Page 179 of Collide
I hesitate. Too long.
Alex sits up slowly, his eyes sharp. “If you don’t want this, Elena, tell me now.”
I open my mouth. Nothing comes out. His words disarm me.
He exhales hard, dragging a hand through his hair. “If you’re with me, you’re withme. Not running off and hiding every time it gets complicated.”
My pulse thumps in my ears, but I step closer. “That’s not what I’m doing.”
“Then what are you doing?” His voice softens, but the fire in his gaze doesn’t move.
“I’m scared,” I admit.
His shoulders tense. “Of what?”
I stare into his eyes. “Of getting it wrong. Of believing this is something it’s not.”
Alex rises, closing the space. He reaches out, brushing his thumb along my jaw, so gentle it unravels me.
“This,” he murmurs, voice rough, raw, “is real.”
I let out a shaky breath. “Then say it.”
His hands slip to my waist, holding me like I might vanish. “I’ve wanted you since the moment you fell into my life. Not just for now. Not for when it’s easy. I want all of you andonlyyou.”
My heart pulls tight in my chest.
“And if you’re mine,” he adds, his thumb drawing slow, dizzying circles against my hip, “then you’re mine.” His gaze darkens, voice softening to something low and certain. “No doubts. No running.”
Everything inside me leans into him. I let it.
It’s not perfect. It’s not certain.
But it’s real.
I lift my chin. “I’m all in.”
Something fierce flashes through his eyes, then he kisses me, hard and hungry, like he’s claiming me.
When he pulls back, his lips curl into a smirk, but it’s looser now. Like relief.
“Well, then,” he murmurs. “Looks like I finally have a girlfriend.”
The word knocks something loose in me. I laugh, breath catching. My cheeks flush. “Say that again.”
He arches a brow. “What, that you’re mygirlfriend?”
I bite my lip, smiling. “Yeah.”
His smirk deepens, tugging me closer. “My girlfriend,” he whispers against my lips before sealing it with a kiss, the confirmation I needed. We’ve slapped a label on it.
I feel the resolve settle into my bones.
And just like that, I let Broderick Schwartz fade to the back of my mind.
For now.
Chapter 24
