I head for the door, and she calls after me. “Call me if you need anything, okay? Oh, and Kail?"
“Yeah?”
“Give him a hug for me, please?”
“Okay.” I hide my smile.I head for the pool house first, desperate to change out of my school uniform before I go over to Landon’s. But as it turns out, we really are magnets. He’s already here, waiting for me on the patio chair.
His eyes snap up to mine when he hears me approaching, and his are shadowed with darkness. He looks exhausted, and if his clothes are any indication, he didn’t get much sleep last night. Instead of his trousers and blazer, he’s wearing a pair of jeans and a gray Cougars hoodie. It’s so tempting to crawl into his lap right there and curl up in the safety of his body. Instead, I unlock the door without a word and leave it open. He follows me inside.
“Kail?”
He’s still standing on the landing with a wary expression on his face. The last time we saw each other, I’d just found Audrey’s gift box in my locker. It didn’t exactly end well, and I’m sure he doesn’t know what I’m going to do now. But things have changed so much since then.
I walk to him, shocking the hell out of him when I reach up and touch his face. Memorizing the lines by swooping my fingers over the curves. Watching the way his lashes flutter and his entire body relaxes. He needs so much love—an entire lifetime’s worth—and I won’t give him anything less. I’m keeping him forever, I’ve decided.
“I broke my own rule,” I whisper.
He opens his eyes. Soft and gray to my fiery brown.
“What rule?”
“I preached about trust, and then I acted like a complete hypocrite. I should have trusted you, Landon. I should have known. You’ve never lied to me before.”
He exhales a shaky breath. “So I guess this means you know Audrey was a complete psychopath.”
“Are you okay?” I ask.
We seem to understand each other without saying the words. He knows what happened at the party now. He knows what Audrey did. I can see it in his eyes.
“I’m okay.” His hands stroke over my shoulders. “If you’re okay, then I’m okay.”
I don’t want that wretched human stain to pollute one more second between us, so I bring his face down to mine and kiss him. Landon drags me closer and sighs into my mouth as though this is his paradise. I swallow that sound, and every breath after. I inhale his warmth, notes of vanilla and cocoa. Nothing has ever smelled more like home to me.
My hands drift up under the hem of his hoodie, pressing against the heated skin on his back. When I curl my fingertips into him, I feel like I’m inking the message into his skin.
Mine.
He responds by sliding his hands beneath my skirt and cupping my ass as he lifts me against him. Our lips never part as he carries me to the bed and eases me down onto the mattress, the weight of his body pressing into mine.
I’m breathless and needy when he pulls away long enough to tug the hoodie off over his head. He tosses it aside, biceps flexing and abs winking at me as he moves. God, he’s insanely beautiful. It makes me hyperaware of my flaws when he unbuttons my blazer and helps me remove it. His fingers hover over the buttons of my shirt, and I try to distract him by going for the zipper on his jeans again. But he pauses, and I know I’m caught.
“Kailani.” He slips his palms up beneath my shirt, lightly grazing the soft skin of my belly. “Are you trying to hide yourself from me?”
“Yes,” I admit weakly.
Can’t he see it? Can’t he see the softness on me? The rounded hips and drumstick thighs? I’m not one of those perfect Hollywood actresses. I’m not a BMA Barbie. And somewhere, in the back of my mind, I’m still afraid he’s going to figure it out. He’ll open his eyes and see me for what I truly am.
“You still don’t get it, do you?” He cocks his head to the side, frustrated.
“What?”
He makes slow, leisurely work of unbuttoning my shirt, then spreading it apart as heat swirls in his eyes. When he splays his palms across my stomach, it caves in, and he dips his head to kiss the softness there.
“This is what makes you human.” His lips brush against me. “I want you exactly as you are. Soft, feminine, beautiful. These curves are my addiction. So, please, for the love of God, let me worship them.”
Something melts inside me, and I nod without a second thought. “Okay.”
“Okay.” He drags his body up mine, thrusting his hips against my panties. “Just in case you forget what you do to me, here’s a reminder. And I’ll keep giving them to you every chance I get.”