The songs for this chapter are:

You know I'm no good- Amy Winehouse

 You and I- One Direction

Blood Bank - Bon Iver

Tessa's POV.

Hardin's hands are covered in rough, black tape yet they feel so tender when wrapped around mine as he leads me to the bed.

"I hope I haven't worn you out," he grins, brushing his taped knuckles across my cheekbone.

"No," Majority of the tension controlling my body has been released by his fingers. However, the not so subtle ache for him is still there.

It always is.

"This is okay, right? I mean, you wanted space and this isn't exactly space." His arms wrap around me as we hesitantly stand in front of the bed.

"We still need space, but this is what I want right now," I explain. I'm sure it doesn't make much sense to Hardin because really, it doesn't make much sense to me, especially now when his overwhelming presence is here in front of me.

"Me too," he breathes and dips his head down to my neck. "This is what is good for us, to be close this way," Hardin whispers. His arms tighten around my body and he uses his knees to guide us onto the bed as his lips gently suck on my tingling skin.

"I've missed you so fucking much, I've missed your body," he hisses. His hands travel under my thin cotton t-shirt and he grabs the hem to lifts it up and over my head. My ponytail catches on the collar but Hardin gently untangles my hair and his fingers reach behind me to pull the band out, letting my hair fall against the mattress underneath me.

"The way your pulse," his lips hover inches from mine and his fingers press against the tender pulse in my neck as he breathes, "goes fucking crazy when I touch you, especially here," his free hand slides down over my stomach and into the front of my soft pants.

"You're always so ready for me," he groans, running his middle finger up and down, seducing me. I feel rather than hear my own protests, falling shamelessly as Hardin removes his hand, to bring his finger to his lips.

"So sweet," he compliments, his wet tongue slowly darts out  to cover the tip of his finger. He knows exactly what he's doing to me. He knows how much his dirty words effect me and how much they make me want him. He knows, and he's doing a damn good job at making me burn with desire from the inside out.

Hardin's POV.

I know exactly what I'm doing to her. I know how much she loves my filthy mouth and when I look down at her, she doesn't even bother to conceal it.

"You're being such a good girl," I praise her further to elicit a moan without so much as a touch to her flaming skin.

"Tell me what you want," I whisper into her ear. I can practically hear her erratic pulse under her skin, I'm driving her crazy, and I fucking love it. 

"You," she desperately and vaguely responds.

"I want it slow, I want you to feel every single moment that you were away," I press my thumb into her thin cotton panties, tearing them from her body. Her eyes are wide and dark, her lips pink and swollen. She nods and wraps both of her small hands around my arms, hooking them and attempting to bring me closer.

"Grab the condom," she reminds me.

Fuck, it's across the hall in the room that no one could have possibly expected me to actually stay in while Tessa was only meters away. However, the nightstand was curiously stocked with condoms upon my arrival.

"You grab the condom," I fight back, knowing there is no chance in hell I'm having her scurry across the hallway half dressed. I gently push my hands under her back and unsnap her bra and I slide the black straps down both of her arms before tossing it onto the floor behind us.

"Cond-," she reminds me, a sharp intake of breath interrupts her as I suck on her newly exposed nipples. She's so sensitive to my touch and I want to savor every second of her.

"Shh," I silence her by biting down on the sensitive flesh and climb to my feet. I don't waste my time getting dressed, at least I'm wearing boxers.. even if I wasn't, I sure as hell wouldn't be wasting my time to put clothes on right now.

I return to the room, four condoms in hand.. I'm a little ambitious and over prepared but with the way Tessa is behaving tonight, we may need the entire drawer full.

"I missed you," she sweetly remarks, a shy smile covering her face and I can see the embarrassment flash in her eyes when she realizes she has said the words aloud.

"And I you," I reply, it sounds as cheesy as I expected it to.

Without another hallmark statement, I pull my boxers down and join her on the bed again. She's sitting up, completely topless, with her back against the headboard and her knees slightly bent. She's naked from the waist down as well, only the cream satin sheets drape over the top of her thighs, blending in with her creamy skin.

