“Can you just—” he paused, growling as he ran his hands through his hair in frustration. “Can you just fucking talk to me?”

  “Oh, now you want to talk?” I said with a derisive laugh. “Funny.”

  “I thought you were going to tell me all this shit,” he replied. “Isn’t that why you came to the clubhouse?”

  “You lost that chance,” I replied.

  “I’m here now.”

  “There’s nothing else to say,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

  “Nothing?”

  “You read them all,” I replied, shaking my head in disbelief. “So, there’s not much left. They cornered me—not just the time Charlie saw—all the time. They’d find me when I was alone, which was pretty often because Charlie was basically my only friend. Make comments. Brush up against me in a way they could play off as an accident if I said anything to anyone.”

  “I shoulda been there,” he said softly.

  “Yeah,” I replied just as quietly. “You should’ve. But that’s not how it all played out, is it?”

  “I’m sorry—”

  I laughed, the sound grating. “I don’t want you to be sorry,” I said honestly. “Do you know how guilty that makes me feel? That you feel guilty because you went to prison for me? That you feel like it was your job to protect me after you’d already given up so much? Jesus Christ.”

  “It’s always gonna be my job to protect you,” Draco said, pointing to himself with his thumb. “That’s never gonna stop.”

  “You pulled away from me today,” I replied, my anger morphing into pain. “Today it was you who hurt me.”

  “I was trying to do the right thing,” he said, his voice rough. “I was just tryin’ to step off this fuckin’ merry-go-round we’ve been on for so long.”

  “Don’t you think I want that, too?” I asked, my voice wobbling.

  “You pulled away from me over and over,” he shot back. “You went to fuckin’ Montana.”

  “I was scared!”

  “I’d never do anything to scare you,” he said in disbelief.

  “I didn’t want you to know,” I said through my teeth. “I knew you were going to find out and I never wanted you to know any of this.”

  “Why?” he said in confusion.

  “Because I wasn’t sure what you would do,” I confessed, the truth falling heavy between us.

  “Kara,” he said with a sigh, his eyes steady on mine. “We’re not kids anymore. Baby, I’m not ever leavin’ you again.”

  “I didn’t want you to know the things they said to me,” I confessed, the truth so embarrassing that my voice wobbled. “It makes me feel dirty. Like, maybe you’d see it and—”

  I couldn’t even finish the sentence before Draco was across the room, his fingers tangled in my hair and his mouth on mine.

  “Fuck them,” he said against my mouth, his fingers tightening in my hair. “They’re nothin’.”

  I cried as he kissed me. For all the times I ran until I could sleep at night and all the times I laid in bed wishing that he was with me and all the times I wanted to tell someone, anyone, what was happening. For the fear and the anxiety and the pressure of keeping so many things bottled up inside me. For the relief I felt every day when I’d close my front door behind me, knowing that within a few hours, I’d be watching the clock, dreading the next day when I’d have to do it all over again. I cried for every Sunday that I’d sat at home, knowing it was visiting day and I wasn’t seeing Draco. I cried for the time we’d missed. For hurting him every time I’d pulled away, when all I wanted to do was the opposite. I cried in relief, knowing finally that the truth hadn’t changed anything.

  “You’re mine and I’m yours,” he said, wiping the tears off my face, our foreheads still pressed together. “Nothin’ that happened or ever will happen changes that.”

  “I missed you so much,” I whispered back, my chest heaving as I tried to control my tears.

  He closed his eyes and sighed, his body leaning into mine.

  The knock at my front door was an unwelcome intrusion.

  “Ignore it,” he said softly, his eyes still closed.

  Another knock. Then a familiar voice.

  “Eugene Police!”

  Draco’s eyes shot open. “What the fuck?”

  “Let me handle it,” I said, grabbing the bottom of his cut as he turned toward the door.

  “Like hell,” he spat, dragging me along as he threw open my bedroom door.

  “Please,” I said desperately. “Please. I’ll just send him on his way.”

