Page 55 of Caught in the Axe
These tasks should have been my worst nightmare, but Lila made this entire ordeal fun. When I’d come back to Lovewell, it had felt like a prison sentence. Now, I looked forward to seeing her every day, and the stress of dealing with this mess while keeping up with my day job felt more manageable with her around.
“Crap. I can’t even type my password correctly,” she said, her voice wavering.
“Shh.,” I said, rubbing her shoulders, hoping to imbue her with a sense of calm. “Take a deep breath and try again.”
She was so tense she was practically vibrating.
I wasn’t fairing a whole lot better. I wanted this for her so badly. I wanted all of her dreams to come true.
Finally, with a long breath out, she typed her password correctly. Then we waited, holding our breath, while the page loaded.
When the NYU logo appeared, she was out of her seat, jumping and screaming. “Holy shit. I got in!” she cheered. “NYU! I can’t believe it.”
I wrapped my arms around her and spun her around, relishing the way her body felt against mine. “That’s incredible.”
Quickly, I set her down again and took a step back. The sheer joy on her face when she looked up at me made my stomach flip.
“I can’t believe I did it.” Her eyes filled with tears.
With my hands on her shoulders again, I gave her a gentle squeeze and dipped down so she was forced to look at me. “You deserve this, Lila. You are going to do amazing things. I’m so proud of you.”
I’d never been a touchy-feely person, but I found it hard to keep my hands to myself around her. I constantly itched to stroke her hair, squeeze her hand, or put my arm around her shoulders.
Thankfully, I had the presence of mind to knock that shit off. This moment was supercharged, and I could easily let things get out of hand, but I wouldn’t do that to her. Not when she was flying high like this. So I took a step back and shoved my hands into my pocket, determined to let her have her moment.
“God,” she sighed. “I feel so lucky.”
“Lucky?” I scoffed. I couldn’t stop myself. How on earth could this woman think luck had anything to do with this? “You are smart and determined. You worked hard for this. Take the credit.”
She tipped her head and studied my face, her cheeks flushed.
“Say it,” I commanded.
“I did this,” she whispered.
I crossed my arms. “You can do better than that. Own it.”
She bit her lip, and it took every ounce of self-control I possessed not to grab her and kiss her until she realized howspectacular she was. Instead, I arched a brow, waiting for her response.
“I did it,” she said, lifting her chin, her voice clear and confident.
“Congratulations, Lila.”
“Thank you.” She beamed. “I worked hard.”
“And you deserve it. You deserve the world. Never, ever doubt that. Understood?”
She didn’t respond. She didn’t even nod. She just regarded me, her eyes wide and her smile broad. And before I could process what was happening, she jumped up and threw her arms around my neck, and then her lips were on mine.
Sweet and firm and insistent.
And for a moment, everything was right in the world.
I grasped her hips and slid my hands up her ribs, around to her back, finally exploring her the way I’d wanted to since that first day.
This kiss was messy, joyful, and enthusiastic. Just like Lila.
I slid my hands lower and cupped her ass, and in response, she wrapped her legs around my waist and raked her hands through the hair at the back of my neck. She moaned into my mouth, the sounds vibrating through me, as I pushed her back against the wall. And just like that, I lost hold of the last shreds of my self-control.
