Page 81 of Movers and Fakers

“All this time, it’s seemed like you don’t care what anyone thinks of you. I guess that was just the air you put on,” she murmurs.

“I don’t care, not really—” I cut off, the words jumbling in my mind. “It’s hard to explain. You’ll see when we get to New York. I think it’ll make sense then.”

I squeeze her hand, hoping my words are reassuring and not worrying. This is one of the many reasons I don’t want to take her to New York. She will see, and then things could change between us. I hope not, but I wouldn’t blame her if she saw the glitz and politics and decided I’m not worth the trouble.

She lifts my hand to her lips and presses a gentle kiss there in reply, making me smile.

“You know what I think we should talk about?” I ask, ready to change the subject. Aurora arches a brow. “How surprising it is that someone who doesn’t like the spotlight loves PDA.”

Aurora’s mouth drops and she lets out an indignant huff.

“I do not love PDA!”

“Our first kiss was in public—”

She cuts me off. “At night when no one was around.”

“The security guard got a show,” I tease.

She tries to tug her hand out of mine, but I hold on tight.

“Rosewood,” she growls in warning, still fighting me.

I chuckle. “What about in the library?”

“That was to prove a point to Mcdonalds.”

I snort at her play on Mckinleigh’s name.

“And what point was that?” I ask with a smirk.

She manages to jerk out of my grip when I have to make a left turn. I glance over and see she’s crossed her arms. Her mouth is set in a stubborn straight line.

“Hm?” I prompt, and I’m given a simple shake of her head in return.

Another chuckle falls from my lips. I whip into the campus parking lot, stopping in the very back where only a handful of unoccupied cars are around. I unbuckle my seat belt. Aurora cuts her gaze toward me for a second, then back toward the windshield. When she still doesn’t say anything, I get out and walk around the car, opening the door, then leaning in and undoing her seat belt.

“What are you—” Her question cuts off with a gasp when I use the lever on the side to make the seat tilt back. Then I place a hand on either side of her shoulders and lean in.

“Tell me why you kissed me in the library,” I demand, staring into her deep blue eyes.

“You know why,” she replies.

The tops of her cheekbones are colored soft pink, giving her away even as she’s fighting me.

“But I want to hear you say it. What point were you making, Princess?”

Her eyes flash with a mixture of desire and frustration.

“That you’re mine,” she says, gripping the front of my shirt and pulling me until our lips are almost touching. “Is that what you wanted to hear? I wanted her and everyone else to know that you’re mine. Not for a date or a weekend, but for good.”

I smile just before capturing her soft mouth in a kiss. The passion burning within Aurora is one that would call for a frenzied kiss, something to go with the way she’s fisting my shirt right now. But I purposefully take things slow, coaxing her lips to part so I can drink her in. With each touch of my mouth, each taste, I show her that she’s mine, too. She might abandon me after New York, but here, in this moment, I’m hers and she’s mine.

She pulls back and breathes, “You drive me crazy.”

I trail kisses over her jaw to her ear. “The feeling is mutual.”

Chapter forty-one