Hard Hit (IceCats 3)

I kiss her top lip and ask, “Did you make your list?”

“I did,” she answers, holding her glass up to take a sip. “It’s not long.”

“What’s on it?”

She pauses for a second and then pulls her phone out of her back pocket. I watch as she goes to her notes, and then she starts to speak. “Fear of forgetting my sleep stuff—”

“Okay, so tomorrow when we’re shopping, we’ll get you everything you need. So you have a second set here.”

She presses her glossy lips together as she meets my gaze. She swallows hard and then continues on the list. “Fear of farting or snoring.”

“That’s normal. No worries there. I won’t judge you. I snore when my sinuses are bad.”

Her lips quirk, but then she looks into my eyes. She doesn’t look down at her notes; she holds my gaze, searching it as she says, “And the last one is fear that if I stay, I’ll never want to leave. I know my heart will be fully committed to this, and I won’t know how to move on from this relationship if it ends, if you don’t want me anymore. Because I feel like it’s my life now. You and Celeste, this is my normal. And sleeping with you, being in the bed with you and loving you, will mean I’m allowing you the opportunity to hurt me.”

I wasn’t expecting that. My heart jumps into my throat as I hold her gaze. Tears flood her eyes, and I reach up, cupping her face in my palms. “My heart is already committed to this. I honestly don’t know how to live my life without you now that I have you. You and Celeste have been my normal for the last couple months, and Jaylin, it feels so damn right. So perfect. Please, sweetheart, my love, join me.”

A tear trickles down her cheek as she leans her face into mine, placing her wine and phone on the counter so she can hold me by the back of my biceps. “I brought a bag.”

“You did?” I ask, way more excited than I should be. She could leave at any second.

“I want to try.”

“You do?”

“I do,” she says, opening her eyes to look into mine. “When you asked for the list, I sat there, and all I could think about was that Nico did this for Aviva. He was set on making her comfortable, and I admired him for it. I was jealous of how wonderful he was to her, and here you are, doing the same thing. But the thing is, you’ve been doing the same thing since day one. You’re so supportive, so wonderful, and I trust you. I trust you immensely, Kirby.” Another tear falls, and I quickly wipe it away. “I held Celeste all night. It was like she was mine. My daughter. And I felt so damn right. I probably should have added that to my list of fears. Since if this ended, it would be a double heartbreak because I love her just as much as I love you.”

“That won’t happen. Jaylin, I feel this. I know this is it. I knew it when I saw you in that bar.”

She nods. “I know. I feel it too, though I’m still so scared. But I have to try because I can’t lose you two. I love you both so much.”

I can’t even speak. I’m floored. I bring her mouth to mine, kissing her hard, and she leans into me, cupping my hands with hers as our kiss deepens. I slide my tongue along hers, kissing her top lip and then her bottom before pulling back to gaze into her eyes.

“Where are your keys?”

She smiles. “On the table by the door.”

I kiss her again. “I’m going to get your bag. Go get naked.”

Her giggles send me into a frenzy. “That was a long game of physical exertion for you to be wanting more of it. You sure?”

“I am always sure when it comes to you,” I promise, kissing her nose. She kisses me back before I pull away, backing up. “Naked, Jaylin.”

She laughs. “I hear you.”

Before I can say anything else, though, there is a knock at the door. Her brows rise as mine do the same. “Who the hell could that be?” I ask, and she shrugs as I turn to go to the door. “Maybe Jean forgot something,” I say, but when I open the door, it’s not Jean.

Fuck, I wish it were Jean.

No. It’s Lilly.

Chapter Thirty-One

Jaylin

* * *

You have got to be fucking kidding me.

My heart drops into my stomach and then bounces around inside as I stand, crossing my arms over my chest. I cannot believe this chick is standing in Kirby’s doorway. Damn it, Celeste favors her. I’d never thought so before since I’ve only ever seen Kirby and Celeste together. Since I’ve memorized everything about Celeste’s face, I can now see Lilly in her. The almond-shaped light-blue eyes, the button nose, the blondish hair—though Celeste’s has gotten darker the last month—and even her chin. Lilly is standing in front of Kirby, and I know she can’t see me, but I can see her, and I sure as hell don’t like the way she is looking at my man.