Page 128 of Puck Prince

I also wasn’t kidding.

“I’m sorry,” I wipe the tears from her cheeks with my thumbs. “But seriously, Callie, if this is Nicky’s dad, I have to put an end to it. I won’t allow my sister and my nephew to be threatened. I love them too much. Protecting them is my job. And if the note was from the guy Kennedy was dancing with, I need to put a stop to that, too.”

She thinks about that for a long time before she answers. “I just… don’t want you to feel like taking care of me is your job just because we’re dating. Or, fake dating, I mean. I know you want to make this convincing to people, but hunting down a psycho from my past wasn’t part of the agreement. You didn’t sign up for that.”

“And you didn’t sign up for any of it.” I turn towards her. “If you remember, I was the one who pulled you off the sidewalk and into the apartment, sending the media into mass chaos and your uncle into a frenzy. And I was the one who publicly announced we were in a serious relationship when we were hardly on speaking terms. You can’t really take the blame for any of it.”

“I mean, some of it is my fault.”

She’s not entirely wrong. If she was less…her, maybe I could’ve stayed away.

“Which part?”

“The part where I locked myself out on Kennedy’s balcony. Obviously you couldn’t just leave me out there.”

“I mean, I could have.” I shrug. Her mouth pops open, and I laugh. I lean back against the couch and take her with me. She snuggles in. “No, you’re right. I would’ve never left you out there alone. And I don’t want you to feel like you’re alone now, either. Running from someone in your past, being afraid to sleep at night, watching your back constantly—it’s no way to live your life, Callie. And it needs to stop. Do you understand?”

Callie waits another painfully long moment before answering. “Owen… why do you care so much? That wasn’t part of the agreement. And it’s kind of breaking a lot of the rules.”

I groan. “I’m going to be honest here: I fucking hate the rules.”

Callie tenses against me. She’s holding her breath, waiting for me to go on.

I’m not sure whether or not I should. Stepping off this balance beam we’re walking might be a terrible idea. There’s no guarantee the landing spot will be soft.

“I’m not going to let anything bad happen to you, Callie. I know this is all for show, to keep the media in their seats, but I do care about you.”

Okay, now I’m the one holding my breath.

I shouldn’t have said it.

It was too much.

Shit.She’s going to think I’m crazy.

She’s going to get up and walk out. Then she’ll be alone just to get away from me, and I fucked up. I should have kept my mouth shut. I should have?—

Callie sits up and kisses me. It’s soft at first, pulling me out of my head and firmly into my body. She pulls away, our faces still close, her lips parted.

She doesn’t look like she’s going to bolt for the door. She looks like a woman who wants to be kissed. And I love giving her what she wants.

I part her lips with my tongue as she hooks her leg over me, straddling me on the couch.

I grab the hem of her dress and slide it over her head in one fluid motion.

The material has barely hit the floor before she’s grabbing my shirt and adding it to the pile.

I undo her bra with the flick of my thumb, and I could live in this moment. She’s so fucking beautiful.

We kiss again, and I roll her under me, lying her back on the cushions so I can crawl over her. She’s so soft and small and fragile below me, andfuck me,I’d set the whole goddamn world on fire to keep her safe.

I just might.

“Owen…” she murmurs.

“Yes?” I kiss her lips. Her cheeks. Her neck.

“I need you.”

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