  Draco stopped so fast that I smashed into his back.

  “You got somethin’ else to tell me?” he asked in disbelief.

  “He hassles me. He’s pulled me over like five times. Stopped me on the street. But that’s it, I swear,” I replied. Hating that there was more I hadn’t said and he was finding it out this way. I’d planned on telling him, but we hadn’t gotten to that part yet and now it looked like I was still keeping secrets.

  “He makes you uncomfortable,” Draco said. It wasn’t a question.

  I nodded.

  “That stops now,” he said flatly.

  I wiped off my face as we moved toward the door, knowing I wouldn’t be able to stop him.

  “What’s up?” Draco asked as he opened the door. I stopped a few feet back, letting him handle it even though I wanted to physically block him with my body. My hands were clenched into fists as I struggled to trust that he wouldn’t let anything bad happen.

  “Neighbors heard yelling,” Officer Park said, looking past Draco at me. “You alright?”

  “I’m fine.”

  “She’s fine.”

  “Why don’t you step outside, miss?” he asked firmly.

  I took an involuntary step forward, years of enduring had conditioned me to just deal with him and get it over with, but I caught myself before I took another step.

  “No, thank you,” I said politely.

  “You wanna take a step back?” he said to Draco, his hands braced on his hips as his eyes slid over Draco’s cut.

  “I’m good where I’m at,” Draco replied. He was steady as an oak.

  Officer Park stood there, staring for a long moment before finally realizing that there wasn’t much he could do. He’d been out maneuvered because we weren’t playing into his bullshit.

  “Keep it down,” he ordered, his gaze centered back on me.

  The words made it clear that he hadn’t shown up to make sure I was okay. I had no doubt that the neighbors had called, we had a few shitty ones and there had been a lot of yelling, but he wasn’t there because he thought there’d been some sort of domestic dispute. He’d heard my address and used it as an excuse to fuck with me and we all knew it.

  Draco closed the door as Officer Asshole walked away.

  “See?” he said through his teeth. “I didn’t kill him.”

  “I saw that,” I replied, trying not to laugh in relief.

  “I wanted to,” he said. “And seventeen year old me would’ve told him to go fuck himself.”

  “I know,” I said softly.

  “It’s not in me to ever let you deal with that shit on your own,” he warned. “That’s not gonna happen.”

  “I know,” I replied, my voice still soft.

  “But I’m not gonna fly off the fuckin’ handle,” he continued. “I’m not fuckin’ stupid.”

  “I know.”

  “I’m not goin’ back to prison.”

  “I know.”

  “And I love you,” he said almost angrily.

  “I know.”

  “Then why the fuck are you still standing over there?”

  A watery laugh escaped me as I ran at him. He caught me and boosted me up until my legs were wrapped around his waist and my face was pressed against his neck.

  “I know him from somewhere,” he said, walking back toward my room.

  “He was there when they arrested you,” I mumbled against his throat. “I saw him through the window.”

  “And he saw you,” Draco said, his voice vibrating with anger.

  “And he saw me,” I confirmed.

  “He’s not gonna fuck with you again,” he said as he laid me on the bed. “No one’s gonna fuck with you ever again.”

  “Don’t—” I started to say, stopping when he shot me a look. I needed to trust him, no matter how hard that was.

  As he pulled off his cut and his t-shirt, I relaxed into the bed. That was a worry for another day.

  “Don’t,” he ordered when I reached for the button on my shorts. “I’m strippin’ you tonight.”

  Chapter 18

  Draco

  Kara’s eyes lit up as I stripped. My movements were jerky with leftover adrenalin and my heartbeat was pounding in my ears, but I didn’t give a shit. After the revelations of the past few hours, I was dying for her.

  Once I was down to just my boxers, I climbed onto the bed, unsure what I wanted to unwrap first.

  “Everything okay?” she asked quietly, reaching up to rest her hand on my chest.

  “You tell me,” I said, meeting her gaze.

  “Finally,” she said, a small smile tugging at her lips. “Yeah.”