I have to control myself at the sight. I have to stop myself from literally diving onto the bed, ripping the sheets away from her, and taking what is mine. I want tonight.. well morning now, to go smoothly and I don't want to rush it.

 Smiling, I stare at the woman on the bed. She's staring back at me, her eyes soft and warm, her cheeks painted a deep pink. When I join her on the bed, eager hands move straight to the lining of my boxers, tugging them down my thighs, her feet finish the job and he gathers me in her hand, squeezing gently.

"Christ," I hiss, momentarily losing focus on everything except her touch. She begins to slowly pump, her small wrist twisting slightly and I fucking love the way she knows exactly how to touch me. She lays herself down, her hand keeps a steady rhythm and I hand her the condom, silently instructing her what to do next.

She nods and quickly obliges. As the latex rolls down me, I silently curse at her, and myself, for never following through with the birth control plan. The feeling of skin on skin with her is heavenly and now that I've felt it, I crave more and more.

She's quick to climb on top of me and straddle my waist, my dick only inches from slipping inside of her.

"Wait," I stop her by gently wrapping my hands around her hips and laying her back down beside me on the bed.

"What's wrong?" Confusion flashes in her grey eyes.

"Nothing, I just want to kiss you a little more first," I assure her and cup my hand around the nape of her neck to bring her face closer to mine. My mouth covers hers and I hover over her body, forcing myself to take this slow.

 With her naked body flushed against mine, I have to take a moment to appreciate that after all the shit I've put her through, she's still here, she's always fucking here and it's about god damned time I make it worth her while. I support my weight with one arm and lay on top of her, parting her legs with my knee.

"I love you, so much. You still know that, don't you?" I ask her between strokes of my tongue over hers.

She nods, "I love you," for a dreadful moment, Zed's face appears in my mind.

His confession of love for my Tessa and her thankful acceptance of it, "I love you too,"  she moaned. A slow shiver travels through me and I pause.

Noticing my hesitation, she pushes her fingers into my unruly hair and possessing my mouth with hers. "Come back to me," she begs.

That's all it takes.

Everything fades except for the softness of her body underneath mine, the wetness between her legs as I slowly push into her. The feeling is exquisite, no matter how many times I've taken her, it won't ever be enough.

"I love you," she repeats the words. I wrap one arm under her so our bodies are pressed as closely together as possible. I lick my dry lips and bury my head into her neck again, whispering dirty things into her ear and moving to kiss her every time she moans my name.

I feel the build of pressure rising from my spine, igniting every fucking vertebrae. Tessa's fingernails dig into my back, across my shoulder blades, as if she's reaching for the words inked across my skin. The words meant for her, and only her.

"I never wish to be parted from you from this day on," it says. I am going to do everything I have to in order to fulfill my permanent promise.

I lean up to look at her, one hand still rests under back,  the other travels up her torso, and across both of her breasts, and rests just below her throat.

"Tell me how it feels," I grunt, I'm barely holding onto the pleasure coursing though me.

My movements quicken and she moves one of her hands down to fist the bed sheets. Every sinful twist of my hips, every violent thrust into her awaiting body, intensifies and further seals the power she has over me.

"So good Hardin, so good," her voice is thick and hoarse and I swallow the rest of her moans like the greedy bastard I am. I feel her body begin to go rigid and I can't wait any longer. With a soft cry of her name, I spill into the condom with slow and sloppy thrusts before collapsing, barely breathing, next to her.

I reach over and pull her body to mine and when I open my eyes, a sheer layer of sweat covers her silky skin, her eyes are open and she's staring at the ceiling fan.

"You okay?" I ask her. I know I was a little rough toward the end, but I also know how much she loves that shit.

"Yeah, of course." She leans over to plant a kiss on my bare chest and climbs out of the bed. I groan in disapproval when her white t-shirt is pulled down over her head, covering her body.

