needed it from you and so I pushed you and it only pushed you further away.”
“So, what? The party was just some desperate attempt to reel me back in?”
“No, Jade. The party was a desperate attempt not to lose you. I saw you in the parking lot with Milo and I’m not even going to try to understand that shit, but I can’t watch you move on to another guy and fall further away.”
He falls silent but words are lost on me. I haven’t got a clue what I’m supposed to say to that but I feel it right down in my gut. The pull between us is too strong, too real.
I push up onto my tippy-toes and as I do, his face drops and our lips meet in the middle. His arms curl more securely around me as mine wrap around the back of his neck, holding him close and refusing to let go. The kiss is short, nothing like the one we shared last night but it’s so full of power that it cripples me.
I pull away and drop back to my feet, needing a moment to collect myself and as his forehead drops to mine, I’m reminded of that perfect moment on the dance floor before the night turned to shit. “I shouldn’t have walked out last night,” I tell him. “I was safe with you.”
Colton’s fingers come up and brush the hair off the side of my face before his fingertips gently trail over my skin. “You’re always safe with me, Ocean,” he says, his voice thick with emotion. “Even when it doesn’t seem like it, you’re my priority. Since the second I first saw you.”
His words are my undoing and I can’t help but raise my chin and brush my lips over his once again. “Thank you for last night,” I whisper. “For everything. Saving me, the party, the gown. It was perfect until it wasn’t.”
He doesn't respond, just nods and to him, that’s as good of a ‘you’re welcome’ as I’m going to get. My eyes drop and I focus heavily on his wide, tanned chest. “He destroyed my gown.”
His fingers tighten on my body, holding me closer. “I’ll buy you a new one.”
I shake my head. “No, please don’t do that,” I tell him. “I don’t want any more reminders of how he tore it from my body. I just …”
“It was your first gown.” I nod, loving how intune he is with me. “Are you okay, Jade?”
“No …” I say, looking up. “I don’t know. Maybe. I haven’t really had a chance to process everything.”
He watches me for a moment before slipping his hands down my body and lifting me. My legs automatically wrap around his waist, holding on as he strides across his bedroom. He sits down on his bed with his back pressed up against the headboard and my knees on either side of his thighs. “You’re strong, Jade. You’re going to be alright.”
I pull back and rest my weight on his legs while refusing to release my hold from around his neck. “Why do you call me Jade?”
A soft smile pulls at the corners of his lips and it blows me the hell way. “Have you ever seen a sky blue jadeite crystal?”
I raise my brow, wondering how a guy like Colton knows anything about crystals. “Do I look like the kind of girl who’s seen a sky blue jadeite crystal?”
He laughs and raises a hand, brushing his fingers over my brow and circling under my eye. “It’s the same color as your eyes.”
My mouth drops as butterflies sweep through my stomach and make my heart race. “So, all this time I’ve been pissed with you for calling me the wrong name when in reality …”
“It’s the perfect name.”
“You should have told me.”
His soft smile turns into a wicked grin. “As if I was going to do that. Do you have any idea how entertaining it is watching you get your panties in a twist over things you don’t understand?”
My hand smacks out but his reflexes are on point and he catches it with ease. “You’re an ass.”
Colton tugs on my hand and I fall into him. He catches me so that I don’t crash headfirst into his chest but a part of me kinda wishes I had. My face hovers in front of his and I catch my breath, feeling the tension rising between us.
“Tell me something I don’t know,” he murmurs low, his eyes glued to mine.