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I don’t strut around talking about claiming women and fighting off the affections of other men like some brute caveman. But right now, with this beautiful naked woman standing in front of me, I feel ready to go looking for a club. Me Ryan. You pretty. Make fire and baby.
“I want to know what you taste like.” Fuck, did I just say those words out loud? It had to be me because she’s looking at me like I’m crazy. “Ryan—” “A kiss,” I say, breathless. “That’s my secret. I want a kiss. One kiss. From you.”
Her full lips tip on one side, flashing me a sexy little half-smile. “And what would a guy like you do with one kiss from a girl like me?” “Savor it,” I reply. “Cherish it. Save it for a rainy day.”
This is only the beginning. Because there is no way I’m letting her just walk away. Tess Owens is my dream girl…she just doesn’t know it yet.
“And then Jake found me in Seattle,” she says with a smile. “And when he found me, I found me too. I’m who I’m meant to be now. With them, I’m me. Jake, Caleb, and Ilmari, they’re my reason. So, I’m not walking down that aisle tonight. I’m running. I’m running to them, Tess. I’m going home.”
“Jake, I love you,” he declares, loud enough for the whole room to hear. “I’ve loved you for ten fucking years. I loved you in secret,” he admits. “I loved you like a coward. I didn’t deserve to be loved by you in return—not until I got out of my own damn way. But I needed a little help. I needed a push.”
“You’ve always been my friend,” Sanford goes on. “Then you became my lover. Tonight, I make you my husband. You’re mine, Jake Price. You’re mine, and I’m never letting go.”
“I see someone who loves her friends,” I go on. “Someone who puts others first. Maybe I like the idea of being the one who gets to put you first. I like taking care of people, Tess. And I take excellent care of what’s mine.”
“Sure, I’ll go get a towel. Want me to go fuck myself while I’m at it?”
“Don’t get me wrong,” he says with a smirk, those apple green eyes blown black with hunger. “I have no problem with toys. But I’m not giving away my first shot with Tess Owens. I’m not taking the assist. This orgasm is mine. Now, get on the fucking bed.”
“Be nice to my friend, Tess. Okay?”
I keep it quiet around the guys, but I’m a total Swiftie.
I love myself a cinnamon roll boy, but life is all about the sweet and the spice.
“Call him that while you’re on a date with me again, and I’ll take you over my knee and spank you.”
“Is that what you wanna do, Daddy? You want to take me into the bathroom, bend me over the sink, and spank me for being a bad girl?”
She wants me to keep the briefs on? Done. At this point, she could ask me to wear a scuba mask and a cowboy hat, and I’d say yes.
gaze. “I don’t want you hurt. Ever.” There’s a softness in her gaze. “You would never hurt me, Ryan.” I swallow the emotion in my throat. “It’s important to me that you know that.” “I do.”
“Do you really think I would ever look sideways at another woman when I have this goddess at my feet?”
“Because life is short, Ryan. Life is beautiful and short, and you only get one. Live it on purpose.”
I hear the bridge of “Tolerate It” and my heart sinks. No woman listens to Evermore without having thoughts of a love lost.
We love you too. We’ve said it before, but your name may as well be Price. You’re on our ‘ride or die’ list, okay?”
Next to me, Jake must be doing the same because he scoffs. “Seriously, Tess? This guy? He’s got fucking tassels on his loafers.”
“I am where your nightmares go to multiply. And I am telling you now that if you even look in my wife’s direction again, I will knock every single jib from your mouth and make you choke on them.”
“Oh, yeah, I’ll never forget that ugly fucking face,” Novy says.
“He’s my mirror ball. His every surface reflects my perfections back at me. He loves me for exactly who I am. I’m not too loud for him or too opinionated. He doesn’t cringe when I tell jokes because he’s worried I’m funnier than him, pulling away his spotlight. He lets my light shine out as brightly as I want, and he shines it all back on me. I have never known a love or an acceptance of self like I have with Ryan.”
“Give the shell whatever you need it to carry for you. And when you’re ready…let it go.”
“I will never hold you back or hold you down. I don’t need any papers or legal proof to mark what we both know is true.”
“I just want to love you,” I say. “I want to put you first. I want to see you smile every day and know I’m the reason. I want to be your person. I want to make my home in you, and I want you to make your home in me.”
My Tess. The cataclysm that came and shook me up. Now she’s mine to love. Mine to cherish. Mine to make happy for the rest of my lucky fucking life. I smile, kissing her perfect lips. Nothing has ever felt so right.
I pull out the card and as soon as I open it, the chorus of Taylor Swift’s “All of the Girls You Loved Before” starts playing. Damn it. She knows that’s my favorite Swift song. I call it my ‘Tess Song.’
God, I am a whipped fucking asshole.
“I want Tess Langley to be my future…even without the ring.” Of course, I said yes.
“Shame to waste the name change. Want to make an honest woman of me? Will you marry me, Ryan?”
“Hell, yes,” I say, and the fans around her cheer louder. “I’ll marry you right fucking now. Get out here.”
