Page 106 of The Final Faceoff
Our lips brush—tentative, searching, a question and an answer all at once.
Then, he exhales, and the kiss deepens.
Slow. Certain.
Not rushed. Not frantic.
Just us.
Years of friendship, of quiet knowing, of moments we’ve never let ourselves name—all colliding into this.
His hands find my hips, his fingers pressing into my skin just enough to ground me, to make me feel like I belong here. And I do. I know now that I do. He’s where I’ve always belonged.
I sigh against his mouth, letting myself sink, letting myself feel all of it—his warmth, his touch, the way his body fits against mine in a way that feels like coming home.
His lips trail down my jaw, over the curve of my throat, pressing into places that have never known this kind of care.
I shiver, fingers tangling in his hair, tugging just enough to make him groan. The sound shoots through me, liquid and wanting, pulling me deeper into him. I should be scared. This should be terrifying. But it’s not—not with him.
This moment, this kiss and everything that happens isn’t about claiming. It’s about giving.
And I let him pull me under.
I let him kiss me like he means it.
I let him touch me like I’m something treasured, something worth keeping.
And when it’s over, when we’re tangled in the sheets, skin flushed, breath still uneven, he doesn’t pull away.
He stays.
He presses a kiss to my forehead, his hand still splayed over my stomach, like he’s already claimed both of us. “I’m never letting you run again.”
I believe him. “You know what? I never want to run again—not without you.”
ChapterThirty-Six
Leif
No More Holding Back
“You know what? I never want to run again—not without you.” She says it, and for a moment, I don’t know what wrecks me more—her promise of staying, or the fact that she’s finally admitting she loves me.
Hailey Jean loves me, and she plans to stay with me. Probably forever. However, she’s looking at me like she’s terrified.
Like she just handed me a loaded gun and is waiting to see if I’ll pull the trigger.
Like she expects me to ruin this moment.
I won’t.
I can’t.
It’s totally impossible because she just said the words I’ve been waiting to hear for years. And now that I have them?
I’m never letting her run from them.
From me.
