Page 37 of Newly Tied

“You’re my gift, Lang,” I whispered, my eyes filling up, but it was him, so it didn’t matter. “I want you all the time, every day, but you’re straight, so I will take what I can have.”

“I’m not straight. I’m not sure what I am because you’re the only man I’ve ever wanted to spend all my time with and think about and—” He took a breath. “The truth is, I’m yours. You just have to say the word.”

I couldn’t mess up. This was my whole life in this one moment. “Any word in particular you’re partial to?”

His flashing grin then. “Tell me that you’d like that too.”

I had already. I’d confessed what was in my heart, but he needed to hear me say it now, again, that I wanted him to be mine. I needed to be clear. “You’re all I want.”

“Okay, then,” he said with an exhale. “I’m sorry it took me a minute to sort this all out.” He reached for me. “Turns out we’re both stupid.”

I leaned into his hands, and he eased me close and kissed me, hard and long, taking my mouth, showing me what he needed and what he was claiming.

The second one was even better than the first because I could savor the fact that he wanted me—desperately, from how tight I was held—and that this was the beginning and we were on the exact same page.

We ended up with our foreheads pressed together, panting hard, breathing each other’s air, and I was so happy, I trembled.

“I don’t want you to sleep with the waiter,” he made clear.

I couldn’t stop smiling. “No. No, I won’t.”

“Or that prick Ashton.”

“He’s a nice guy.” I sighed, leaning back.

“I don’t care.” He hooked his hand around the side of my neck and pulled me close again. “It’s me and you from now on.”

He was a very possessive man. I loved it. But so was I. “That goes both ways.”

“Of course it does.” He was quick to agree. “I know that.”

“Good.” I sighed.

“It’s just us.”

“Okay.”

“Okay,” he repeated, exhaling, then kissed me again.

As soon as we stepped outside on the street, I felt the heat and humidity hit me. It was like moving through soup.

“You’re sure you wanna walk?” I asked him. “It’s summer in the city.”

“Yeah,” he replied, taking hold of my hand. “I like to walk.”

“And suddenly, so do I,” I told him, squeezing tight for a moment before lifting his hand and kissing his knuckles.

“So cheesy,” he said, shaking his head, but the important part wasn’t his words, but how he was looking at me. I thought I’d never seen love in those gorgeous eyes before, but it turned out I had because there it was, clear as day, right there, all for me.

“Come on,” he said softly, tugging on my hand. “It’s time to go home.”

And finally, it was.

But then, because I questioned everything… “You do mean to my apartment, right? That’s the only place we can actually walk to from here.”

Heavy sigh from him. “You’re killing my grand romantic moment,” he groused.

“Well, I’m sorry, but there ain’t no walkin’ to your place in this heat.”