“Yeah, I mean it. I don’t want this to end tomorrow,” he rumbled. “I don’t want to go back to the way things were before.”
Taking my hands in his, he shifted on the tailgate, facing me. “I don’t want to watch you walk into the Bear Den and pretend I don’t notice every damn man in the room looking at you.”
My breath hitched as I stared at the man of my dreams.
“You’vealwaysmattered, Shelly-Rae,” he growled, his eyes locking onto mine. “I don’t want to see you with another man. I want you to bemine.”
My whole body stilled beside him, the whole world clicking into place.
“But I don’t know how to do this right,” he said quietly. “I don’t know how to be the kind of man who deserves you.”
I shook my head. “Amos—”
“But I know one thing,” he cut in, his voice firm.
“I know I don’t wantthirtydays.”
His hands tightened around mine.
“I wantyou.”
My heart opened so wide it expanded to fill the universe.
Amos loves me. He always has.
His eyes hooded over, and then it was like he was giving me the dirtiest, sexy talk ever. “I want you to stealallthe blankets and make me watch bad rom-coms. I’ll even eat your rabbit food, girl.”
A tiny laugh spilled out.
“I might hold you to that, Amos.” My fingers curled tighter around his.
“I want to come home toyou,” he growled, his voice dropping. “Even if it’s just some shitty little cabin to start with.”
“And…” he leaned in closer, his lips almost brushing mine. “I want to spend the rest of my life trying to figure out how to be a man good enough to keep you.”
Everything he’d just said was better than any diamond ring another man might have bought me.
Amos was myeverything.
He had been for years.
I planted a tiny, sweet kiss on his lips, then whispered, “I love you, too, Amos.”
He shuddered, his breath going ragged.
Then he pulled me straight into his arms and kissed me until I forgot where we were.
The Bear Den parking lot faded away as we lay back in his truck bed, our kiss growing frantic. We had to make up for so much lost time.
My hips bucked against his and I didn’t care if we were making a scene right now. The parking lot was dark, and all I wanted to do was devour my man.
But when he reached down to slip a hand under my skirt, I knew I needed to stop him.
I needed to get Amos somewhere private before we both lost control.
We didn’t need Mason arresting us tonight.
I opened my mouth to tell him that when Mina’s voice carried sharp and frightened through the parking lot.
