Since when? I stopped looking around the kitchen and looked directly at her. Has she not noticed everything I’ve changed for her since meeting her? “Since I was a jackass and hurt my princess.”
Her eyes went wide, and I heard her next intake of breath, “Huh . . . I didn’t realize.”
“You’re the one that told me I should stop.”
“But I didn’t mean you had to, Chase. You’re grown; you can do whatever you want.”
“I know. Nothing good ever came from drinking, though.” And if I kept it up, I’d never get you. Not like I had her then . . . but it would have pushed her even further away.
She blinked quickly and looked back down to the beers she’d been collecting. “Do you want to split one? Nothing will happen from half a beer, right?”
Nothing would happen from three, but there wasn’t a point in starting anyway. I smiled at her and tried to mimic her voice. “I guess my little body can handle half a beer.”
“You’re so dumb. Help me with these, I’m hanging out at your mom’s table.”
We went back to their table, and I pulled up a chair right next to Harper’s, so we were always in some kind of contact. I watched as she leaned in to my mom, and I thought about how perfect she would be in this family, as my wife. That thought slammed into me, and I had to lean back as I let it wash over me. Every feeling Harper had stirred up in me was beyond anything I’d ever experienced, but I’d never once thought about marriage until just then. Even so, I knew that if I could marry Harper, I would in an instant. I watched her laugh with my mom, and her eyes flashed over to catch mine for a few tense moments before going back to the table. It’s official. I’m completely gone on this girl.
Everyone started leaving the numerous poker tables set up around the house to find a spot where they could see one of the TVs for the countdown to midnight, and I frowned when my princess got up without a word or glance in my direction and found her way toward Bree. I saw her take one look at Bree and Konrad making out with each other and laugh to herself as she shook her head. She brought her right hand up to look at the ring I’d just given her, and what happened next was what finally made up my mind. She bit down softly on her bottom lip, her cheeks barely turning pink, and smiled the sweetest smile as she looked at it before dropping her hand and glancing back to the TV. I’d just had one of those freakin’ lightbulb moments when I realized I would give anything to marry her, and I still hadn’t kissed her. But after watching that, I wasn’t waiting any longer.
I walked up behind her, grabbed around her waist, and pulled her back into the dark hallway. She gasped but slammed her mouth shut when I turned her so her back was against the wall and her eyes looked up to meet mine. I cupped her face in my hands and allowed my thumbs to brush over her cheeks as I studied her dark eyes. Her mouth opened slightly, and even with everyone in the house counting down to midnight, I could hear her intake of breath before I finally, finally pressed my mouth to hers. She locked her body up for a few seconds before relaxing and wrapping her arms around my neck. When she began moving her mouth against mine, I knew I could die happy.
I let my tongue trace against that bottom lip of hers I loved so much and groaned when she opened her mouth to me. I led us roughly back to the opposite wall, let go of her face, and grabbed her hips to bring her between my legs. She went willingly, and when one of my hands pressed against the small of her back to push us closer together, she moaned into my mouth and arched her body into mine. Her hands slid down from around my neck to fist into my shirt and pull me closer, and I smiled before nipping at her bottom lip and taking her mouth again. By the time we pulled back from each other, we were both breathing hard, and I rested my forehead on hers while I tried to catch my breath.
She put a hand to her chest but didn’t say anything and would no longer look at me. She was looking straight down. I needed her to look at me, I needed to know what she was thinking. That kiss hadn’t been what I was hoping for when I decided to finally kiss her. It was more. It’d been hungry and passionate and like we couldn’t get enough of each other. So why won’t she look at me?
“Harper.”
Her eyes snapped up, and my stomach dropped. She looked like someone had just crushed her. I’d never felt so alive, and she looked like she was on the verge of bursting into tears.
“I will think about that kiss for the rest of my life.” I gently pushed her away from me and watched the pain flash through her eyes as I wondered if I’d just made the biggest mistake of all when it came to this girl. I dropped my arms, walked quickly out to my truck, and got away from that house as fast as I possibly could. If she regretted that, I knew that I wouldn’t be able to handle it, so I didn’t want to know.