Page 56 of Savage

“You really thought you were doing the right thing? No question about it?”

“Oh, I questioned it. Hell, I questioned it every fucking day, but I always believed you should take the scholarship. You’d worked hard for it, and I didn’t want anything to stand in your way of getting it, especially me.”

“But why not check in to see if you’d made the right choice?”

“I did. I had Big look it up, and he saw that you’d taken the scholarship.” My chest tightened as I told her, “I should’ve been happy that my plan worked, but I wasn’t. There was a piece of me that hoped you would’ve stuck around and gone to school closer to home. When I found out that didn’t happen, it fucked me up. That’s when I decided to shut it down. I couldn’t see you. I couldn’t talk to you. I couldn’t even talk about you. I had to put you behind me. It was the only way I could get through the day.”

“I get it.”

“It was a stupid move. I get that now, but back then, I was a fucking mess.”

“You weren’t the only one.” Her voice trembled as she said, “I just kept thinking if I could talk to you then...”

“I’m sorry. If I could go back and change things, I would.”

“You don’t have to keep apologizing, Malcomb.” She eased up on her elbow. “We both made some ‘not so great’decisions that ended up hurting us both, but we’re here now. The question is... do you think we’ll be able to put these past five years behind us?”

“We have to because I’m not losing you again.”

I leaned down and pressed my mouth against hers, kissing her in a possessive, demanding kiss that left me wanting her once again. And if the way she was writhing beneath me was any indication, she wanted me just as much.

I spent the entire night making love to her, taking my time to burn every inch of her body into my memory.

I wanted to remember every moment, every touch, so I’d have something to hold onto when I had to head back home. Once we were both sated, we gave in to our exhaustion and fell asleep. The next morning, I awoke to Londyn rushing about the room, picking up clothes off the floor. Her hair was wet, and she was wearing a camisole with slacks, and she looked a little frantic.

When she laid my clothes across the bed, I sat up and whispered, “Morning.”

“Good morning.” She stepped over to me and gave me a quick kiss. “I was just picking up a bit.”

“How long before you gotta leave for work?”

“Half an hour or so.” She stepped over to her closet and pulled out a top. “I wish I could stay.” She turned around and gave me a half-smile. “But I’ve got a meeting that I can’t miss.”

“It’s all good. I need to head back and take care of a few things anyway.”

“Are you sure?” She arched an eyebrow and stepped closer to me. “I could call in sick.”

“No, no. It’s fine.” I laughed and shook my head. “I’d rather you not get in trouble for me.”

“It’d be fun though.”

“You bet your ass it would, but duty calls.” I got up and started getting dressed. “You remember our conversation at the park?”

She gave me a puzzled look, so I added, “The one about me wanting to be with you and Dalton as much as possible?”

“Yes, of course I remember.”

I buckled my jeans as I stepped over to her. “Well, I’ve been thinking that it’d be easier to do that if you and Dalton were back in Port Angeles with me.”

“Oh...”

“It would be even easier if you both moved in with me.”

“Move in with you?” she gasped. “You can’t say something like that out of the blue.”

“Why not? It’s true.”

“Because Dalton and I have a life here.”

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