Page 116 of It's Always Us

I loathe the distance. All I can’t think about is feeling her skin on mine. I fist my hands, dying to touch her.

“I need to tell you something.”

I break her useless momentary rule, tipping her chin up with my finger. “Does it change anything? Does it change us being together, or what happens after this?”

Her eyes flick between mine for a few long seconds, but before my stomach can determine if it needs to clench, she shakes her head ever so slightly.

I release a slow breath. “Then, not tonight. Not right now. We have time for that. Right now, I just need you, or I literally might die.”

That bottom lip gets sucked in between her teeth again. “But it—”

I’m DONE. My hands find her hair, and I crush my mouth to hers. My tongue swipes across her lips, and she responds, hers tangling with mine. Over and over again, I kiss her. Taste her. Her body molds to mine in need. It no longer feels of desperation and longing but of something everlasting. It’s so familiar, yet so very different.

Her hands glide over my chest, pushing my shirt to the floor.

My fingers fumble with the zipper on the back of her dress, and I snag it. In one swift motion, the fabric pools beneath us.

Lex pulls away breathless, looping her hand around my belt and tugging me toward the bed. “I’m still mad you stole my pencil. It was my favorite one from the shop.”

My hands slide over the soft skin around her ribs.

“Baby, I didn’t steal it. I told you I wasn’t giving it back.”

“What about my heart?” She stops at the edge of the bed. “Taking it and never giving it back. Was that always your plan?”

I hold her face. “You’re damn right it was. The first time you smiled at me.” My teeth graze her neck. “Every time I made you laugh.” My lips find her shoulder. “You in the stands, grease-stained fingers over your heart, and your blue eyes telling me I could.” I make my way back up to her lips. “Laying in the grass all those nights, knowing you were the only home I ever needed.”

I kiss her soft, slightly swollen lips. “I fell in love with you over and over and over again. Harder, deeper, and now, there isn’t a word to describe what I feel for you. Your heart . . . it’s mine.”

She pushes up to her toes. “You never gave me a choice.”

I angle her head, diving in slowly and savoring this moment, knowing it’s just the beginning. The new beginning I’ve dreamed of a million times.

I pry my mouth away, letting my lips brush over hers. “I knew what I was doing.”

She pushes me down on the bed and stands between my legs. “You were so cocky and full of yourself.”

“I was confident.” Her soft laughter turns the fire in my belly into a blaze. “When you finally broke and spoke to me . . . told me about a stolen catalytic converter. I was a goner.”

“You didn’t even know what that was,” she laughs.

My hands coast over her smooth skin from her thighs to her belly and ribs. My thumbs brush along the silk of her bra. “Shane and Sean razzed my ass for weeks when I brought home every mechanic book I could find at the library.”

“You did not?”

I grip her hips, pulling her with me as I lie back. “Oh yes, I did. There wasn’t a chance in hell I’d miss an opportunity to get you to talk to me again.” Her hands hold mine as she straddles me. “And look . . . it worked.”

She grins, but then her face falls to an intense seriousness. She stares at me lying beneath her. “All that cockiness has turned into a beautiful confidence.” Her eyes roam my face, taking in every detail. “I’m so proud of you.” It comes out as a whisper. “Your love . . . I don’t deserve it, but I want it so much it hurts. All the time.”

I smile. “I was just a kid who didn’t have a clue what it meant to be loved . . . until you. We went eight years without this. Loving you from afar really, really sucks.”

A bright smile appears. “It really does.”

I sit up, my hands skirt up her spine, and find the clasp on her bra. “What’s it going to take to make this happen?” I free her of it and toss it. “How big of a garage are we talking about?”

She laughs, her lips brush over mine. “It’s going to take more than a garage.”

“Oh, really. Do tell?”

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