Page 72 of Always You

“Is that why you took me to this quarry in the middle of nowhere?” she asks playfully, doing her best to remove the tension that is thick and demanding between us.

“Yes.” I laugh. “That’s exactly why I took you here. And I also have some making up to do after last night.”

“You do.”

My tone turns serious again. “I’m really sorry about last night, babe. I was hurt, and I don’t think when I’m pissed. I never meant to hurt you, though.” I give her a pleading look, hoping we can move past this again, and just beus.

Hunter and Charlotte.

Best friends.

Always.

A long, emotional exhale fans my face, her green eyes squinting just a little.

“I want to stay mad at you so bad,” she confesses.

“So why aren’t you? God knows I deserve it.”

“No, that’s the problem, Hunt.” She spreads her fingers over my jaw, keeping me in place with a strong grip. Her touch burns through my skin, singing my groin alive. All I want to do is slide her on top of me and kiss her like she’s never been kissed. But the sharpness of her gaze demands my attention.

“Youdon’tdeserve it,” she points out, with a bladed tongue, “you don’t deserve any of the crap you’ve been thrown at in life. But neither do I. We shouldn’t take it out on each other.Ever.” Her hypnotizing eyes glitter with frustration, the heated feeling of her palm still fogging my mind. “You can’t take it out on me. We have to be better than that.Youhave to be better than that. We have to stick together. Do you understand?”

I’m not sure how and why she walked into my life. Sometimes I wonder if my dad sent her to me. Or maybe Logan, since he always loved torturing me. Most times I realize I’m just fucking lucky that she sees something in me that I can’t find. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop, convinced one day life will break us apart. But right now, I’m just so fucking grateful I have her on my team. Even when I don’t deserve it.

“Do you understand?” she repeats, commanding.

“Yeah, babe. I hear you.” I pull her close, linking our foreheads as one.

“Promise me.” Her breath feathers my lips, but I still don’t give in. I don’t silence her with the desire I’ve had for so long, because I don’t want to betray her trust. I don’t want her to think I’m not listening. I hear her, and I would promise her the world if I could. “I promise. You’re right. If I could turn it all around, I would.” I let go of her, a trembling feeling ignited in my core when she studies my face with a ghost of a smile.

“I know. It’s okay.”

I let out a relieved sigh, still noticing the fatigue on her face, feeling a bit guilty about the fact that she didn’t get a lot of sleep last night because of me.

“You lay back, take a nap. I’ll make sure there are no bears to come chase us out of the woods.”

“Hunter.” She flicks her chest up, leaning on her elbows. “There are bears here?”

“Don’t worry. I’ve got bear spray.”

“Right, that really helps my nerves,” she says outrageously, and I push her body back against the pebble stones with a laugh.

“Just take a nap. We’ve got all day.”

24

She fought me on the nap thing for another ten minutes, claiming she was fine, until finally she shut up and closed her eyes. It didn’t take long until her breaths becoming slower and steadier, drifting off into a slumber.

Like the obsessed son of a bitch I am, I watched her for long minutes, taking in every inch of her features before I started playing with my phone, wondering what my life would look like without her in it. The thought alone makes me wanna hurl up my breakfast. Even if I can’t have her all, when it comes to Charlotte, I will always want anything she’ll give me.

When an hour later, the morning sun burns on our skin, she stirs awake, letting out a deep yawn. A groan escapes her lips, and I drop my phone to my side, turning my head to face her as she slowly opens her eyes.

“Morning, sleeping beauty.” I rest my head on my arm.

“I fell asleep,” she states, moving up on her elbows, as if I didn’t already know. Her cheeks are a bit puffy, that cute ‘just woken up’ expression in her illuminated eyes.

She’s fucking perfect.

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