Page 133 of Mark my Words

“Okay,” I gasped as his fingers tightened at the back of my neck, my scalp prickling as he held me still.

Expecting him to push me away at any moment, I clung to the fabric of his lapels, holding on to his suit jacket to anchor myself. If this was the last minute I spent in his arms, I wanted to remember it, even if it hurt when he rejected me.

“Tell me again,” he whispered, his eyes focused on my mouth.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, licking my lips.

“Not that part, the other part,” his voice was soft, much softer than I was expecting, with the tension that seemed to be rolling through his body as he held me. I wasn’t sure what he was asking me for, my mind not holding onto anything more than fleeting thoughts under his intense stare.

“You’ve got big dick energy,” I whispered, my voice shaking.

“You’re such a pain in the ass,” he huffed as a smile finally crossed his features, relaxing his face as his hand gentled in my hair. Leaning down, his lips grazed my ear as he held me to him. “Not that part either, but I’m glad you noticed.”

I sagged in his arms, my nerves settling as he nuzzled the side of my face, his thumb rubbing lightly over our joined hands trapped between our bodies. “Tell me what you want me to say, and I’ll say it, Sam.”

“Why are you here?”

My thoughts raced as I tried to recall what I’d said to him, what he was asking me to tell him. And then it clicked.

“To tell you that I love you.”

He dropped my hand, and I felt a momentary pang of desperation before his hands grasped the sides of my neck, and his mouth was on mine. The first contact was gentle, just a graze of his lips before he pulled me forward, nipping at my mouth as his slanted over it, possessing my lips as he stole the breath from my lungs. My fingers clawed at his jacket as I tried to hold on, my grasp on him the only thing anchoring me as I tried to keep up with the frantic pace of the kiss.

He broke away a moment later, pulling me forward, tucking his face into my hair, and panting as I tried to keep myself from climbing up his chest.

“I love you too.” His whispered confession caused the tears that’d been building to finally fall, a sob catching in my throat as I clung to him. I wasn’t sure what I would have done if he didn’t still feel the same way. If he’d decided I wasn’t worth it and told me to leave.

“I’m sorry,” I sniffled as I buried my face in his chest, shaking as he held me.

“Stop.” His voice was firm as he pulled back to look down at me, his thumbs smoothing away the stray tears that’d tracked down my cheeks. “You’re here now. We both fucked this up, but I’d like to try again. I mean, if you want to. We can figure this long-distance thing out. How long are you here? Do you have to go back to Boston tomorrow?”

“I want to figure it out, too,” I agreed, reaching up to tuck his hair back from his forehead. It was a little longer than the last time I saw him, curling against his skin. “I don’t know how long you want me to stay, but I have nothing worth returning to if you aren’t there.”

“But the promotion,” he frowned.

“Doesn’t mean anything if it means I lose you.”

“They filled my position with Adrian, but I could ask Sloane if...”

“No. Don’t take that opportunity away from Andrea.” I shook my head, leaning forward to rest my head on his shoulder. “From you either. You wanted the job in Chicago, Sam. I see that now. I was so focused on what I wanted that I didn’t realize you weren’t happy in Boston.”

“I’m not exactly happy in Chicago either, not without you,” he confessed, his fingers combing through the hair on the back of my head.

The music changed to something faster, the volume rising as I pulled back to look at Sam. “What are your thoughts on a roommate?”

He squinted, looking down at me with amused annoyance at my weird tangents. “My apartment has one bedroom, Kristine.”

“That’s more than enough room,” I told him, stroking the hair on the side of his head. “I don’t take up much space.”

“What are you going on about?”

“Unless you’d rather I get my own place or stay in a hotel or something. It might take a little while to sell my apartment in Boston, but I’m sure I can find somewhere to stay near you while I look for a job.”

He was shaking his head as I babbled on. I’d gotten ahead of myself, asking to live with him while figuring out what to do with myself in Chicago. I had savings. I could afford several months of hotel rooms if I didn’t find something immediately. Sloane would probably kill me for quitting already, but I’d chosen the promotion over Sam once and regretted it. I couldn’t do it again. Even if it meant starting at the bottom in the Chicago office or elsewhere, I’d gladly return to being an intern.

“Do I need to pull your hair again to get you to shut up?” Sam teased as he jokingly tugged at my nape.

“But...”

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