Meant to Be Yours: New Adult BBW College Romance (Derek and Jaike Book 2) (11 page)

When Derek finally broke the kiss, they were both breathing hard and there was a fierce glint of desire in his stormy gaze. “I missed you, Jaike Hepburn.”

She tried to return the words but couldn’t. So she leaned down and placed a quick kiss on his cheek instead.

When she pulled away, she was surprised to see Derek’s cheeks flushed.

Around them, the entire squad burst into laughter.

“Oh my God,” a falsetto voice Jaike recognized as Reid Chalkias’, the school’s most popular player on its varsity team, gasped behind them. “Is that Derek Christopoulos blushing after his girlfriend just kissed him?”

Jaike and Derek turned a deeper shade of red at the same time.

Derek reached for a lock of her hair, twirling it around his finger. “I can’t help it,” he said gruffly. “I’ve been after this girl for years, and this is the first time she’s kissed me on her own.”

Oooooooh.
The whole team hooted and elbowed each other at Derek’s words.

Jaike was mortified. “You didn’t have to let them know that!”

Derek only shrugged. “Why not?” He flashed her a wicked grin. “I love you and I’m proud that you’re mine now.” Leaning forward, he bumped his nose lightly against hers, a cute and tender gesture that she would never have expected from someone as sophisticated as Derek. “Soon,” he whispered, “you’ll be the same. You’ll be as proud as I am about being my girlfriend.”

She turned warm all over at his words. When they were together like this, life didn’t seem as scary and her fears about them becoming like Diana and Anthony were easy to ignore. She whispered back shyly, “I already am. I’m proud to be your girlfriend, Derek.”

Behind them, Reid was laughing again. “What the fuck? Christopoulos is blushing again.”

****

More days passed, with each being more glorious than the last. Jaike couldn’t remember being this happy. It felt bad and traitorous to think so, but she couldn’t even recall being this giddy in all the years she had been with Angelo. Perhaps if both of them had been more honest with each other, things could have been different.
 

But with Derek?

Every day was…magical.

Like now.

“Time to get up, baby.”

Derek scooped a sleepy Jaike into his arms, settling her on his lap with her back against his chest while he played with her breasts and teased her pussy.

By the time Jaike was fully awake, she was soaking wet between her legs and whimpering Derek’s name.

At the sound of her moans, Derek lifted her up and then lowered her back down again, causing Jaike to whimper as she felt herself being impaled on his cock.

“Morning sex,” Derek whispered huskily into her ear, “is supposed to make your brain cells become more active. That’s why,” he added piously, “I’ve decided to wake you up every day with this.”

Jaike could only nod. Whether that was true or not didn’t matter. She would be happy if he chose to wake her up every day like this.

After, Derek carried her to the shower, hot water already running in the tub. “Don’t be too long.”

When she came out of the shower, Jaike expected Derek to be sleeping since all his classes were scheduled after lunch. But instead, the bedroom was empty and she found him in her suite’s mini kitchen, setting the table.

“You don’t have to do that,” she protested. “You should be sleeping. Didn’t you come home late from poker night?” Before, she had stumbled all over the word ‘home’ but now, she found it wonderfully easy to say. She knew her suite at Blake Hall was nothing like any of the palatial homes that Derek’s family possessed but even so, that was how it felt now. Wherever Derek was would always be home.

Derek yanked her down on his lap, something she had noticed he liked to do every so often. “Just eat your breakfast like a good girl.”

“I’d like to,” she said breathlessly, “but not when you’re doing that.”

He was tickling her ear with his hot breath the whole time she was talking, making her think of anything
but
breakfast. There was also something big and hard poking her below, and that was a major distraction, too.

Derek sighed. “Fine.” He cupped her face, placing a short sweet kiss on her lips before reluctantly setting her down on the seat next to him. “Go and eat your breakfast then.”

When she was done, he waved off her offer to clean up. “I’ll do that later.” At her doubtful look, he said in exasperation, “I promise I won’t break any more of your plates.”

“I only have three left, Derek.”

“I said I promise, didn’t I? Now let’s go.”

She was confused. “Let’s go…where?” She was rooted to the spot, watching Derek walk to the door in his sweat pants and hoodie.
 

Derek looked back at her with a raised eyebrow. “Are you going to move or what?”

“B-but where are you going?” She slowly walked to his side.

He opened the door. “Duh. Walking you to class of course.”

Her eyes widened.

Derek grabbed her hand. “You’re really going to be late at this rate.”

And she had been dumbstruck the whole time they walked to her first class of the day, unable to believe that Derek Christopoulos had woken up early just to, well, walk with her. By the time they reached her school building, everyone was staring at them, and she knew what they were all thinking. It was obvious that Derek had just gotten up from bed, with his bed-tousled hair. Just as obvious was
why
he was up—

Derek tipped her chin up. “What time does your class end?”

“Umm, five?”

“I’ll be outside your room waiting for you.” He kissed her on the forehead and began walking away.
 

She could only look at him, her heart nearly bursting with happiness. She so wanted to say the words then, but something was still stopping her.

