Page 104 of Sack

Keeping her hand clasped between both of his, he slid off the bleacher and got down on his knee. “I want you back, Ivy, but this time I want to do it right. No more friends with benefits or fuck buddies or rules. Just two people who love each other, living a life together with all the ups and downs, good and bad, and all the crazily wonderful shit that comes with it. And not just for one month or six or ten years.” He pressed her hand to his heart so she could feel the strong, steady beat. “I want to live my best life, forever, with you.” He cupped the side of her face, using his thumb to brush away the tears that slowly fell down her cheek. “Please tell me I’m not too late. Tell me I haven’t lost you for good.”

Ivy

How many nights, in the solitude of her room with no one to see, had she lain awake, creating the scenario she was faced with now—Colt telling her he’d been a fool and asking her to forgive him? She never had an answer for him in her daydreams.

She had the answer now.

Heart aching for the boy he once was and for the man he thought he had to be, she said, “You never lost me. I was always yours. You just needed to hold on.”

His hand cupped the back of her neck as he rested his forehead on hers. “I’ll never let go again. I love you, Ivy.”

“I love you, too.”

She had barely gotten the last word out before Colt’s lips were on hers. His fingers dug into her scalp as hers clawed at his shoulders. Their tongues went to war, battling for supremacy. His won, but she was a willing captive.

Ending the kiss, he skimmed his nose alongside hers, whispering, “I’m so damn sorry.” He pulled his head back, staring into her eyes, rubbing a thumb along her jaw. “I’ll never take you for granted again.”

Her fingers skimmed up the back of his neck, ruffling the shorts hairs she found there. “Colt’s Kids. You started that for Jesse?”

“So kids didn’t end up like Jesse. Colt’s Kids gives them options, a place to get help. A fighting chance.”

A chilly gust of wind hit them, and she shivered.

“You’re cold.”

“A little.”

He got to his feet and held out his hand. She took it, and he helped her up. The moment felt surreal as she looked up into his eyes. “I’m not dreaming this, am I?”

His arms tightened around her. “If you are, I don’t want you to ever wake up.”

“Promise me one more thing.”

“Anything.”

“Don’t give up the fight. I want you to win the Super Bowl. For Jesse.”

He shook his head. “I won’t go back to the man I was. I can’t lose you again.”

She smiled up at him. “Then that just means you need to win in two weeks.”

“That easy, huh?”

“Yeah, piece of cake.”

He lost his smile as his expression grew serious. “I love you so damn much.”

Her lips quirked. “Prove it.”

He did, by kissing her.

They drove for another hour before Colt called it quits, googling a hotel they could stay at for the night. Ivy knew he had to be exhausted. Not only had he been up before dawn, but he’d also had the scare of his life and won a championship game. Not to mention, they’d been driving for over six hours.

Armed with the duffle full of new clothes and essentials they’d picked up at a supercenter, Colt pulled her through their hotel room door, barely waiting for it to shut behind them before he was pushing her up against it. “Finally. Alone. With you. In a room. With a bed.”

He took her mouth as he grabbed her just under the ass, lifting her, using the door as leverage as he pressed himself into her. His kiss was not gentle, but that of a man desperate, devouring her mouth with lips and teeth, nipping, biting, and sucking. One of his hands reached under her shirt, found her breast. Her sex clenched as he found her nipple through her bra and pinched.

He pulled away from her mouth to kiss along her jaw. “God, I missed you.”

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