Page 75 of Red Queen (Red Thorns Crew 3)

My eyes watered. “I can’t live without you. Don’t make me do that.”

“At the expense of your life? That’s not a choice I can make. But I promise you this. Are you listening?”

A tear streaked my cheek. “Yeah. I am.”

His eyes grew stern. “Nothing bad is happening to us tonight. Got it?”

I nodded. “Got it.”

“Good.”

His lips pressed against mine, but my mind was elsewhere. How in the world did he know for sure things would be all right? It boggled my mind, the kind of confidence he had about this situation. I felt his tongue slide across the slit of my lips and I gave him entrance. I invited him in as my head fell to the sid

e, finding more distraction with every stroke of his tongue. I collapsed against him. His back crashed to the bed. And as his hands migrated beneath my jacket, I pressed my hands into the mattress.

Before pushing myself up.

“Max?”

“Yeah?”

“Does it worry you how much has changed in the past few days?”

He cocked his head. “How do you figure, gorgeous?”

I licked my lips. “I don’t know. I mean, just a few weeks ago I was nothing but a normal college kid. Following my same old routine, day after day. Over and over again. Classes. Swimming. Time with Hannah. Studying. Always alone, and always so on edge.”

He cupped my cheek. “You’re not alone anymore, Dani. And you won’t ever be. Not as long as you have me.”

I sat up, still straddling his body. “That’s the thing. I mean, so much has changed, you know? The way I feel. The way I see my life. And my future. Even the way I see myself has changed. I was afraid of everything, Max. And I mean every fucking thing that crossed my path. But now?”

He propped himself up on his elbows. “Now, what?”

“Now I feel… gigantic.”

He grinned. “Good girl.”

“I feel strong. And useful. I’m bracing for a fight. A war, really. And all of it because I found something worth fighting for in my life. Worth completely tanking myself over, if that’s what it required of me.”

“I don’t ever want you to tank. I only want you to be happy.”

“And that’s the thing, Max. I am happy. For once, I’m happy about my future. I’m happy about my present. Not just content. Not just going through the motions. Not just getting through it. I’m enjoying it. I’m enjoying life. I’m enjoying you.”

He smiled. “I see what the guys meant by ‘speech maker.’”

I furrowed my brow. “What?”

He snickered. “The guys said you were a speech maker.”

“Whoops.”

“Not a bad thing. They were very impressed.”

“Really?”

He nodded. “Really, really.”

I smiled softly. “You said we had about an hour, right?”

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