"Like what?"
"Unfinished."
"Jase, we've been finished. You gave me the best years of my life so far. You taught me to be strong before I ever knew there were things in this world you needed strength for. You prepared me. You taught me self-perseveration. You taught me to love myself." She stepped back from me, inching closer to the door. "So this isme,Jase, being strong. This ismenot letting anyone ever hurt me again."
"You leave, Charlie, and I will chase you. I will chase you until I am old and gray. I want my best friend back. I want the best thing that ever happened to me back. And I promise you I will make you fall in love with me all over again. This time, it'll be the forever kind," I promised.
"Jase. I've messed up so much..."
"I've messed up too, Charlie. This whole time. Without you. I just couldn't feel anything...for anybody," I said quietly.
"I tried to love Bren. I tried to love everybody. Anybody," she said, sitting back down on the bed.
"How'd that work for you?" I chuckled.
"It didn't; none of them were you." Her cheeks darkened with her admission, then her eyes turned concerned. "Jace, sleep, you're exhausted."
"But I'm not finished with you. I need to..."
"Sleep."
"You'll leave," I growled.
"I'll stay," she lied.
"I know what to do to get you to stay!" Exhausted, I stumbled into the living room and came back with my iPad and collapsed next to her on the bed. "My kindle app. I have books."
A lock of cinnamon hair escaped from her ponytail and fell into her eyes as she opened my reading app. I reached out and curled it around my finger, running it over my hand. There was always something about the way she looked with a book in her hand, complete chaos surrounding her, while she just sat, in her own little world...reading.
I slid my hands away, into the covers, and gripped at the sheets, hoping like hell I could keep my hands off of her.
Her head tilted up, green eyes sparkling at me, her face full of excitement. "Have you read all of these?"
I still love you.
I love you.
I love you like we were never apart.
Her eyes blinked, and her bottom lip pulled in between her teeth. "Jase..."
She said my name as more of a plea than a question, and all I could see were her lips. The way her eyes looked into mine was what I'd been missing all this time. Slowly, I reached out and cupped her face in my hand, running the pad of my thumb along her bottom lip. Her pulse raced under my fingers and her breathing quickened.
"Oh, God, Jase," she whispered, as her eyes closed.
"Stay with me," I said, covering her mouth with my lips, leaving a soft kiss.
Her lips immediately parted and she gasped. The sound was soft and sensual, a surprised breath full of promises and want.
I pulled my hand back and pressed my temple to hers. She clutched my iPad to her chest as I slid my hand down her arm. The feel of her skin made me delirious with want, but my body was shutting down from total lack of sleep. "I'm going to remind you how much we loved each other."
She pushed my chest down into the bed and nuzzled into me. "I never forgot, Jase."
Charlie didn't leave.
She couldn't actually. The Lieutenant told her she could either stay with me or in witness protection until Bren's court date.
She chose me