"Here's your headband." She smiles, proud of her corny remark, and she tosses the sweat dampened t-shirt onto the bed. I roll the fabric up and wrap it around my hair just to get a reaction out of her.

"You don't like it?" I ask and she giggles.

"I do actually," Tessa is really putting on a show as she bends down to pick up her black panties from the floor and shimmies them up her thighs. The fact that she isn't wearing a bra is very apparent as she shakes her body.

"Good, It's easier this way." I point to the contraption on my head.

I really need a fucking haircut but Steph's friend, a lavender haired chick named Mads, has always been the one to cut it. My blood begins to boil at the thought of Steph. That stupid fucking..

"Earth to Hardin!" Tessa's voice brings me out of my hateful thoughts of Steph.

"Sorry,"

Tessa sighs five times within one minute and she huffs and puffs in annoyance while trying to find something to watch on the flat screen television mounted on the wall. She is standing at the edge of the bed with one hand on her hip, one on the remote control and a deep scowl on her face.

"Something wrong?" I ask her.

"No." She lies.

"Tell me now,"  I press and she lets out a quick breath.

"It's nothing.. I'm just a little.. wound up." Her cheeks flush.

"Wound up? You should be anything but wound up after that," I pull her by her wrists to join my on the bed.

"I didn't.., you know, I didn't," she stutters. Her shyness never fails to surprise me. One minute she's moaning into my ear to fuck her harder, faster, deeper, and the next she can't form a sentence.

"Spill it." I demand.

"I didn't finish."

"What?" I choke. Had I really been that consumed in my own pleasure that I didn't notice when she didn't come?

"You stopped right before.." she quietly explains.

"Why didn't you say something? Come here then," I tug at her shirt to lift it over her head.

"What are you going to do?" She asks, excitement is laced in her tone.

"Shh," I silence her. I don't know what I want to do, I want to make love to her again but I need a little longer to refuel.

Got it.

"We're going to do something that we have only done once," I smirk at her and her eyes widen.

"What's that?" Excitement has been replaced by nervousness.

I lay back on my elbows and beckon her to come to me.

"I don't get it," she says.

"Come here, put your thighs here," I tap the empty space on both sides of my head.

"What?"

"Tessa, come here and spread your thighs over my face." I explain slowly and clearly.

"Oh," she squeaks. I see the hesitation in her eyes and I  reach over to turn the lamp off. I want her to be as comfortable as possible. I can still make out the soft planes of her body, the fullness of her chest, the sexy curve of her hips.

Tessa removes her panties and within seconds she's following my instructions and kneeling over me.

"This is quite the view I have here," I tease her and my vision disappears. She has pulled my t-shirt down over my eyes.

"Well, this is much hotter actually." I smile and she silences me with a swift kiss on my lips. "Really though, it's really fucking hot," I add when she backs away.

I hear her laugh in the darkness and I bring my hands to her hips, guiding her movements. Once my tongue touches her, she begins to move  her hips on her own, tug at my hair, whisper my name, until she loses herself in the pleasure I am giving her.

Tessa's POV.

"I wish you weren't leaving tomorrow," I whisper to Hardin while running my fingertips over his inked chest.

"Me too," he simply answers.

"Then don't," I can't mask the desperation behind my plea. 

Hardin's fingers spread across my back and he presses my naked body closer to his, "I don't want to but I know you're only saying that because I just made you come repeatedly," 

A horrified scoff falls from my lips, "That's not true." Hardin's body shakes gently with an amused chuckle. "It really isn't the only reason, maybe we could see each other on the weekends for a little while and see where it goes from there?"

"You expect me to drive here every weekend?"

"Not every time, I will come there too." I tilt to my head to look into his eyes, "It's working for us so far."

"Tessa," he sighs, "I already told you how I felt about the long distance shit." My eyes flicker to the  ceiling fan slowly spinning around and around in the dimmed lighting of the room. Rachel is pouring marinara sauce into Monica's handbag on the television screen.

