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“Let me take you home,” he whispers against my ear.
I laugh softly through the shiver that runs down my body from his warm breath against my neck.
“Can you do that without killing Dylan?”
He grins against my cheek.
“That depends. Does he plan on stepping up to me again?”
Actually, Dylan had been subdued all day. Quiet. He didn’t have friends over and wasn’t his usual pain in the ass self.
I would have asked him about it, but given his attitude with me over the last few months, I was worried it would just cause a fight.
“Let’s go,” I whisper, my voice so soft that it can barely be heard over the chorus of nocturnal creatures in the environment around us.
Ezra pushes to his feet and helps me up. After leading me to his bike, he makes a show of putting his helmet on me and ensuring the straps are tight. I hate that he doesn’t have a second one for himself, that he takes the risk while making sure I’m safe.
But that’s just like him.
Always watching out for everyone else.
The ride home is peaceful, and again I enjoy holding onto to him, my heart slowly being crushed by the constant thought that I won’t be able to hold on much longer.
This is the end.
Once time runs out, we walk away.
And while I know I’m strong enough to do it, I still worry about him.
But all those thoughts fly out the window when we get to my house.
Ezra and I spend the rest of the night and the early morning hours exploring each other, our bodies constantly entangled, the few hours of sleep we can manage interrupted by whispered conversations and sweaty, bone shattering orgasms.
By the time late morning rolls around, we’re quietly holding each other, eventuality tiptoeing toward us with each hour that passes.
The only problem I notice is that the closer it gets to when these hours are up, the more desperate he becomes.
That’s why I practically dive for my phone when Ivy calls late in the afternoon. Well, that and the fact Ezra told me she’s playing it off that she and Gabe are actually engaged in an effort to get information out of her father.
“How’s life being the future Mrs. Gabriel Dane?” I joke without bothering to say hello.
This entire situation is insanely strange, but I’m not surprised about it. It’s about damn time those two finally accept they want each other.
“Not so great,” she admits, the anger in her voice causing me to sit up straight. If Gabriel did something awful to her, I’ll murder him. “I need to be rescued.”
I laugh at that, only because it’s not the first time.
“From Gabriel’s or Tanner’s?”
“Ah, fuck,” Ezra mutters. “What did those jackasses do now?”
Ivy is quiet for a second, then asks, “Shit, is that Ezra?”
Sighing at that, I admit the truth. He shouldn’t be here, and yet here we are.
After a brief non-explanation as to what is going on, Ivy tells me where to meet her in an hour. I jump up from the bed to get dressed, my rushed movements sparking Ezra’s concern.
“What’s going on?”