Boarded by Love
Page 26

“I find that hard to believe, but hell, people change.”
“You’re right…when there is someone to change for.”
Her grin grows as she nods slowly. “Absolutely, but I’ve been warned not to rush this.”
“Funny, so have I,” I say and we share a grin.
“So, let’s do this. We’re dating and after, what, ten dates? We’ll decide if we want to become Facebook official?”
I eye her. “Do these dates include sex?”
She shakes her head. “Heck no, we jumped the gun last night. I think we should draw it out. Get to know each other and then see if this is what you want.”
“You mean what we want.”
“I know what I want,” she says, her eyes boring into mine. “I just don’t want to put my heart out there for you to decide that this isn’t what you want.”
“Wow, this is some heavy shit,” I say, running my hands through my hair. When I glance back up, her lips are in a straight line, her eyes a little sad, and I don’t like that one bit. “But it’s nothing I can’t handle. I know what I want, Claire, and it’s you.”
She giggles as she leans toward me, kissing my lips softly before backing away to look in my eyes. “I want you too.”
“Good, but can I request something?”
She smiles as her thumb moves lazily along my bottom lip. “Yeah?”
“Can we do these ten dates in ten days because I’ve been constantly thinking of your sweet body all night and day. I don’t think I’ll last weeks without having another taste of you.”
Her face brightens with color as she looks down, biting into her lip. When she glances back up at me, she shakes her head. “You make me so shy and giggly. I’ve never been like this.”
“That’s a good thing, I think.”
“Me too, and why don’t we wait two weeks, instead? I’m pretty sure I’m not gonna see you every day, and with our schedules, we’re both so busy. So we’ll wait two weeks and see how we feel at the end.”
“You’ll be with no one else, right?”
She eyes me as her head nods slowly. “Of course, but neither will you.”
“No problem.” With a wide grin, I gather her in my arms and whisper against her lips, “I like that, and I’m pretty sure nothing will change.”
Moving her nose with mine, she says, “I hope so.”
As I get lost in her eyes, her kisses, I know that nothing will change this.
This girl is it, and I’m gonna prove that to not only her, but to the world.
Holy shit. Did I just set up a trial period with Jude Sinclair in the hopes that he’ll be my boyfriend at the end of two weeks? I must have because I’m kissing him like I just did. Our bodies have molded together and our lips move in tandem in a playful assault. I know that eyes are on us, but I don’t give two shits. To say that people have been warning me left and right about Jude would be an understatement.
Apparently, Jude Sinclair is the whore of the campus.
I was in the shower this morning and three girls came up to warn me about him. Then in my first class, two said something and then four more did in my second. I assured everyone that I wasn’t a dumbass and knew that he’s led the life of the player and don’t intend to give my heart to someone who doesn’t want it. But that all changed when I saw him basically running across the quad toward me. It was breathtaking; he’s so agile and beautifully athletic. Then he took me in his hands and kissed me as if he hadn’t seen me in years. I felt missed, special. It was perfect, and I was certain that my heart would be his before I knew it.
While that does freak me out a bit, I’m happy with our plan. I think it is solid and I hope to God he doesn’t screw me over, but I also know to keep my heart completely locked tight until the end of the two weeks. I trust him, I do, but I trust the guy who chased me across campus, who made sweet love to me and then took me to breakfast. The guy before that, I’ve heard, is not the greatest, and as long as he stays like this guy, I’m good.
Pulling back, he moves his thumb along my jaw as his eyes bore into mine. “I want to know what you’re thinking.”
I smile. “I’m thinking I hope that you don’t hurt me.”
“I don’t plan to. You know what I did last night after I left you?”
“What?”
“I went back and asked Jayden how to have a girlfriend because I’ve never had one.”
I scoff. “Oh, shut up! You did too, in high school, at least!”
But he shakes his head. “No, never. I was too focused on hockey and used girls for one thing. I didn’t want to have to answer to anyone, but with you, it’s different.” Moving his hand up my face, he rakes his fingers through my hair, wrapping it slowly around his fingers as he holds my gaze. “I was told to treat you like a princess, so that’s what I’m gonna do.”
My chest warms, and I know my heart is banging against the box I’ve trapped it in. “Phillip and Reese are the only ones who have ever done that.”
He nods. “So I have competition… I like competition.”
I laugh as I lean my forehead against his. “Why, Jude? Why me?”
Looking in my eyes for a long time, I think he isn’t going to answer, but then he says, “I prided myself on my game. I knew what I wanted from girls. I thought I only wanted sex from you, but then I second-guessed myself and thought maybe I should wait because I wanted to get to know you. I want to know everything, and then I want to know more. I don’t know. It’s crazy, I know, but it’s different. You’re different. You’ve changed my game completely.”
I love what he’s said, and I know he’s being truthful. I can see it down in the depths of his green eyes. He means every word; he cares for me. “The same can be said for you. I was fine before you, but the moment I saw you, I wanted more. I never had that happen to me before.”
His grin is unstoppable as laces his fingers with mine. “So I guess we’re both doing something new and scary.”
“Yeah,” I agree, leaning my head toward his, my nose moving ever so lightly against his. “And I couldn’t be more excited about it.”
“Me either,” he whispers and then he takes my lips with his. As I get lost in Jude’s kisses and soft touches, I know that Jude is the one I could fall for and love. It would be so easy because his innocence on the matter is endearing, and I want nothing more than to be his first love.