Page 111 of Break the Ice
“Finley…” A large hand grips the side of my face roughly, tilting it up to his when I look away so that his stare holds mine without a single blink, flutter, or waver. “You’re who he needs, baby.You.”
With the seal of his lips on my forehead, I grip his wrist tight. Holding him to me for a moment longer. His thumb rakes across my cheek while I drink in his licorice-tinged breath. The anise warming my lungs.
“You’re fucking amazing, Finley…” he says as his phone rings on the car speaker system, making me jump so far out of my skin, I momentarily forget how to breathe as he answers.
It’s only when Elijah’s voice comes over the speakers that Jayden pulls back.
“Jayden?” Elijah calls over the line again.
“What’s up?” Jayden sits straight in his seat, eyes boring into the center of the steering wheel.
“Everything okay?”
“Ah, yeah… sure.” Jayden’s voice is awkward and choppy. “With you?”
“Great,” Elijah groans, lowering his voice. “Lex is killing me. He brought me home and now?—”
“You’re home?” I cut Elijah off as I lean forward into the console, hoping wherever the mic is, it’ll pick up my voice.
“Why didn’t you tell us?” Jayden’s tone is deep and growly with his disappointment.
“I couldn’t wait to get out of the hospital, and Lex was already there… I thought I might surprise you. Where are you guys?”
Elijah’s worry thaws through Jayden’s irk with an audible sigh when he leans back in his seat and gives me a weak one-sided smile. His hand finds mine braced on the console again before he guides me back into the burnt orange leather that is ingrained with his woodsy scent. It has a subtle sweetness to it that makes my mouth water when I nuzzle the side of my face into the soft fabric.
Hazel eyes narrow on mine, contemplating while he continues holding my hand.
“We’re heading back to the apartment,” Jayden says. “Fin met up with Summer, and I tagged along. I wanted to make sure she’s okay.”
“Has something happened?” Elijah is quick to ask, his worry threading his voice.
I can imagine him pulling at his hair while he paces the length of the floor-to-ceiling balcony doors overlooking the ocean.
Rubbing his free hand over his face, Jayden peers at the lights ahead as they turn green and he carries on home.
“It’s been a long twenty-four hours,” he states, keeping his tone relaxed. We’re cruising onto the highway when Jayden tells Elijah, “We’ll be with you in thirty, ‘kay?”
“See you then,” Elijah says with a sigh before ending the call.
The silence in the car lingers for a while. It’s only when he adjusts the a/c that Jayden releases my hand.
“Don’t let what happened diminish what you give him,” he says with earnest. “It’s you he wants… you he needs…”
When I smile at him, he smooths a hand over my hair, brushing the wavy tendrils framing my face back before he strokes my chin with his thumb.
“He needs you too, JJ,” I say with a faint press of my lips to his thumb.
Contrary to what his attitude and persona will make you think, although Jayden’s cocksure and cheeky, he’s not self-indulgent or entitled. And it’s part of what makes him so charming and captivating.
Enough so that I can’t stop myself from stealing glances and stretching accidental touches the rest of the drive home.
CHAPTER 35
JAYDEN
My hand is burning to hold Finley’s again. The longer I try to ignore it, the hotter the urge becomes. Then she looks at me, a mix of apprehension, excitement, and uncertainty painting her gentle features, and all I can think isfuck it.
Brushing the back of my fingers along hers, I allow her to make the choice for herself and link her fingers with mine. They’re dainty in length and girth, perfectly easy to knot with mine as we head across the underground garage to the elevator.