  “There’s nothin’ about you I don’t wanna know,” I said, unbuttoning her shorts. I tugged them down, catching her underwear with my fingers and pulling those down, too. I tossed them off the side of the bed, and bent down, kissing her softly just beneath her belly button. “There’s nothin’ about you that’s ever gonna turn me off.”

  “Not even the underwear?” she asked, embarrassment making her cheeks pink.

  I huffed out a laugh as I slid her t-shirt up, helping her pull it off over her head. “I might not have sisters,” I said, “but I got a mom. She didn’t hide that shit from us. You wanna wear your granny panties when you’re on the rag, go for it.”

  “On the rag? Panties?” she sputtered. “Ew.”

  “On your period,” I corrected with mock seriousness. “During shark week. When Auntie Flo comes to visit.”

  “Are you trying to be sexy?” she asked in confusion. “Because you’re missing the mark big time.”

  I dropped my head forward and laughed, the pressure that had built in my chest over the past week finally easing.

  “I’m not trying to be sexy,” I told her as I pulled her bra off. I was losing my train of thought with all of her bare skin laid out there in front of me like a feast. “I’m just being real with you.”

  “Uh huh,” she replied, unconvinced.

  “I’m not squeamish,” I said, reaching out to cup her tits in my hands. “That’s all I’m sayin’. Wear whatever the fuck you want. Stop shaving your legs and your pits. I don’t give a shit. You’re still gonna be you. You’re still gonna smell like you and feel like you. You’re still gonna turn me on more than anyone else I’ve ever met. I’m gonna want you, no matter what.”

  “The feeling’s mutual,” she said, groaning as I leaned forward and pulled one of her nipples into my mouth. “I’ve never wanted anyone but you.”

  I paused, tilting my head so I could see her face.

  “I’ve never been with anyone but you,” she said, running her fingers down my cheek.

  I’d asked her before, and it had killed me that I didn’t know if she’d been with anyone else—but that had never been a deal breaker for me. It couldn’t be. After all we’d been through, it seemed petty to even wonder. But I couldn’t deny the way it felt, knowing that she’d never been down that road with anyone but me. No one else had ever seen her this way, naked and open, both relaxed and thrumming with anticipation. And if things went the way I wanted them to, no one else ever would.

  “You’re relieved,” she said, reading my expression.

  “Baby,” I said, kissing the space between her breasts. “I’m glad, but knowing that you’ve never had sex with anyone else is the thing that I’m least relieved about tonight.” She smiled.

  “Wish you were my first.”

  “I don’t,” she said, her eyes twinkling. “I’m glad you knew what you were doing before I got you.”

  “Lies,” I argued.

  “Okay, maybe,” she said with a shrug. “But it doesn’t bother me. Not as long as I’m the only one from now on.”

  “I can promise you that,” I said.

  The conversation ended there.

  Stretching out beside her, I pulled her against me, letting out a sigh when she gently bit my lower lip. Her hands roamed, her fingers tracing my spine as I pressed my mouth against her throat, her shoulders, her collarbone, lower. As I made my way down her body, she arched, her legs circling my hips.

  “Not tonight,” she said quietly as I reached her stomach. “I need you inside me.”

  “We’ll get there,” I said, pressing my forehead against her belly. She smelled incredible.

  “Now Draco,” she said, sitting up and pressing at my shoulders. She shoved so hard that I landed on my knees in shock at the foot of the bed.

  I didn’t even have time to say anything before she was sliding off the bed onto my lap, reaching between us to grip my cock.

  “Fuck,” I groaned, my head falling back. “Bossy,” I said under my breath, making her giggle.

  Then we were both holding our breath as I slipped inside her and she ground her hips down, taking me in completely.

