Page 87 of Pinkie Promise

I was worried that she was going to be apprehensive and freaked out because she’s never seen me lose control like that before, but instead she’s rosy cheeked and her chest is pumping heavily, and she launches herself straight into my arms the second that our gazes meet.

I grunt as I grip her behind, helping her wrap her thighs around my body, and I slide my other hand under her hair, seizing her by the back of her neck and pressing my face into the warm curve of her throat. She’s making small, quiet noises that almost sound like she’s crying and I squeeze my eyes shut in anger, pissed beyond measure over what the hell I just did.

Her arms wrap tightly around my shoulders and she presses her rapidly heaving chest up against my pecs.

I almost stumble at the sensation – her breasts feeling so soft, her breathing coming so fast – but I steel my jaw and continue walking us down the corridor. The hallway is loud after another win, the guys smacking high fives and slapping their hands against each other’s backs.

“I’m sorry,” I murmur to Fallon, pressing a kiss against her hair. She mumbles a quietit’s okayand I shake my head as I kiss her again.

“It’s not okay,” I tell her, and she pulls back to look at me. I splay my palm against the exit door, shove it open and breathe in the calming scent of Larch Peak’s fresh mountainous air.

“You’re hurt,” she says, her brows pinched taut in the middle.

“I’m an idiot,” I reply, quickly scanning the lot to see where our Ubers are idling.

The guys are going to be taking them to the motel this evening, and tomorrow morning they’ll get them back here in time for the coach transfer to Carter Ridge. What I had in mind for Fallon means that we aren’t going to the motel, but our stop is on the way so we’ll ride part of the distance with the guys.

“Hunter, I need to clean your wound,” she says, quiet but serious, and a moment later I feel something soft pressing firmly against my cheekbone.

I wince slightly and gently tug at Fallon’s wrist. When I see what she’s using to compress the cut, pain spreads through my chest and I shake my head at her.

She’s rolled up that little cardigan that she had on earlier and she’s holding it against me to stem the blood loss.

“No, baby,” I murmur, feeling more guilty by the second. “Don’t ruin your top, not for me. It’s my fault. I’m sorry.”

I ruined our fucking night.I don’t deserve her to be all sweet right now.

“You didn’t do anything wrong. Hunter, look at me.”

I can’t look at her because I’ve got too much shit pounding through my head.

O’Neill. O’Malley. Brawling in front of my chick. Potentially getting benched by Benson.

Ruining a night that was supposed to be special because we’rehere, in Larch Peak, and I wanted Fallon to love everything about it.

I scrub roughly at my forehead and rap my knuckle against the window of one of the Ubers. The driver rolls down thewindow and I give her our name, so that she knows she’s picking up the right group.

The guys pile in once I’ve got Fallon inside and when the driver eases onto the road I subtly slip Fallon onto my lap. We’re riding with Tanner, Austin, and some other guys, and they’re quietly playing music from one of their phones.

Fallon turns her head to look up at me and I slip my large hand around the front of her throat, dipping down to meet her so that I can kiss her lips.

“Where are we going?” she whispers.

I press my forehead against her temple.It was supposed to be special.

I sigh as I gently caress her throat. “The guys are going to the motel,” I murmur, although the guys who are legal are going to hit up the town bars after they’ve dropped their kits off because there’s a fucking hurricane of testosterone in the back of this car right now. “We’re going somewhere else.”

My eyes lock in with Tanner’s and he gives me a nod. He knows exactly where we’re going.

“If you don’t like it, we can join the guys,” I add, because I want to make sure that she’s okay with it.

Hell, if she decided that she wanted to head back to Carter Ridge right now I’d get her a First Class flight without a damn second of delay.

All I want is what’s best for her.

I just secretly hope that what’s best for her is me.

“We’re almost there,” I promise her, wrapping my forearms around her middle. I sink my teeth into my bottom lip when I feel her press her cardigan against my cut again.

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