Page 86 of Jase

Ringing had Jase cursing as he dug into his pocket. He pulled out his phone, clicking the mute button before laying it on the counter.

“What I mean is, I don’t want to hold back anymore. I gave you the ultimate promise. I meant every word. I’m committed to you; I’m yours. I want you to be mine too. Officially.”

“Is this the contract?”

“Fuck the contract. You know who I am and what I want. We don’t need a legal document to prove that. I trust you. Give yourself to me. Tell me you’re mine, and I’ll move the world for you.” He drew me closer, leading me by my neck. “I need to hear it. I need you to say it.”

“Officially?”

“One hundred percent together as a couple.”

“A couple,” I breathed out. “That’s a pretty big commitment.”

“So is dying from turkey. I’d much more prefer the salami.”

“I guess you have a point.”

“Kody.” His mouth lowered, his deep voice nearly pleading as he hovered above. “Please say it.”

Slowly, I pulled back, tracing my finger over the lips that so desperately wanted to kiss mine.

“To give myself over to you right now doesn’t make sense. It’s impossible for me to even fathom. I can’t give something that’s not there.” I slid my palm over his smoothly shaven cheek while he squeezed his eyes closed in what looked to be pain. “I surrendered myself to you long ago. I’vebeenyours, Jase. Maybe I always will be.”

His mouth crushed into mine, the kiss so deep I could barely catch my breath.

“I could spank you for nearly giving me a heart attack. I’ll remember this.”

“I hope you do. I hope you never forget.”

I laughed as he pulled me in, biting against my neck. Ringing once again filled the space. Jase grabbed his phone, making an angry sound as he brought it to his ear.

“Rian, this better be good.”

Jase’s stare came to mine and he rolled his eyes. “Gold and blue. That’ll work just fine for the new banner colors.” He paused. “No, they could have been hot pink for all I care right now. They’re only up for a week before they go back to normal. I was committing and you ruined it.Twice.Yes, committing. I told you I wasn’t wasting any more time. Kody’s officially mine. You’re the first to know. Congratulations. Pass on the word so people leave me the hell alone. Until further notice, we’ll be doing romantic couple things and will not be disturbed. Don’t call me back unless it’s an emergency.”

He hung up the phone, sweeping me into his arms. As he walked to the fridge, I couldn’t ignore the smile he wore. It was real again. Beautiful.For me.Opening the door, he handed me the turkey and crackers. He grabbed two waters, leading us towards the hall. When we approached my room, he slowed, but he didn’t stop. He kept walking straight, taking us right into his room. His heart was racing under my hand, and his smile was gone.

“Are you okay?”

“I hate that room. I want to burn it to the ground. I never want to go in there again.”

“My room?”

“I don’t want to talk about it right now. Let’s eat. Me first.”

He placed me down, kicking off his shoes as I opened the lid. His finger shot up, a clear warning for me not to eat. Instead, he moved in closer, sliding off my own shoes before climbing on the bed to pop a cracker, turkey, and a slice of cheese in his mouth.

“We wait fifteen minutes. If I’m okay, you can have some.” He grabbed the remote. “I know you don’t care for television, but why don’t you find us something to watch.”

The evening news filled the screen the moment I turned it on. I hit the guide, watching the anchorman shrink in size to fit in the upper top corner. He continued with his talk of city budget cuts as I paid more attention to the shows rotating down.

“You did this last time I gave you the remote.” Jase grabbed his water, climbing up on the bed next to me. “I think you watched this preview channel for an hour before you decided that you couldn’t decide.”

“There was nothing interesting on. I’ve already seen every episode of my ghost show. Maybe I’ll find something new tonight.”

“What about that?”

“The action movie? I think I’ve seen that before. I wasn’t a fan.”