Page 44 of Don’t Say You’re Sorry (Hawthorne University #2)

Easton tugs on my waist, and I let him take me back upstairs. We go to his room, and he flicks the lights on, carefully taking my hand to examine my knuckles. He won’t look at me.

“Come on,” he says. “Let’s clean you u?—”

Angry, I smack his hand away, making his lip twitch ever so slightly. He tries to turn toward the bathroom, but I grab his wrist and spin him back, yanking him close and wrapping my other hand around the back of his neck. I hold him tight, not letting him move. “Look at me.”

He does. He’s so close, I can see the different shades of blue in his eyes. I can feel the heat of his body against mine. I can smell the scent of my aftershave on him.

“What?” he asks.

“How did you not know?”

His mouth sets in a tight line.

“You know me, Easton. You know I would never ignore you like that. You should have known,” I accuse, my eyes filling with more tears. I move my other hand up to his head and palm his face. “I would have come running for you. You know that, right?”

He hesitates, and it tears me up inside.

“Please, tell me you know that.”

“I know now,” he finally says. “But back then… You weren’t there, Adam. You don’t know what it was like for me. I thought you didn’t care anymore.”

“Impossible.”

He licks his bottom lip, and I follow the path with my thumb.

“Not a day went by when my heart didn’t ache for you as much as yours did me,” I tell him. “It still aches for you now, even when you’re right here in front of me.”

We breathe deeply, our mouths brushing every time one of us moves.

“Kiss me,” I say.

“Make me.”

It’s the loudest yes I’ve ever heard.

I move so fast that our heads knock as I pull him in and force his lips to mine. His hands squeeze my hips, and he kisses me without reservation, proving he’s been waiting for this for as long as I have.

The tightness in my chest evaporates. My shoulders drop. My muscles loosen. My head clears of all thoughts minus him and the feel of his kiss.

Finally . I can breathe again.

I tilt his head to one side, and he opens his mouth for me, granting me access.

I take full advantage, slotting my lips between his and teasing his tongue with mine.

As soon as he gets a taste of me, all bets are off.

My back crashes into the wall, and I laugh, looping my arms around his neck.

His hands glide down my thighs, and he lifts me, wrapping my legs around his waist. I moan into his mouth. Since when can he pick me up?

“You’ve been holding out on me,” I rasp.

He chuckles. “Nate’s been dragging me to the gym with him since freshman year. Weight training is a good stress reliever. I’m stronger now.”

“I can see that.”

Never breaking the kiss, he pulls me off the wall and carries me to the bed. I land on my back, the sheets soft and cool beneath me. Tugging on his lip with my teeth, I reach for the button of his jeans. He knocks my hand away. “No. I don’t want to fuck. I want to kiss you.”

I lift my hands up and grin, relishing the feel of his mouth on mine.

“Just you and me,” I whisper.

He nods. “Just you and me, baby.”

We kiss until our lips are swollen, our bodies as close as they can get, our limbs wrapped around each other.

At some point in the night, I roll him onto his back and climb on top of him.

Propping myself up on my forearm, I run my finger over every inch of his perfect face, taking in every detail.

His dark eyebrows. His sky-blue eyes. His long eyelashes.

His high cheekbones that pop when he smiles.

His full lips, even fuller now, thanks to me.

His hard jaw. The cute-as-fuck dimple in his chin.

“I love you.”

His eyes widen, but only slightly. I’m so close that I get to watch his pupils dilate. I wish I’d waited until the sun was up so I could experience the full effect. His eyes are even more beautiful in the sunlight.

“I’m so fucking in love with you, E. I always have been. I never said it out loud because I was scared. Scared it was too much. Too risky. Too…”

“Real?” he croaks.

I nod. “I’m still scared,” I admit.

“Do you want to be with me?”

“Yes.”

“Even if it’s only in secret?”

“Yes. I came back for this. You . I don’t care whether you’re mine out in the open or behind closed doors. I don’t care if we spend the rest of our lives hiding the way we feel about each other. I just want you. In whatever way I can have you.”

He rolls his lips, a hint of a smile there, but there’s something missing. It’s as if he wants to say something, but he doesn’t know if he should.

“Do you not want that?” I ask.

“What?”

“You don’t want to hide?”

“I want the same things you want. But if we’re gonna be together, I need you to promise me you won’t leave me again.

Not when things get too complicated, or too hard, or too real.

Not ever. I won’t go through that again, Adam.

I won’t let my guard down again just to get my heart ripped out somewhere down the line. If you’re gonna leave, leave now.”

I don’t hesitate. “No. I’ll never leave you again. I promise. I’m not going anywhere.” I drop a kiss on his lips. “I’m gonna be sleeping at your house and stealing all your food when we’re sixty. You’re gonna be sick of me.”

This time when he smiles, it touches his eyes. “It’s a little late for that, sunshine.” He says it in his awful attempt at a British accent, making me laugh. He laughs with me, and my heart soars.

He reaches up near his head and rubs his thumb over my wrist. “How’s your hand?”

“It hurts,” I grumble.

“Did you punch anyone in London?”

“No, why?”

“So that’s the first time you’ve ever punched anyone,” he surmises. “Nice job. It was a good hit.”

“Thanks. I thought so too.”

He taps my hip. “Let me up. I’ll get you some ice.”

“In a minute.” I drop my chin on his chest, unwilling to let him go yet.

He settles back into the pillows, his hand in my hair.

We’re quiet for a while before I ask, “What the hell is going on with Axel and Carter?”

Easton snorts. “You should ask him.”

“Carter?” I frown.

“Axel.”

“No.” I drop my eyes to his throat. “I meant what I said. I never want to talk to him again.”

He purses his lips. Again, it looks like he wants to say something.

“You can say it.”

“He’s your brother. Give it time before you decide if you want to forgive him.”

I clench my jaw. “Do you forgive him?”

“I haven’t decided yet,” he says. “I hate him for what he did, but when I look at it from his perspective, I can understand why he did it. You said it yourself—if you had heard those messages, you would have come running back to me. Axel knew that. He did what he did to protect your mom. And us, from the fallout.”

Just like I convinced myself I was doing.

I avert my eyes and lay my cheek on his chest, listening to his heart.

I want to tell him I’m sorry. For what I did to him. For what Axel did to him. For what his dad did to him. For leaving him heartbroken and alone. For not being here when he needed me most. If I could go back…if I knew then what I know now, I’d do it all differently.

“Don’t say it,” he whispers.

I look up at him. I didn’t even open my mouth yet.

“You deserve an apology, Easton.”

“I don’t want one. I have you.” He lifts my chin with his knuckle. “You came back for me. That’s all I ever wanted.”

“I took too long.”

“Yeah, you did,” he agrees. “But you’re here now.”

I inhale deeply, crawling up his body to press my lips to his. “I love you.”

His fingers dig into my sides, and I can tell he likes hearing it.

He doesn’t say it back, but I don’t mind. I waited for him to kiss me, and I’ll wait for this too. However long it takes.

He taps my ass. “Ice.”

I groan. “Fine. Do you think those doughnuts are still there? I’m starving.”