Aflame (Fall Away #4)(61)

He stayed still, listening to me in the quiet room.

“It’s easier to be angry and pass judgment than it is to take a chance. It feels stronger.”

I felt his chest inflate with a breath. “Yeah, I know that feeling.”

I laid the side of my face on his back, hugging him close. “Nothing feels right without you. Not school or home,” I cried. “Everything is just giving me enough air to get to the next day without you. I never stopped being yours.”

He dropped his head back, letting out a sigh.

I swallowed, taking my chance. “I love you, Jared. I’ve always loved you, and I will always love you.”

There was no one but him, and even when he wasn’t around, he was. I would never be free of him—because I didn’t want to be.





Chapter 14


Jared

I lowered my head, the stress that had built up in my nerves slowly ebbing away. I couldn’t believe she’d finally just said it.

All the nights. All the time and the phone calls and texts I’d sent . . . Every day, it had seemed as if she was moving farther away from me, and the memories of her were only dreams that had never been real.

Tatum Brandt loved me, and I was never letting her go again.

“I know what I want,” she said, her voice thick with unshed tears. “I know where I’m going. I know what I stand for, and I don’t do things that I don’t want to do.” She turned me around, her eyes holding me still. “And even so, without you in my life, I’m not happy. For better or worse, you’ve been my other half since I was ten years old, and I can’t imagine a future I’d want without you in it. You’re the love of my life.”

Looking down at her, seeing the stormy expression in her eyes fill with expectation and nervousness—what would I do or say?—there was only one way to carry on. One way to move on.

There were no more words. Nothing to discuss and nothing to resolve. Every inch of me was hers, and I was sick of living without her for another second.

“Do you still love me?” she prompted quietly when I didn’t say anything.

I looked away, licking my dry lips as I knelt down, picking up her heels off the floor. Sitting up on one knee, I wrapped my hand around her slender ankle and helped her foot into her shoe, one following the other.

“Jared, say something,” she begged, the worry making her voice grow thick.

But I didn’t.

Let her sweat a bit. I was so sick of talking.

I just wanted my girl.

Standing up, I took her hand and pulled her through the door, heading back out into the club. She missed a step but caught herself, and picked up her pace to keep up with me.

The music danced around us, and I glanced at Tate’s booth, seeing that Madoc had found Fallon and was hugging her back with his lips on her neck. Juliet was near the stage, sitting on Jax’s lap, watching a dancer as he kissed her shoulder.

Good. They had rides home, then.

“Where are we going?” Tate sounded worried. “Are you still mad or something?”

I smiled to myself, leading her out of the club. Digging out my keys, I hit the button to unlock the car as soon as we hit the parking lot and moved swiftly, opening up the door for her.

“Get in,” I told her. She blinked, looking confused, but got in the car, swinging her legs in so I could close the door.

Moving around the rear, I opened my door and immediately sat down and turned my head to look at her.

“Jared.” She shook her head. “Why won’t you talk to me?”

I reached over, lifting her underneath her arms, and slid her body over to sit sideways on my lap, her legs lying over the console.

Her back rested against my door, and her face, inches from mine, turned wide-eyed to me.

I reached up, cupping the side of her face. “Can we just skip to the end?” I asked softly. “I’m tired of missing you, Tate.”

And that was it. No more talking, no more arguing, no more denying what couldn’t be changed . . . I only lived in her orbit, and I would die there, too. There was no choice to be made.

I brought my hand up, threading my fingers through her hair and holding the back of her head as I hovered my lips over hers.

“I love you,” I whispered and pulled her in, my mouth sinking into hers as her shocked whimper vibrated across my tongue.

Her sweet smell filled my nostrils as I sucked her tongue into my mouth and barely let her up for air.

I loved playing with her. I held her tight, so I could do whatever the hell I wanted. For three years in high school, I’d denied myself what I wanted, and for the last two years, she’d kept me from reclaiming what I wanted, and my peace of mind was fried.

By the time I was satisfied, she wouldn’t be able to walk.

I moved over her mouth, sinking my teeth into her bottom lip and dragging it out and then diving back in again to play with her tongue.

She whimpered again but didn’t even try to resist me as I controlled the kiss. My lips hummed with the feel of her, but before I could slide my hands anywhere I wasn’t going to want to let go of, I pulled away, sucking in a breath.

Her chest rose and fell hard, but she opened her mouth again, coming at me for more.

I pulled back, shaking my head, and she searched my eyes, looking pained.

Before she could protest, I started the car, sliding my hand under her arched knees to shift.