 "Yes, yet here you are." I challenge him. He sighs and tugs gently at the ends of my hair forcing me to look at him once more.

"Touché,"

"Well I think there is some sort of compromise here, don't you?"

"What is your offer?" He softly asks, briefly closing his eyes to take a deep breath.

"I don't know exactly, give me a moment," I say.

What exactly am I offering him? It's in the best interest of both of our sanity's to stay somewhat distant from one another for now. As much as my heart forgets all of the terrible things that Hardin and I have been through in the past, my brain won't allow me to give up all of my remaining dignity.

I am in Seattle, following my dream, alone, with no apartment because of Hardin's possessive nature and both of our unwillingness to compromise over even the most irrelevant detail.

"I don't know really," I finally say when I can't come up with a solid solution.

"Well, do you want me around still? Just for the weekends, at least?" He asks. Hardin's fingers twist and twirl my hair between them.

"Yes,"

"Every weekend?"

"Mostly," I smile.

"Do you want to talk on the phone each day like we did this week?"

"Yes," I loved the simple way Hardin and I spoke on the phone, neither of us even noticing the minutes and hours as they ticked by.

"So everything will be the same as it was this week then. I don't know about that." He says.

"Why not?" It has seemed to work for him so far, why would he object?

"Because Tessa, you're here in Seattle without me and we aren't actually together, you could see someone else or meet someone.." he trails off.

"Hardin," I lift myself onto my elbow to look down at him. His eyes bore into mine and a section of my unruly blonde hair falls onto his face. Without breaking eye contact or even so much as a blink, his fingers move to tuck the fallen hair back behind my ear.

"I'm not planning on seeing or meeting anyone else, all I want out of this is some independence and for both of us to be able to communicate."

"Why is it so important to you to be independent all of the sudden?" He asks, his thumb and forefinger glide across the shell of my ear, sending a shiver down my spine. If he's trying to distract me, he is succeeding.

Despite his gentle touch and burning jade eyes, I continue in my quest for him to understand where I am coming from, "it's not a sudden thing, I've mentioned this to you before. I also hadn't noticed just how dependent on you I was until recently and I don't like it, I don't like being that way."

"I do." He quietly says.

"I know you do but I don't," I refuse to lose the confidence in my voice. My subconscious pats me on the back, then rolls her eyes at me because she isn't buying it.

"Well, how do I play into this independent shit?"

"Just do what you are doing now. I have to be able to do something without thinking about having your permission or what you would think about it."

"You definitely do not do that now or you wouldn't do half the shit you do,"

"Hardin," I warn him. I don't want a fight.

"This is important to me, I need to be able to think for myself. We should be partners...equals, neither of us should hold more power than the other." I fight for the words, sifting through my mind for a better way to explain what I want...what I need.

"Equals? You obviously have more power here. I mean come on, I'm laying here telling you that I'll settle for a relationship with you for only three days a week."

"It's not only for me, it's been good for you too. You know it has."

"I guess so but what does that say about us that we can only get along if we are in different cities?" He asks the question that's been nagging at me since he arrived.

"Well, we will figure that out later."

"Sure," he stubbornly rolls his eyes but softens it by kissing my forehead.

 "Remember what you said about there being a difference in loving someone and not being able to live without them?" I ask.

"I don't ever want to hear that statement again, really." He whines and I lift my hand to swipe his damp hair off of his forehead.

"You're the one who said it," I remind him. My fingertips graze along the outline of his nose, down to his swollen lips, "I've been thinking about it so much since then." I admit.

"Why?" Hardin groans in annoyance.

"Because you said it for a reason, didn't you?"

"Out of anger, that's all. I didn't have a clue what it even meant, I was just being a dick."

"Well, either way, I keep thinking about it." I gently tap on the tip of his nose.

"Well I wish you wouldn't because there is no difference between the two," his words fall slowly between us, his tone thoughtful.

"How so?"

"I can't live without you and I love you, they go hand in hand. If I could live without you, I wouldn't be as in love with you as I am and I clearly cannot be far from you," he gives me a small smile.

