He raises a disbelieving eyebrow.
“Okay, Iwas. And I wish I wasn’t because then all of this could’ve been avoided. But I’m not in love with him anymore—not even a small crush. Nothing. He’s still my friend, but I’ve finally taken the rose-tinted glasses off and realized he’s not the person for me. I feel nothing romantic toward him.”
Some of the tension leaves Jay’s shoulders. “You sound like you mean that.”
“I do.”
Emmett is great and nice and a good person, but compared to Jay—compared to anyone, really—he’s a littleboring, at least for my tastes. Everything Emmett does are things any friend would do for me, things Kalani and Emi have done for me in the past too, and I always thought it was because he had feelings for me before he started dating Kalani. But looking back, he never had feelings for me, he was just being a friend. And while he’s a great person, he doesn’t push me or encourage me to be my true self and live to my full potential and speak my mind. Not like Jay.
“At least you’re finally being honest,” Jay says.
Honest. Speaking my mind. Jay’s always pushing me to do that, and if that’s what he wants me to do to break through this icy exterior he’s giving me, then that’s what I’ll do.
“You want honest? Fine. You tell me that I think I’m better than everyone and that I’m entitled—hell, you even call mePrincessto drive that point home. But that’s not who I am. You have a lot to say about what’s wrong with me, but how about you? You’re an asshole, Jay. Sorry, it’s the truth.” He opens his mouth to speak, but I continue. “But you’re also not. You’ve been honest with me through everything, bluntly honest, and that’s probably contributing to your assholeness. But you took one look at me and formed an opinion.You’rethe one who thought you weren’t good enough for me, and you decided I thought that too. But we both know that’s not true. I don’t think I’m too good for you; if anything, you’re too good for me.”
His face says he doesn’t believe me, so I push on. “You’re what I wish I could be. You don’t shy away from confrontation, and you always speak your mind. You would’ve told Emmett how you felt about him when you realized you had a crush on him way back in ninth grade. You would’ve had a conversation with Kalani when they started dating so there wouldn’t be awkwardness surrounding you all the time. You would’ve applied to art school, you would’ve told your friends you didn’t want to be set up on dates and that you missed one-on-one time, and you definitely would’ve told Arthur it wasn’t going to work instead of trying to crawl out a bathroom window.”
The corner of his mouth tilts up just the tiniest bit. “You’ve never had a problem being straightforward and honest withme. You’ve never had a problem telling me off or telling me what you really wanted, even if it took you a little time to do it.”
He’s right. I didn’t even tell off sunglasses-at-night Chad until Jay was standing with me. “There’s just something about you. Maybe your abrasiveness is infectious.” The truth is ItrustJay. I feel safe with him.
“Or maybe,” he says, closing all the space between us, “you know you can be yourself with me.”
He’s standing so close the heat emitting off his naked torso scorches my skin. It takes all my self-control to not reach out and touch him—his abs, his muscled chest, his broad shoulders, his defined biceps. I force my gaze to remain above his neck and my hands to stay by my sides.
“Like I’ve told you before,” he continues, “you just need to practice being straightforward with people and telling them what you really want.” His eyes pierce straight to my soul, every bit as intense as the day I met him. “So tell me, Carina, what do you really want?”
My heart beats loudly in my ears. What do I want? I know exactly what that is. I knew it from the second I entered the clearing and Jay spotted me. And judging from the way Jay’s looking at me right now, he knows it too, and he feels the same way.
“You.”
That’s all the confirmation Jay needs.
He grabs me and pulls me to him with an urgency that takes my breath away, pressing his lips to mine. They’re soft and demanding, and as he deepens the kiss, he pulls me in closer, as if he can’t stand being apart from me for a second longer.
It takes me by surprise how instantly I feel that electrifying spark between us, and I melt against him. The heat of his skin is searing, and the hand running down my back sends shivers down my spine. I can feel him everywhere, feel the steady beat of his heart against my chest, feel the smooth ridges of his broad shoulders as I run my hands along them to his back.
The kiss is like nothing I’ve ever felt before but everything I expected a kiss from Jay would be: fiery, explosive, passionate, confident, and filled with a hunger that leaves me feeling both dizzy and alive. It makes me wonder why I spent all that time arguing with him and denying my feelings when we could’ve been doingthis.
“You drive me crazy, Princess, you know that?” Jay breathes against my lips. “Since the first moment I spotted you, I knew you’d be trouble. You got under my skin and stayed there.”
That was right here, at the cliffs, but the way we acted toward each other was the complete opposite of what we’re doing right now. In fact, that Carina vowed to never see him again, and yet here I am, craving his touch and reveling in the way he’s looking down at me like he wants me and would destroy anything that got in his way.
“It was the red thong, wasn’t it?” I joke as I smile up at him. “It’s okay, you can admit it. It’s a really good pair of underwear; it would stay in anyone’s mind long after.”
He barks out a surprised laugh, shaking his head at me as he pushes my hair out of my face, his hand lingering on my jaw.
“Maybe. Or it could’ve just been its owner, who continuously tried to get herself thrown off the edge of the cliff. Speaking of . . .”
He fakes like he’s going to pick me up bridal style like he did that day to throw me over, and I squeal and jerk away. “Don’t you dare!”
He laughs, pulling me back to him. “I’d never.”
He places a sweet, gentle kiss on my lips that lingers and leaves me gazing up at him starry-eyed when he pulls away.
“Stay awhile,” Jay demands, his thumb tracing a line down my jaw and over my swollen bottom lip.
I know he means for me to stay here physically at the cliff with him, but the way his eyes are burning with a mixture of tenderness and possessiveness, I can’t help but feel there’s an underlying meaning. And I like it.