  I watched Kara, her back arched over the edge of the bed as I lifted her slightly and let her slide back down. She was on top, but I controlled the movement. I nearly lost all control when she reached up and pulled my head down to her nipple, letting out a soft sigh when I followed her direction and wrapped my lips around it. As her little noises grew more frantic, I shifted my hand so my thumb rested on her clit. I didn’t even have to move it, our rolling hips did the work, and before long, she was coming hard, her entire body breaking out in goosebumps as she gasped. I watched it hit her until she went boneless and barely had time to pull out before I was coming on both of our stomachs.

  We were quiet for a while, catching our breath as her hands ran through my hair.

  “Probably should have told you before, I have an IUD,” she said, leaning up on her elbows to look at me.

  “You do?” I asked.

  “I didn’t like the hormone stuff,” she said as I awkwardly stood, pulling her with me. “And since I knew I didn’t want kids for a long time, I figured long-term protection was pretty smart.”

  “You mean I can stop pullin’ out?” I asked for clarification, trying to keep up with the conversation.

  “Yeah,” she said with a chuckle.

  “Thank God,” I muttered. “It sucks.”

  She laughed again.

  “Wait,” I said as she moved toward the door. “If you weren’t with anyone, then why?”

  “I guess in the back of my mind,” she said sweetly, shrugging, “I knew we’d be here, eventually.”

  I dropped to the side of the bed as she left the room.

  She’d always known we’d be here eventually.

  Fuck. I was all fucking in. My heart raced. This was finally it.

  I sat there, buck ass naked, and stared at the open doorway.

  “Marry me,” I said the minute she walked back in.

  Kara laughed so hard she snorted. “No.”

  “What?” I said in disbelief.

  “You have a ring?” she asked, tilting her head as she stepped in between my knees.

  “Not on me,” I replied sarcastically.

  “Our lives have been so—” she shook her head. “I want that to be right, you know? Once I’m done with school and we’ve lived together a while and you know, we’re ready for kids and stuff. Then ask me again.”

  “Am I gonna get a different answer?” I asked suspiciously.

  “Depends on how big the ring is,” she teased.

  “Oh, you’re funny,” I said, falling backward and dragging her with me so she landed with a thud on my chest.

  “Oof,” she said, her hair hanging down, creating a curtain around our faces.

  “You want kids?” I asked.

  “Maybe,” she whispered back. “Eventually. You?”

  “As many as you’ll give me,” I replied instantly.

  “Okay,” she said, a wide grin lighting up her face. “But later. After I’m done with school.”

  “Me, too,” I replied.

  “You, too?”

  “Wanna be study partners?” I asked sheepishly.

  “You’re going to school?” she asked, scrambling up to her knees, her ass resting on my stomach.

  “Yeah,” I said. “You cool with that? We don’t have to go to the same place or anything. I might not even get in where you do. I probably won’t with just a GED.”

  “Are you kidding?” she asked excitedly. She threw her hands up in the air and arched her back. “My man’s going to college!” she yelled to the ceiling.

  “Shh,” I said, pulling her back down as I laughed. “You’re gonna piss off the neighbors again.”

  “Me and you,” she said, her face joyful in a way I hadn’t seen since she was fifteen years old. “We’re going to be college sweethearts.”

  “Works for me,” I replied. “Carry your books for you.” I wiggled my eyebrows.

  “Hell yeah, you will,” she said with a giggle.

  She dropped down at my side and curled up against me.

  “Why didn’t you go before?” I asked, rubbing my fingers up and down her back lazily. She stiffened for a moment before relaxing again.

  “I didn’t want to see anyone I knew,” she replied.

  I kissed her forehead.

  “Hey, who was that guy here earlier?” she asked a few minutes later.

  “That was Bishop,” I said, realizing that I’d ditched him. I wasn’t sorry about it, though, and I doubted he’d cared.

  “The friend you were telling us about?” she asked, resting her chin on my chest.

  “Yeah. He just got out,” I replied.

  “That’s good. I’m glad he’s here.”

  “Me, too.”

  “I wasn’t glad he was here earlier,” she said dryly.

  “Yeah, you made that clear,” I replied, my lips twitching.

  We were quiet for a while as I ran my fingers lightly up and down her spine.