"I'd say," I bite back the giggle threatening to emerge.

"I know you aren't talking about me, you nearly busted your ass while running to tackle me when I arrived," his bright smile is illuminated in the dim light and my breath catches at the raw beauty of him. When he behaves this way, unguarded and natural, there is nothing better in my world.

"I knew you would torture me for that!" I swat at his bare chest and his hand flies up to catch my wrist between his long fingers.

"Are you trying to get rough with me again? Look what happened last time," he lifts his head off of the mattress and the heat begins to spread down my body, resting between my already sore thighs.

"Can you stay one more day?" I dodge his remark about being rough. I need to know if I will have more time with him tomorrow so we can spend the remainder of the morning hours doing that.

"Please," I add, snuggling my head into the crook of his neck.

"Fine," he says. I can feel his jaw move into a smile against my forehead. "Only if you blindfold me again," in one quick motion, he wraps his arms around my back and flips my body under his and we are lost in one another... again and again...

Hardin's POV.

"Well look who's finally awake," Kimberly is sitting at the breakfast bar when I walk into the kitchen. Her face is free of makeup and her hair is pulled back away from her face. I don't think I've ever seen her without a shit ton of crap on her face and for Vane's sake I contemplate hiding the shit from her because she looks much better without it.

"Yeah, yeah." I groan and walk straight past her to the coffee machine nestled in the corner of the dark  granite countertop.

"What time are you leaving?" She asks while picking at a bowl of lettuce.

"Tomorrow, if that's okay. Or do you want me out now?" I fill a mug with the black liquid and turn to face her.

"You can stay, of course. As long as you aren't being an asshole to Tessa." She grins.

"I'm not actually." I roll my eyes as her fiancé enters the room.

"You need to get a tighter leash on this one, perhaps even a muzzle." I tell him.

A deep bellowed laugh comes from him just as Kimberly raises her middle finger to me. "So classy," I taunt her.

"You're in an awfully cheery mood," Christian wickedly grins and Kimberly shoots him a glare.

What the hell is that about?

"Wonder why that is?" He adds and she elbows him.

"Christian.." she scolds and he shakes his head. His hand lifts in defense to block her from repeating the playful assault.

"Probably because he has missed her," Kimberly suggests and eyes Christian as he circles around the oversized island to grab a banana from the fruit basket.

"I heard midnight workouts will do that," his eyes twinkle in amusement as he pulls down the peel of the banana.

My blood turns cold, "What did you say?"

"Calm down, he shut the footage off before the good stuff." Kimberly assures me.

Footage?

Fuck. Of fucking course this asshole would have a camera in his gym, hell, every main access room is probably equipped with security cameras.

"What did you see?" I growl, trying to keep my pulsing anger at bay.

"Nothing. Only that she came into the room, he knew better than to continue.." she bites back a grin and relief floods through me. I was so caught up in the moment, caught up in her, to think about shit like security systems.

"Why were you even watching the footage? That's pretty fucking creepy that you were watching me workout," I harass Vance.

"Don't flatter yourself, I was checking the kitchen monitor because it had a short, the gym just happened to play along side it at the time,"

'Sure," I drag the word and roll my eyes at him.

"He's staying another night, that's fine right?" Kim asks him.

"Of course it's fine. I don't know why your ass isn't here to stay anyway, you know I'll pay you more than Bolthouse."

"You didn't, that was the problem." I remind him with a smug grin.

"That's because you were only a freshman in college at the time, you were lucky to have a paid internship let alone an actual job without a degree."

"Bolthouse disagrees with you."

"They are twats. Need I remind you that in the last year alone, Vance has surpassed them by a long shot. I've expanded here to Seattle and I plan on opening a New York office by next year."

"Is there a point in your bragging?" I ask.

"Yes. Point is, Vance is better, bigger, and happens to be where she is working." He doesn't have to say Tessa's name for me to get the weight of his words. "You'll be graduating after next semester, don't make an impulsive decision now that will impact the entirety of your career before it can begin." He takes a quick bite of the fruit in his hand and I scowl at him, thinking of a sharp reply. 

