Page 164 of Stay Wild Darlin’

The room glowed as it caught.

“Is this allowed?”

“Darlin’, it’s our house now. We can do whatever we want.”

I laughed and dropped beside him on the blanket, eyes on the flickering flames. “When are we moving in?”

He grinned, stretching out beside me. “Let’s get people out here, fix up the kitchen, check on the sagging roof, and paint a few rooms. After that . . . whenever. I’ll be gone with my team most of the summer, but I’ll help before the circuit kicks up again in the fall.”

I nodded, my smile still tugging at my lips, but my heart was hammering.

I turned toward him and gazed at his green eyes and the faint smattering of freckles across his cheeks. I stared at the mouth I knew well, wrapped up in the soul I’d fallen for piece by piece.

“Dalton,” I murmured.

He turned toward me, quiet.

“I love you.”

The words didn’t shake. They didn’t feel like pressure or fear or doubt.

“I love you,” I said again, because I could.

The corner of his mouth curved into that familiar, crooked smirk—the one that always made my knees feel a little weak.

“I know, Poppy. I’ve loved you since the moment you walked into my house.”

Before I could even catch my breath, he leaned in and pressed his lips to mine, but it didn’t stay gentle for long.

The moment I kissed him back, I wanted to be consumed by him. By this. By the future we were suddenly staring at. I wanted to get lost in the warmth of the fire, the walls of this broken house, the sound of his voice whispering everything I’d been too afraid to believe.

“I love you,” I repeated, more desperate this time, the words trembling out of me as tears slid from the corners of my eyes. It was overwhelming because I’d never felt more sure of anything in my life.

“I love you, darlin’,” he murmured, his voice thick and reverent, as I climbed into his lap. His hands found my waist, holding me like I was something sacred. “I will always love you.”

I cupped his face and kissed him again.

57

Dalton

The moment she said it—I love you—something inside me felt like it exhaled a relieved breath. It was redemption—years of doubt, of barely being wanted, of always being someone’s second choice, finally being scraped clean, just by those three words, whispered from the mouth of the woman I would’ve burned the world down for.

A tear slipped down her cheek, and everything between us, the emotions and feelings, wasn’t heavy anymore—they were holy.

This is it.

I wanted her in every way a man could need someone, but even more, I wanted to see my name behind hers.

“Poppy,” I murmured as I slid my hands to the back of her neck. Her brown hair spilled through my fingers.

She was still straddling me, her mouth swollen from our kiss, her eyes dark and glassy in the firelight. I slid my hands beneath the hem of her tank top, coasting my palms along her sides, fingertips grazing soft skin, up, up, until I reached the curve of her ribs.

I bunched the fabric in my hands and murmured close to her ear, lips brushing her skin. “No bra again?”

She let out a quiet laugh. “I thought we were going to bed.”

I grinned, dragging my mouth along her jaw. “Or maybe you wanted to be my good listener.” I kissed below her ear, then whispered, “You know the rules, darlin’. Tell them to me.”