Chapter 99

“Hardin . . . hurry up,” she begs and lies back on the floor, using her elbows to prop herself up, long hair trailing onto the floor behind her.

I crawl over to her, separate her thighs even farther with my knees, and move to slide into her. She loses balance on her elbows and falls back to the floor, grabbing on to my arms for leverage.

“No . . . I want to do it,” she says, pushing me onto the floor and climbing on top of me. She whines as she lowers herself onto me, and it’s the most delicious sound. Her hips roll slowly, circling, bouncing, torturing me. She covers her mouth with her hand, and her eyes roll back. When she rakes her nails down my stomach, I nearly lose it. I wrap my arm around her back and flip us over. I’ve had enough of her being in control—I can’t handle it.

“What—” she begins.

“I’m the one in charge—the one with the control. Don’t forget that, baby,” I groan and slam into her roughly, moving in and out at a much faster pace than she was torturing me with.

She nods feverishly and covers her mouth again.

“When . . . we get home . . . I’ll fuck you again, and you won’t be covering your mouth . . .” I threaten, bringing her leg up to my shoulder. “Everyone will be able to hear you. Hear what I’m doing to you, what only I can do to you.”

She moans again, and I place a kiss on her calf as she stiffens. I am close . . . too close, and I bury my head in her neck as I fill the condom. I rest my head on her chest until our breathing returns to normal.

“That was . . .” she breathes.

“Better than attacking Molly?” I laugh.

“I don’t know . . . at least a close second,” she teases and stands to get dressed.

Chapter sixty

TESSA

Hardin helps me zip, up and I rake my fingers through my hair while he buttons his jeans. “What time is it?” I ask as he slides his shoes back on.

“Two minutes till midnight,” he answers, after looking at the alarm clock on the small desk.

“Oh . . . well, we need to hurry and get downstairs,” I tell him. I’m still beyond intoxicated, but now I’m relaxed and calm, thanks to Hardin. Drunk or not, I can’t believe what happened with Molly.

“Let’s go.” He takes my hand, and we nearly make it to the staircase before everyone begins chanting.

“Ten . . . nine . . . eight . . .”

Hardin rolls his eyes.

“Seven . . . six . . .”

“This is stupid,” Hardin complains.

“Five . . . four . . . three . . .” I begin chanting. “Do it with me,” I say.

He tries not to smile, but is defeated as a huge grin spreads across his face. “Two . . . one . . .” I poke his cheek with my finger.

“Happy New Year!” everyone screams, including me.

“Yay for the New Year,” Hardin says in a monotone voice, and I laugh as he presses his lips to mine. Part of me was worried that he wouldn’t kiss me here, in front of everyone, but he is now. As my hands travel to his waist he grabs them to stop me. When he pulls away, his emerald eyes are shining. He is so beautiful.

“Aren’t you worn out?” he jokes, and I shake my head.

“Don’t flatter yourself. I wasn’t coming onto you.” I smile. “I really need to pee.”

“Do you want me to come?”

“Nope. Be right back,” I say, giving him a small kiss before walking to the bathroom. I should have had him come along; this is much more difficult than it is when I’m sober. Tonight has been so fun, even with the Molly drama. Hardin has surprised me by being calm, even with Zed, and he’s remained in a good mood all night. After I wash my hands, I head back down the hall to find Hardin.

“Hardin!” a female voice calls.

I look over and see a familiar face: the girl with the black hair who bumped into me earlier. And she’s walking toward Hardin. Being the nosy girl that I am, I stay back a few feet.

“I have your phone, you left it in Logan’s room.” She smiles, pulling Hardin’s phone from her purse.

What? It’s nothing, I’m sure. They were in Logan’s room, which means most likely they were not alone. I trust him.

“Thanks.” He grabs the phone from her, and she begins to walk away. Thank God.

“Hey!” he calls after her.

“Can you do me a favor and maybe not mention to anyone that we were in Logan’s room together?” he asks.

“I never kiss and tell.” She grins and walks off.

The hallway begins to spin. My chest immediately aches, and I quickly head for the stairs. Hardin notices me rushing by, and I watch as the color drains from his face, knowing he’s been caught.

Chapter sixty-one

HARDIN

I notice a flicker of gold a few feet away. I look past Jamie and see Tessa, whose eyes are wide and whose bottom lip starts trembling. She goes from deer in headlights to angry girlfriend quickly and takes off down the stairs fast.

What? “Tessa! Wait!” I yell after her. For someone as drunk as she is, she’s really flying down those steps. Why must she always run from me?

“Tess!” I shout again, pushing people out of my way.

Finally, when I’m only a few feet from her in the entryway, she does something that nearly brings me to my knees. The blond asshole who was checking her out earlier whistles as she rushes by. As she stops in her tracks, her look makes me freeze, too. Grinning, she grabs a handful of the kid’s shirt.

What the fuck is she doing? Is she going to . . .

She answers my thoughts by looking back at me before pressing her lips against his. I blink rapidly in an attempt to make this disappear. This isn’t happening. She wouldn’t do that, not Tessa, no matter how pissed off she is.