Page 64 of Fight for You

"Then open the letter so I can kiss you."

"Okay," she whispers.

I grin at her and stand up, tugging gently on a piece of her hair.

She takes the envelope from me with shaking hands. For a long minute, she just stares at it and then she peeks up at me once more. "Promise we'll make this work even if I didn't get in?"

"Baby girl," I admonish, shaking my head. "I love you. Even if you didn't get in, I'd still follow you around like a lost puppy. You're never getting rid of me."

"Okay. Just checking." She grins at me and then tears into the envelope.

I take a step back to watch her, wanting to soak in this moment. Seeing her happy is incredible. She's so tiny…it's almost like her body can't hold all of her happiness so it leaks out into the air around her. Maybe that's ridiculous, but when she's happy, she fucking glows.

She unfolds the letter and takes a deep breath before dropping her gaze to it. Her eyes track across the page, widening as she reads. A second later, she leaps from the bed with the biggest smile on her face.

"I did it!" she screams and comes hurtling toward me.

I catch her in my arms and swing her around, laughing as she kisses all over my face, chanting over and over that she did it. She wraps her legs around my waist and clings, laughing.

God, she's beautiful when she's happy.

I take her mouth in a deep kiss, unable to stop myself. Her tongue slides across the seam of my lips before touching mine. As soon as it does, my body lights up like someone sent a jolt of electricity firing through every synapse inside me. She tastes like sugar and the strawberry gloss on her lips. I lick all that shit off before sucking her bottom lip into my mouth.

Once she's breathless and panting, I pull back to rest my forehead against hers. "Congratulations, baby girl," I whisper, loving the way her breath teases at my lips. "I'm so proud of you."

Her smile is so big I know it has to hurt her cheeks. Her eyes shine with happiness and excitement. "We're gonna be together next year," she whispers.

"Hell yeah, we are."

I carry her out to the living room and sit down with her in my lap. If we stay in her bedroom, I won't be able to keep my hands off her. Titan will be home from work soon. I try to be respectful and keep my hands off his sister when he's around. Not that it seems to help much.

He's as distant as ever. More even. I've been staying closer to home as much as possible, but he's rarely around. When he is, he makes some excuse for why he can't hang out with me and January. Most nights, he doesn't even come home. I don't know where he's at or what he's doing. It's worrisome.

I hate that he's trying to cut himself out of our lives, but I'm not going to feel guilty for being proud of my girl. She deserves a quality education, and UCLA is a great school.

After all that shit went down with Tony, she struggled a lot. It took her a long time to feel safe again. She deserves to be somewhere she can learn and grow and be happy without constant reminders of all the crap she's gone through here. I want that for her.

I guess Titan does, too, but he's not getting rid of us completely.

"I've been thinking," I say, running my hands from her waist up to her ribcage and then back down.

She slides her hand through my hair, pushing it back from my forehead. Instantly, my muscles go lax, my entire body relaxing. Except my dick, which turns to steel in my pants. My eyes fall closed, a pleased rumble whispering from my lips. I love when she does that. It's sweet as hell and reminds me of when my mom and Ma Lucia would do the same thing when I was a kid.

"Thinking about what?" she asks, wiggling on my lap.

I still her hips before she starts something we aren't going to be finishing right now. "Your scholarship will cover housing," I murmur, tipping my head back to rest it on the back of their worn sofa.

"It will," she whispers, her eyes locked on mine.

"But you won't need housing if you live with me."

Her gaze flits back and forth across my face, and then she pushes her hand through my hair once more. "You asking me to move in with you, Michael Ian Kincaid?" she asks, grinning at me.

"Maybe. You'd be right next door to Titan and your mom. When I piss you off, you could always come stomping over here." Not that I'd let her stay for long. We don't fight often, but I always come looking for her when we do. I pick her little ass up and carry her off. And then I kiss the shit out of her until she forgets why we were fighting. Making up with her is the best part of arguing. She loves it as much as I do, but she'll never admit it.

"Like you'd let that happen," she says with a laugh, rolling her eyes. "You never let me stay mad at you."

"I'm fucking miserable when you're mad at me."