“Behave,” I shot back automatically—which only made his mouth curve.
“I am behaving,” he said lightly. “Remarkably so.”
I laughed breathlessly against his mouth, and something about that. The laughter woven into the heat firmed the ground beneath us. This wasn’t just fire, or wanting—it was us. Messy and stubborn, and demanding and so fucking generous he made my heart hurt.
He was choosing me and I’d be lying if I tried to deny I didn’t want him and chose him the same way. Eventually, the reality of where we were intruded—the front seat, the open windows, the fact that anyone could drive past at any second.
I pulled back just enough to catch my breath.
“We are in public,” I pointed out weakly.
He glanced around lazily, then back at me. “Technically secluded.”
“Archie.”
“Frankie.” My name rolled off his tongue like he owned the sound of it. The playfulness didn’t disappear. It sharpened.Darkened. Something almost feral flickered beneath it, and heat slid low and liquid through my veins.
“Don’t be scared,” he murmured, voice dropping until it felt like it lived against my skin instead of in the air. “I would never let anything happen to you that you didn’t want.”
The certainty in it made my pulse jump.
I slid my hand into his hair, fingers threading through the dark strands, and licked my lips before I could stop myself. “I’m not scared.”
But my voice wavered just enough to betray me.
His brows lifted, slow and knowing.
I exhaled, breath shaky. “Okay. I am scared.”
“Of what?” he asked, softer now. Not teasing. Intent.
His breath ghosted across my mouth, and when I dragged my nails lightly along his scalp, he tilted into the touch instinctively. Like a cat basking in attention. Like he trusted me with his throat.
I wasn’t sure which of us that calmed more.
“Of going too far,” I admitted. “Of changing who we are.” My voice dipped lower. “Of losing your friendship. I already came so close?—”
His hand came up fast, cupping my chin, thumb pressing just enough to make me look at him. Not rough. Never rough.
“No,” he said, the single word so absolute it demanded that I believe him. “You didn’t ‘almost lose me’.”
His eyes locked on mine, dark and steady and unblinking in a way that made my stomach flip.
“I was never leaving you, Frankie.” His voice roughened, something possessive threading through it. “You could date the rest of the world. You could pretend you didn’t want me. You could push and test and run.”
His grip tightened slightly, a soft flex as though the idea of me doing any of that would hurt him.
“ButIwould still be right here.”
A shiver ran through me.
“You don’t get rid of me,” he continued, the edge of a smile ghosting his mouth. The baffling level of his certainty dared me to deny him. “You don’t scare me off. You don’t outgrow me. And you definitely won't lose me.”
The intensity in his gaze was almost dizzying.
“I’ve wantedyoutoo long to disappear now.”
The words settled deep in my chest. Unshakable. Maybe his devotion should terrify me more than anything else, but it didn’t.
