Unlike in the club, there was no hesitation here. No distance or gasps of breath. There was just the silken glide of his lips over mine and fuck if it didn’t threaten to drown me in need.
The seat belt lock came free, and I slid it off my arm before stretching into the kiss. I leaned over into the driver’s seat as he slid back. Our tongues dueled, and little shivers of lightning danced up and down my spine.
I stretched my fingers until they glided over the lock keys on his door. Biting into the pillow of his lower lip, I groaned even as the locks released. Then I yanked backward from him and jerked the door open.
“Goodbye, Lachlan.”
I was out and heading for the gate without looking back. “Ace…”
I ignored him, racing up the side into the hedges along the property to find the slot I could ease through onto the other side. I made it almost all the way to the house when Wayne came out, a frown on his expression. “There’s someone down at the gate…”
“Don’t let them in. They’ll go away.”
He frowned a beat, then gave me a once over. “Are you all right?”
Was I? “I don’t know,” I admitted. “I will be.” I held up my phone. “I gotta make a call—everything else good?”
“It is,” he said, his expression still worried. “If the young man doesn’t leave the gate, I’ll put a call in to the police.”
I gave him a thumbs up. The house was quiet as I crept inside and up the stairs to my wing, then to my suite.
Once I was inside, I sent Dix a message about the car before I collapsed on the bed and stared at the ceiling. My lips were still tingling from the kiss. Tingling that I could feel everywhere.
I thought all I’d wanted was to be rid of them, so why the hell had I missed having that with him? And why did I crave more now?
Dammit.
And damn him.
Five
JONAS
Everything was packed for school. The new uniforms would be there when I arrived. I kept everything to two trunks. While I was more than capable of flying by myself, Ramsey had booked the same flight with me. Not Lachlan, though. Then again, we’d barely seen him over the summer.
We needed to head to Reno airport soon. We had a layover in Dallas on the way back to Connecticut. I did one last search of the news sites. KC had been in a car accident, or at least, that was what the news reported. It wasn’t bad and there were no injuries, but the car had definitely been smashed.
I still couldn’t believe paparazzi had been chasing her, even as there had been steady news clips hitting the gossip sites about her out partying. Weirdly, the stories held a similar theme, always highlighting a club she visited after. Yet there were no photographs, just “confidential” sources.
The car accident worried me more than anything. Just three lines mentioning it, and the Kissy Kat news blast gave it a paragraph, except it was all speculation. There wasn’t even an accident report.
Pulling out my phone, I texted Mom. She didn’t like to be bothered when they were in the studio. Gibs didn’t need the distractions, but he might not know about the accident.
Someone should tell him, right?
Me
Just checking in before we leave for school, there was a news report about KC being in a car accident in L.A. Thought Gibs might need to know, but I didn’t want to harsh the vibe if he’s in the zone.
I stared at the message for a long moment then tacked on a Love you. It was early, they probably weren’t up yet.
“Jonas,” Ramsey called from downstairs. “Car is here.”
I shoved my phone in my pocket and grabbed the bags with my books, music, and personal items. The trunks were already downstairs.
The car was quiet, our driver didn’t say much, and Ramsey left me alone, though he was on his phone. At the airport, we were checked in and through security in no time.
“So,” Ramsey said when we got to the gate. “Is this how it’s going to be? You saying nothing to me at all? Or only answering in single syllables?”
I glanced at him as I popped open the bottle of soda I’d purchased. “Yes.” Then I took a drink before digging a book out of my bag. I’d almost finished it. I could feel Ramsey staring at me from time to time, but he didn’t say anything as we waited for them to call boarding.
Sometimes I wondered why he stayed at Blue Ivy. He could have gone to a dozen different universities. He’d nearly graduated at fifteen. He’d been three credit hours shy of completion, but instead of doing it over the summer, he’d just gone back to school with us the following year.
The year after, he enrolled in Blue Ivy’s college program. I was pretty sure he planned to teach at Blue Ivy eventually. He was definitely in no hurry to leave the school. I could ask.
But I didn’t care.
One more year, and I was out.
Maybe I’d head down to Los Angeles and work on selling my music. Whatever I did, I wasn’t doing it with my so-called brothers. I’d barely gone ten pages when they called for us to board.
Our seats were together, but at least it was first class so we didn’t have to cram together. As soon as I was in my seat, I checked to see if Mom answered before I put the phone on airplane mode.
“KC was in a car accident?” Ramsey reached for my phone, but I jerked it back. One, he had his own, and two, he could fuck off. I wasn’t talking to either of them about her.
Not anymore.
Not after last time.
“Is she all right?” Ramsey stared at me, seemingly unmoved by the fact I glared right back at him. “Cut me a break. Is Kaitlin all right?”
“Yes.”
As far as I knew. I looked back at my book, only I didn’t see the words. There were still people boarding, and a flight attendant was letting everyone know it was a full flight.
“Look,” Ramsey said after a beat, his voice pitched low. It would be hard enough to hear over the rumbling of the engines as they warmed up or whatever it was they were doing. “I get that you’re pissed at us. You can continue to be mad all you want, but I’m still your brother, and I’ll still have your back.”
I didn’t scoff, but I thought about it. After that, he left me alone for the rest of the flight. Once we were at the airport, we took a rideshare with our luggage to the long-term parking lot where Ramsey left his car, then we were on our way back to school.
The closer we got to Blue Ivy, the more restlessness invaded me. I was leaning forward, trying to see if she was already here? I didn’t know. Even if she was coming back…
Wait, what if she didn’t come back? The year before had been her first year. What if she decided it wasn’t worth it?
That idea alone seemed to suck all the oxygen out of the car. We were a few days early because Ramsey had RA training to do. He would, once again, be the RA of my building.
Whatever. I didn’t care. I could ignore him even better when he was in his first-floor suite and I was in my private one. No Ramsey. No Lachlan.
It would be better.
Twenty minutes after getting to campus, I was letting myself into my own suite. While it still had two bedrooms, I would have it to myself. Ramsey didn’t like the idea of me rooming with anyone that wasn’t them. I didn’t complain or disabuse him of this.