Derek turned around and began walking backward as he called out her name. “Jaike?”

She blushed because she felt everyone looking at Derek when he said her name. It was as if everyone wanted to be Jaike –
his
Jaike. “Yeah?”

He grinned, that beautiful wicked grin of his that never failed to make her blush and her body throb. “I love you!”

Oh God.

Oh God.

Oh God.

Jaike couldn’t help but cover her face in embarrassment even as more of that unnamable emotion filled her heart. When she finally looked up, Derek was gone, and she reluctantly turned away.
 

One day
, she told herself. She’d be able to tell him she loved him back.
One day, she’d be free from—

A shadow fell in front of her, making Jaike look up.

She stilled in shock when she realized who it was.
 

He looked far from his usually immaculate self. He had shadows under his eyes, and stubble darkened his usually clean-shaven face. When their gazes met, Angelo sucked in his breath.

“You read my letter, haven’t you?” he whispered.

****

When Derek got back home, the first thing he saw was Jaike’s organizer, lying forgotten on the center table. Should he text her about it? But then, knowing Jaike, she’d probably deny she needed it even if she did. His Sub always did hate relying on him and only allowed herself to be obedient and submissive when they were in bed.

Grabbing the organizer, Derek left the room again and jogged back to school. He tried to recall what her first class was. Taxation? Literature?

He was about to approach the first student he came across when Derek happened to turn around and saw—

No.

He closed his eyes but when he opened them, Derek could see them through the cafeteria’s glass windows. They were seated at one of the corner booths, with Jaike’s head bent down.
 

What the hell was she doing with Angelo Valencia?
 

His heart exploded in pain when he saw the other man reach for Jaike’s hands…and she didn’t pull away. She didn’t fucking pull away.

Slowly, Derek turned away and started walking back to Blake Hall. On his way, he took out his phone and sent her a message.

You forgot your organizer. I’ll head back there to give it to you.

Jaike replied right away.

It’s okay. I’m already in class.

Chapter Nine

Jaike’s emotions were in a turmoil as she found herself seated in front of Angelo. Just like that, memories of their time together came to her and it made her want to cry. When she found out he had cheated on her, all she could remember was the devastating pain of his betrayal. But now that she knew the truth, now she could remember the good times they had shared.

He had loved to comb her hair, with Jaike seated on the floor while he was on the couch, running the comb through her locks. Unlike Derek, who liked spending most of his time out of the house, Angelo had been the opposite. He was content staying in her place, both of them reading together, their hands entwined.

He had been her best friend for three years, she acknowledged painfully. But the secret Angelo hid from her had also kept him from being something else – even if he had been her boyfriend.

When he suddenly reached for her hands, she couldn’t make herself pull away, knowing it would hurt Angelo if she did.

“Cara, are you mad at me? Is that why you are unable to look at me now?”

Her head jerked up. “No. Of course not.” Her voice broke. “How could I…after what you’ve done for me?”

His lips formed a bitter smile. “You mean what I’ve done
to
you.”

She shook her head vigorously. “No. What you’ve done for me,” she repeated emphatically. Swallowing, she said haltingly, “I won’t deny I was shocked when I found out about the relationship between you and…him. But Angelo, you’re not him—”

“I was the one who argued against my mother’s decision to put him in an institution. I thought he was being more arrogant than usual, that was all.” Angelo’s hands tightened over hers. “I didn’t know,” he said painfully, “that he was cruel like that. I didn’t know he was treating your mother like that—”

“You couldn’t have known. No one could have known except those he and my mother chose to involve in their…games.” She couldn’t help cringing as she said the word, knowing how unsuitable it was to describe the many horrible ways Diana had to prove her love for Anthony Carras.

Angelo said jerkily, “I know I have no right to ask you of this now but…are you…are you and Christopoulos okay?”

Jaike blinked back tears. Angelo was a proud man, and she knew how much it cost him to ask that question. “Yes,” she answered chokingly. “We’re okay. We’re…
happy
.”

“Do you love him?”

Did she love Derek?

She gazed at Angelo, and it struck her then, the resemblance he shared with his uncle. Looking at Angelo reminded her of all that had been safe and peaceful in her life. With Angelo, she had nothing to fear about being her mother’s daughter. But she had not been living, either.

With Derek, every little thing he did, every word he said and every way he looked at her – all of it made her heart beat madly. There wasn’t ever a second she was afraid of losing herself in him.

Slowly, she said, “I can’t answer that, Angelo. When I say it for the first time…” Her smile was fragile and strong at the same time, a smile tinged with both fear and hope. “I want to say it to him first.”

At Jaike’s quiet words, the piece of his heart that belonged to Jaike shattered, a death that was long overdue. It saddened and freed Angelo at the same time, and he knew he had no one to blame but himself. He could have taken a risk from the very start, telling Jaike his real feelings. He could have been like Christopoulos, who had worn his heart on his sleeve and didn’t give a damn about what other people said – or even when Jaike herself had pushed him away.

Maybe, if he hadn’t had too many walls around his own heart, things would not have turned out this way.

But he hadn’t, and so the better man – the one more deserving of Jaike – had won.