Page 99 of I Choose You
Did I leave the stove on or something? He didn’t specifically say there was a fire, but what was at my house that was so important that I needed to get back for?
I called Wyatt back, but his phone went straight to voicemail.
Damn it. Now he was in my head. I wasn’t keeping that house, but I didn’t want it to burn to the ground either.
I growled, slapping the steering wheel as I took the next exit to turn around. I would handle whatever was so important at my house and get right back on the road. It didn’t matter if it was 3:00 a.m. by the time I got to her parents’ house, I was getting my ass to Claire.
My nerves built and faded multiple times in the seventy-five minutes back to Calla Bay. As I turned onto my street, my nerves had faded, and anger was winning out.
Why the hell did Wyatt make me come back? If there was nothing wrong at my house, I was really going to be pissed.
A silver Audi SUV was parked out front of my house. My hands started sweating, my heart hammering in my chest.
I would know that car anywhere. I’d seen it every single day for the last eight months. She came back, and this time, I wasn’t letting her leave without me.
32
Claire
“You’re here.” Reid jumped out of his truck and stalked toward me. His gaze was locked on mine. His long strides ate up the ground between us in the blink of an eye.
“I came back,” I breathed out. He hadn’t made a move to touch me yet. He searched my face, his eyes taking me in from head to toe. I couldn’t even imagine what I looked like right now. I woke up this morning in Michigan, and I hadn’t stopped since.
“Did you forget something?”
“No. Well, yes, I guess.” Reid’s gaze was intense. His Adam’s apple bobbed in the strong column of his throat as he swallowed back his emotions. “You. I forgot what it was like, living without you. I don’t like it. Not one bit.”
He stepped toward me slowly, like I might bolt away if he moved too quickly. But the last thing I wanted to do was walk away. All I wanted was to be here, with Reid. I wanted to feel his arms around me. I wanted to wake up with him every day. Talk, fight, make love, watch movies, eat his awful dinners. I wanted it all, as long as it was withhim.
“You don’t have to.” His large hand wrapped around the back of my head, his dark gaze penetrating into my soul. He had me so hypnotized I couldn’t tear my eyes away. “I was coming to you. I was almost halfway there when Wyatt told me to turn around. I’ll go where you go. I’m going to sell my house, the business, all of it.”
“No,” I interrupted him with a quickness, my voice louder than I expected. “Don’t do that.” His face dropped. I hurried to get the rest out before he came to the wrong conclusion. “I don’t want to be anywhere else but here. With you, but also with this town. Calla Bay has felt like more of a home to me than anywhere I can remember.”
“Is Andrew going to allow you to work from here?” He looked so hopeful.
I steeled my nerves for my next part. I knew Reid. I trusted him. But telling him that I was now unemployed with no money and no prospects—what would a degree in history do for me now?—was toying with my emotions. My father’s words echoed in my head when he told me what a disappointment I was.
“You can’t sell your business because I already quit my job. We can’t both be unemployed.” I bit my bottom lip, waiting for his reaction. “Besides, Andrew was kind of a dick.”
Reid’s jaw dropped before his face morphed into a wide smile. “So you’re mine? Like here to stay? For good?”
I nodded my head as best I could with his hand still holding me tightly in his grip. “That was my plan.”
His lips crashed into mine. Our tongues collided against each other. Reid took control of the kiss as I melted into him. One second, I was firmly on the ground, and the next, Reid had his hands under my ass and hauled my long legsaround his waist. He walked me to the front door of his house, devouring me with every step.
He didn’t bother unlocking the front door. Instead, he pressed me into the hard wood while he continued his assault on my mouth. He pulled his mouth away from mine, and I gasped, instantly missing his touch. But when he sucked my earlobe into his mouth, adding a quick nip, I forgave him. He kissed a trail across my jaw and down my throat. My breath was coming hot and hard. He nipped at my collarbone, and stars lit up behind my eyes.
My hips rocked up and down along his hard length. The friction was exactly what I needed but also too much. We needed to take this inside, or I was about to come on his front steps for the entire neighborhood to witness.
“Reid. Inside. Now,” I panted.
He pulled at the waistband of my pants, slipping his hand under the fabric of my leggings. My breath hitched, and I whimpered as he found my clit, rubbing hard.
“Fuck, Reid. I’m going to come.” I could barely talk. I continued to grind against him as he kissed up my neck. He took my mouth in his just in time to capture my moans. My orgasm ripped through me, hot and powerful. Reid pulled his hand back and captured my face. His kisses slowed until he nipped at my lip one more time. My legs hit the floor, and my knees buckled.
“Just wait until I get you into bed,” Reid smirked, his arm around my waist, holding me up.
He fished his keys out of his pocket and unlocked the door. Before I even put one foot into his house, he scooped me into his arms and carried me across the threshold. My arms wound around his neck, and I took the opportunity to tastehis skin like he tasted mine. I licked a path up his throat and let my teeth scrape over his jaw. He nearly tripped over his feet when his steps faltered. His answering growl made me desperate for him again.
