Free Promising You (The Jade Series #4) by Allie Everhart Page B

but it won’t change anything. I’ll still want to be with you. I don’t want to be with anyone else. And I don’t mean just now. I mean not ever.”
    His expression softens as I continue to say the things I should’ve said months ago.  
    “I know sometimes I say or do things that make you think I won’t stick around, but it’s not how I feel. I want to stick around. I want this—us—to be my future. I don’t want this to ever end.”
    It takes a few seconds for my words to register with him and when they do, the corners of his mouth tick up a little. “You’ve never said that before. How long have you felt this way?”
    “For a while. I was just afraid to say it.”
    We’re both quiet for a moment and then he says, “So I’m stuck with you, huh?” He says it like he’s not sure that’s a good thing.
    I punch his arm. “Hey, you’re supposed to be happy about this.”
    He lays me down on my back and props himself up beside me. “I am.” He gives me a kiss, then runs his hand up and down my arm. “But I’m still not sure about this trip. It’s your decision, but can you just think about what I said before you decide?”
    “Yes, but I want you to think about what I said, too. You have nothing to worry about.”
    “I’ll always worry about you. You know that. And I’m not just worried about Carson hitting on you. I’m worried because I hardly know anything about this guy, and it really does concern me that he’ll be driving the whole time without a break. It’s dangerous and it’s still winter so you might hit bad weather.”
    “Okay, I got it. So can we make up now?” I ask with an anxious tone.
    He looks confused. “Why? Did we have a fight?”
    “Well, yeah. Where were you?”
    “That was more of a disagreement, not a fight. Hang out with my dad and Katherine for an hour or two and you’ll hear a real fight.”
    “I don’t want us to fight like that. To me, what we just had was a fight.”
    His sexy smile appears. “Then let’s make up.” He takes his t-shirt off, then kisses me softly and trails more kisses down my neck to the opening of my shirt. He undoes each button until he’s at the end, leaving kisses all the way down to my stomach. The area just below it is scorching hot and begging for attention. He undoes my jeans and slides his hand down them. Then he kisses his way back up to my mouth as his hand does whatever the hell he does down there that is pure magic.  
    “Garret,” I say breathlessly.
    “What?” he says against my lips.
    “You’re so damn good at this.”
    I feel his brief smile on my lips before he kisses me again. My body is on fire with sensations, the tension building under the direction of his hand until it finally releases.
    Garret strips the rest of my clothes off, then quickly takes off his. My body is still reeling with sensation as he enters me. His slow, deep thrusts cause another wave of tension to build. His hand slips under me, pulling us closer as his hips move faster until the tension releases yet again with him following shortly after.  
    He stays there for a moment, his body covering mine, laying soft kisses along my shoulder. “I love you, Jade.”
    “I love you, too.”  
    He shifts onto his back and holds me close against his chest. I feel him kiss my forehead before I drift off to sleep.
    We wake up a few hours later. Garret stretches his arms out, then relaxes them around me again. “I’m starving. How about you?”
    “I’m pretty hungry, but the dining halls are closed.”
    “I wasn’t going to eat there anyway.” He gets up and starts dressing. “You want pizza?”
    “I always want pizza.”
    He picks my clothes off the floor and tosses them on the bed. “When we get our own place we’ll be able to cook something instead of always getting takeout.”
    “I like takeout. I never got it growing up, so to me it’s like a special treat.”
    “Did your mom cook much?”
    I laugh at the thought of my mom cooking. “If