

No way could he deal with that, too. Jace’s life was hanging by a thread. He was going to make every moment matter from this day on.

“Let’s make every day count from here on out. Promise me, pretty girl.” Pretty girl. That was Jace’s endearment for her.

“Promise.”

Slowly, John closed the distance grazing her supple lips with his needy ones. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and sighed into his mouth, embracing him. Her lips, so soft and willing, opened and caressed his, bringing him more comfort than she knew.

Breaking the kiss, John sat up. He quietly lifted the hem of her black tank top over her head and dropped it to the floor. He took a moment to appreciate the sight before him.

“Alyssa,” he whispered with need. He palmed her breasts, his thumbs circling her nipples as he loomed over her. John slid his hands up her creamy skin, over her collarbone and through her silky hair. He pressed a hard bruising kiss to her lips. Alyssa moaned into his warm mouth and her hips undulated provocatively against his. Just what John was hoping for. Fuck yeah …

Threading her fingers through his damp hair, she squeezed her thighs around his hips and felt his erection press into her. She needed him as much as he needed her.

“Take these off,” she demanded, pulling at his shorts.

“Only if you remove yours.”

The sadness plaguing his mouth tugged at her heart. Alyssa wanted to remove as much of it as she could tonight. Leaning up, she pressed a quick kiss to his cheek before she ushered him off so she could remove her panties. His arms hung loosely at his sides while Alyssa slid his basketball shorts down his hips. Now that they were completely naked, John took up residence between her thighs once again.

Leaning down, he almost moaned at the feel of her heated skin against his. It was pure rapture. Alyssa was his comfort … His home …

His heart.

She was so much more than a place to keep his dick warm. She was his girl. His love. His everything. He realized that tonight. And all it took was a life threatening event for him to see it.

Alyssa widened her legs allowing John to make himself at home as his length rubbed against her center. She couldn’t control her body as it unwound, moisture pooled between her legs. His touch was as soothing as it was erotic; their kisses were feverish, quick and wild. Untamed. They were both in a state of desperate need. She threw a leg over his backside, digging her heel into him.

“Johnny,” she whispered against his lips.

Johnny. Funny how he hated if anyone else called him that. He was John to everyone, yet somewhere along the way he allowed Alyssa to call him Johnny. It stuck. It stayed.