I entwined our fingers and started for the basement. “If we go to my place, you won’t be leaving until morning.”

I was already hard, imagining how it would feel to slide inside Sam. It would be heaven to me. I could forget about Sebastian and how he’d gotten to Nate. All of that shit could be forgotten, but that wouldn’t be fair to Sam. She deserved normalcy. Spending time with her at her dorm was normal. Hearing her laugh with her roommate was normal. She’d get pulled into our war. I knew it was inevitable, but I wanted a little bit more time. That was all I was trying for. I was just holding that off.

She was happy.

I couldn’t be the reason that went away.

No one was in the small waiting lounge. I headed inside, but Sam checked the movie room.

“Mason,” she held the door open, going inside, “this is more private.”

A large screen was on the far end of the room. Plush, large seats were placed in rows in front of the screen. The back of the room was made up with couches, and a side door opened to a back kitchen.

We picked a couch in the farthest corner, but Sam went to turn the kitchen light off. A small amount of light filtered in underneath the door from the rest of the basement. I watched as she made her way to me.

She was confident. She moved with purpose.

It hit me how much she changed from when she’d moved in with Analise. She’d lost everything. She hadn’t cared about anything, and she had been a badass because of it—striking out, not giving a shit. Logan and I took her in, and then she had something to lose—me. She got scared. She was pushed around by the girls and bullied by her own mother, and through all that crap, she’d still fought. She’d clawed her way back up, protecting and loving Logan and me at the same time.

Good god. I wanted to pull her on top of me. I wanted to lose myself in her.

When I sat on the couch, Sam had a knowing grin, and she sat right where I wanted her, right where maybe she shouldn’t have. My hands held her hips as she straddled me. She looped her arms around my neck and rested her forehead to mine.

Her grin never dimmed, not even as she teased, “Why do I feel like we’re in high school, and I don’t want my mom to catch us making out in the basement?”

Shit, I love this woman.

A smooth and lazy low laugh flitted from her lips. I waited for her to find my mouth with hers, but she didn’t.

She held back and her eyes traced over my face. “What happened today?”

I wasn’t going to tell her. More time. I needed more time. “Logan took us out of town. He heard about some park or something, but we got lost, and we didn’t have cell phone reception. I’m sorry.” I cupped the side of her face. My thumb rubbed down over her cheek, falling to linger at the corner of her mouth. The ache to kiss her was building—along with another ache. Well, that ache was just permanent. I had an eternal hard-on for the woman I loved.

“Logan took you out to some park?”

“That’s what he was trying to do.” The lies came so easy, and I smiled, knowing I was a dick. “We never found it. Said some swimming hole with a waterfall was there.”

“Oh.” Her hands fell down to the bottom of my shirt. She was toying with it. Her knuckles brushed against my stomach every now and then.

The small touch was driving me crazy. I should still her hands. I didn’t. I was going to hell, and we were going to be indecent in two minutes if she kept that up.

“You went on a run with your roommate?”

She shook her head, her eyes darkening in lust. “I ran. She read.”

“Wait. What?”

A husky laugh slid out from her. “I ran around this track, and she read her book in a chair.”

“The track? The running track in the gym?”

“Yeah. A guy let us in, but don’t tell. I want to use it again. I need to find a place to run.” She amended, “Somewhere that’s safe anyway.”

She’d been inside some building for at least the last two hours, and my security guy never said a word. That was one phone call I’d be making as soon as I left—or, hell, I’d just find him. He or his replacement weren’t off duty until Sam was tucked into her own bed and sleeping.

“Sam,” I lifted her chin so that she was looking right into my eyes, “don’t go running at night by yourself.”

“I didn’t. That’s why Summer went with me.”

“But if she can’t go with you, don’t go. I mean it. Or call me. I’ll let you into the gym, too. I have keys. All the football guys do. We have twenty-four-seven access in there for training.”

“You do?”

I nodded, but she was right. She needed a place to run. I should’ve scoped that out for her already.

“Mason?”

“Hmm?”

She snaked a hand to the back of my hair and tugged me to her. “Will you please fucking kiss me?”

That was all I needed. Taking hold of the back of her neck, I leaned forward, taking her lips in mine. Fuck the dorm. I started to turn to roll her underneath me when she hit my shoulder and leaned back.

Her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes were dilated in shock. “Here?”

She was mine.

“What?” A low growl was fighting to be released. I wanted her. I wanted to take what was mine—

Damn it. Basement, basement.

We were in the motherfucking dorm basement. She had classmates, and a resident advisor.

That growl erupted, and I realized there could even be cameras. Checking the room, I didn’t see any lights blinking, but I couldn’t assume there weren’t any.

Still…

My hand loosened on her neck and rubbed over her skin, caressing. I teased, “I could push a couch up against the door. No one would be able to come in.”

“If you want to do that, let’s go home.”

She sank back on top of me. Her hands ran underneath my shirt and slipped up, and I closed my eyes, enjoying the feel of her. They were on me, no one else. I had no reason to be jealous or insecure, but damn, I loved knowing she loved me. I loved that I could run my hand down her arm, and she’d gasp from the sensation, like she did just now. I loved that I could linger right above her shorts with my fingers rubbing the skin underneath her shirt, like she was touching me, and her body would begin to tremble, like she was doing now. I loved that, as I laid her down on the cushions and rose above her, blocking her from any views there could be, my fingers could dip inside her shorts and hover over her opening, and she would arch her back up. She would come alive.