“There’s something you need to know,” I tell her, willing my heart rate to settle as I stare back into her gorgeous, inviting gaze.
“Oh yeah?” she taunts, nibbling on her bottom lip as she shifts back. “What’s that?”
I track her movements as she slinks away from me and spreads her thighs, clearly trying to entice me to join her on the bed.
I’ll follow the woman anywhere, so of course I climb up and crawl closer.
“We’re not going back,” I tell her, prowling forward as she backs up until she hits the wall.
Her smile is salacious, the gleam in her eyes inviting. But only because she has no idea what I’m about to say next. “Not going back where?” she asks coyly. She keeps her gaze locked on mine as she strips out of the oversized flannel shirt Noah helped her into in the kitchen.
I hover close enough to kiss her again, ghosting my lips over hers. “To the way things were.”
With a huff, she falls back against the rumpled sheets.
I nudge my nose against hers, willing her to look up and take me seriously. “Last night proved that my feelings aren’tunrequited. That I may have been out of line and delusional in my pursuit of you, but that you want me just as much as I want you.” I lick my lips, then boldly lean down and lick hers, too. “You were desperate for me, mon ange. You begged for my cock. We’re never going back to the way things were before. I’m not giving you up for anything.”
Fire flashes in her eyes. This was the defiance I was waiting for. “And I’m not giving them up.”
She made that clear earlier, and as much as I hate the reality of the situation, I accept it.
“I’m not, Ty,” she repeats. “I refuse to give them up.”
We stare at each other, anger radiating off her, while I keep my expression neutral.
We’re not going back to the way things were—that includes the tension, animosity, and possessiveness I allowed to cloud my judgment and affect Sawyer’s happiness.
This isn’t about me or what I want. It’s not even about the other two men she cares about.
This is about her, plain and simple.
From now and until forever, everything I do and every decision I make will be centered around her.
I swallow past the lump in my throat, quelling the urge to choke on the words that make this all real, and close my eyes. “I’m not asking you to give them up.”
When I’m met with silence, when she doesn’t move an inch, I force myself to look at her.
The desire painted all over her face as she stares at me makes my chest ache.
We lock eyes for one second. Then two, then three, then four.
Finally, she puts me out of my goddamn misery.
“Come here.” She grips my head with both hands and pulls me back down to kiss her again.
I’m lost to the moment, driven by want and need and softness andher. I kiss her until we’re both breathless, only pulling away because the proverbial ache in my chest has bloomed into an actual burning around my still-healing incisions.
Gingerly, I lower myself onto my side, turning to face her.
She mirrors my position. “So last night—that was okay?” she hedges, biting down on that kissable, fuckable bottom lip I love so much.
“No, mon ange,” I correct. “Noah and Mercer being there wasn’t a problem, but our first time shouldn’t have been in the back seat of your other boyfriend’s truck.”
Her eyes flare, my words landing as intended.
Yeah, I said other boyfriend. Get used to it, baby.
Smiling, she presses, “What should our first time have been like, Ty?”