I can't seem to find one, "Bolthouse  has an office in London,"

"Who's going back to London? You?" He doesn't hide the sarcasm in his voice.

"Possibly, I had planned on it and still do."

"Yeah, so did I." He glances at his future wife, "you'll never go back to live there, just as I won't either." Kimberly flushes and gushes at his words and I come to the conclusion that they are the most obnoxious couple I've ever encountered. It's like you can see how much they love one another just by watching them interact. It's annoying and uncomfortable.

"My point has been proven." Christian snickers and I realize I haven't responded to his claim.

"I didn't agree with you." I snap.

"Yes, but you didn't disagree either." Kimberly butts in being the typical ball buster that she is,  and I take my coffee mug and my balls as far away from Kimberly as I can get them.

Tessa's POV.

The morning arrives much too quickly and when I wake up, I'm alone in the bed. The empty side of the bed is still indented with Hardin's print so he must not have gotten up only a few minutes ago. On cue, he enters the room quietly, coffee mug in hand.

"Good morning," he says when he notices that I'm awake.

"Morning," my throat is tight and dry. Imagines of Hardin moving in and out of my mouth with furious thrusts, makes my insides tighten.

"Are you feeling okay?" He asks. He places the steaming mug of coffee onto the dresser and walks over to the bed. He sits down next to me on the edge of the bed, "Answer me," he calmly adds when I take too long to respond.

"Yeah, just sore," I stretch my arms and legs out in front of me. Yes, definitely sore. "Where did you go?"

"I got some coffee and I had to call Landon to tell him I won't be home today," he tells me, "If you still want me to stay that is."

"I do," I nod at him, "but why do you have to tell Landon?"

Hardin's hand runs over his hair and his eyes concentrate on reading my expression and I get the feeling that I'm missing something here.

"Answer me," I use his own words against him.

"He's babysitting your dad."

"Why?"

Why would my father need a babysitter?

"He's trying to get sober that's why, and I'm not stupid enough to leave him at that apartment by himself."

"You have liquor there, don't you?"

"No, I tossed it. Just drop this, okay?" His tone is no longer gentle, it's urgent and he's clearly on edge.

"I'm not going to just drop it. Is there something that I should know because I feel like I'm left out of the loop here, again." I cross my arms across my chest and he takes a deep breath, his eyes closing with the dramatic gesture.

"Yes, there is something that you don't know about but I'm begging you to just trust me, okay?"

"How bad?"  I ask, terrified of the possible response.

"Just trust me, okay?"

"Trust you to do what?"

"Trust that I will take care of all of this shit so that by the time I tell you what happened, it won't matter anymore. You have enough shit going on, please just trust me on this and let it go." He urges.

The initial paranoia and panic that always comes with these types of situations, flutters through me and I'm moments away from snatching Hardin's phone from him and calling Landon myself.  The look on Hardin's face stops me, he's pleading for me to trust him with this, trust that he will fix whatever it is that's going on and as much as I want to know, I don't think I can handle adding another problem to my plate right now. I'm still reeling from the depth of Steph's betrayal. 

"Okay," I sigh. His brows furrow and he cocks his head to the side.

"Really?" He's astounded by the easy persuasion, I'm sure.

"Yes, I will do my best not to worry about it as long as you can promise me that it's better for me not to know."

"I promise," he assuredly nods.

"Fine," I finalize the agreement and try my best to push the obsessive need to know what is happening with my father to the back of my mind.

(This is the longest chapter I've written out of all three book so far! I am afraid of running out of chapters! hah. Anyway, Please remember to vote! I have so many ghost readers, only a tenth of you vote and I know I can't get ranked anymore but it's not about the rank to me, I just want you to vote so please do:) Go ahead and make a wattpad account and join the dark side :) it's much more fun when you can comment and interact, maybe even write your own story! xo)

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