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Everett goes back to finishing the pancakes. My heart feels like it’s about to explode out of my chest, and I allow myself to dream of this moment being the norm. For the first time, I let myself see it: going to sleep with Everett at night, waking up with the two of them every morning, watching my daughter love and trust a man who protects and loves her right back.
“You think the chase is over, baby?” he growls. “Fuck, no. I’m going to be chasing the high you give me for the rest of my life.” He thrusts deep, pausing. “You’re such a good girl for me, choking on my cock.” I moan again, and his lips tick upward into the wicked smirk that sets my soul on fire. “I’m keeping you, Wildflower. You’re mine,” he rasps. “Se mia per sempre.”
“I know you said you can’t give me anything more than your body. I understand why that is. I don’t expect anything more.” He looks down at where my hand is pressed against the blanket, and he slowly places his over it. “But that doesn’t stop me from wanting to give you everything. All of me.” He slowly drags his eyes from our joined hands to my face, meeting my own. “You deserved to know that you’re loved, Dahlia. Loved by me.”
“I’m not easy to love,” I find myself saying. “Loving you is the easiest thing I’ve ever done. The hard part is that you won’t let me.” Reaching up to softly cup my face, he continues, “My love isn’t fickle, Dahlia. I’m not afraid to fight for you. For us. Every second of every day, if that’s what it takes. I’m not afraid of imperfection or reality. I’m not afraid of your broken pieces.” He runs his thumb along my cheek. “I’m broken too, but together, we can be whole.” Everett smiles, emotion glistening behind his amber eyes. “You’re everything I’ve been searching for my entire life and never
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“You don’t have to say them to me, Wildflower, but I’ll give you all of mine just the same.” Bringing his hand to the back of my neck, he brushes his fingers along my skin. “I’ll show you that love is endless. It’s infinite. I’ll show you that you’re worthy of it. I’ll love you enough for the both of us until your well is overflowing.”
“What if that takes a while?”
“You’re my wildflower.” He lets out a breathless laugh. “You blew into town one day on a whim and planted yourself right inside my soul. You’re rooted in me now, baby. I don’t mind waiting to watch you bloom.”
“I’ve been waiting my whole life to love you, Dahlia. We’ve got nothing but time.”
“This is real,” he whispers into my mouth. I swallow the words on a moan. “Real. We’re real.”
Something soft and warm settles over me, like a blanket being wrapped around my shoulders in the cold. Like a sense of belonging, something larger than myself telling me I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be. Whatever compass I’ve been following—while not the direction I intended—finally helped me reach my destination.
“Tell me it’s real,” he growls into my mouth. “Real,” I breathe. “Tell me you’re mine.” “Yours,” I moan. “I’m yours.”
“Fuck,” he whimpers. “Mine. You’re mine.” “Yours.” With each thrust of his body into my own, he whispers against my lips. “I.” “Love.” “You.” “Dahlia.”
harder into his chest, sending him gasping for air. “I’m their fucking end game.” Shifting my weight so my elbow falls into his throat, choking him even harder, I add, “So, listen here, you waste of oxygen: you come around my future wife or my kid again, I won’t stop until they have to peel your flesh from the pavement.”
“Mi lucecita.” I laugh. “You look so beautiful.” When she’s done spinning, she looks up at me with a face-splitting grin that sets my soul on fire. She wedges her way between me and Dahlia, and I rock my girls back and forth in the entryway.
while Dahlia and her daughter may not understand the true meaning behind my words, my mother does. She understands what it means when I say I want to dance with them anywhere. I’ve finally found everything I’ve been searching for.
“She’s my light,” I whisper. “And you’re all my colors, Wildflower.” “Everett.” She wraps her arms around my neck, kissing me harder. “You know that’s permanent, right?” I feel her smile softly against my mouth. “I love you permanently.”
“You’re mine.” “Fuck,” I rasp. “Yes. Yours.”
“You’re mine?” “You own me, baby,” I grit out as she fists me once more. She swipes my head through her slit, so unbelievably wet. “Mind.” I grip my base as she removes her hand, keeping my cock in place. “Body,” I groan as she seats herself fully.
“I love you,” he repeats, lips moving against mine. “I love you so loud. I love you permanently.” His mouth moves along my jaw. “I love you all the time.”
“You’re tattooed across my chest, etched into my bones,” he whispers. “You’ve unraveled me, and…” His words have me spiraling toward release, my hips moving on their own accord, forcing us faster and harder and more powerful. “And…fuck. I love you. I love you.”
“I love you, Everett.” The words fly from my mouth on a moan.
“Do…do you want kids?” I find myself blurting. His eyes snap to mine, and with the utmost seriousness, he asks, “Do you mean more kids?” “Yeah,” I respond breathlessly, my heart flying out of my chest. “More kids.”
“With you, yes.” Swiping a finger through my center again and smearing his release between my legs, he asks, “Do you?” “Yes,” I say immediately. “I always have. I always wanted her to have siblings. I know at this point…she’s so much older, it won’t be like what I had with mine but…I’d like to give her someone.”
“Then we’ll give her someone. Multiple someones.” His thumb moves in soothing circles along the bare skin of my shoulder, and he plants a kiss into my hair. “But you two will need to move in first, of course.” “What?” I gasp, lifting onto my elbow to look at him. “Move in with me, Wildflower.” He flashes me his wicked grin. “You keep talking about how you need to find a place, and I’ve got one. She’ll have her own room, a backyard to play in.” His eyes are pleading and hopeful, and he lifts his chin to brush his mouth along my jaw. “We know we’re end game. We know we’re a family. Don’t make me
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“Yes. Let’s do it.” Everett smiles, taking my face between his hands and pressing a kiss to my nose. “You love me?” he asks. “I love you permanently,” I whisper into the night. “Permanently,” he whispers back, kissing me again.
I dip my head, feeling suddenly bashful. “The Wicked Wildflower… I thought that could be a good name.” That smile becomes a wide grin as he reaches around to grasp my neck and pull me into him. “I’m Wicked?” I nod, feeling his lips against my nose. “You’re Wildflower?” “So you say.” I lift my chin so my mouth brushes against his. His grin spreads against my lips. “The Wicked Wildflower. That’s fucking perfect.”
sunshine, I finally find a way to describe the feeling of being with him, in his arms, the sensation I’ve never been able to put a name to because I’ve never experienced it before. Something inside my soul begins to bloom, like it finally found its destination, the spot to plant its roots. Home.
“You know how I gave you like one hundred cool nicknames, and you said no to all of them?” “Haven’t found the right one yet.” I shrug. “Well…” She bites her lip, grabbing my wrist and laying it on the table in front of us. “My teacher was talking today about how Father’s Day is coming up, and everyone was making little gifts for their dads…” She pulls something out of her bag, hesitantly slipping it onto my wrist. “I thought… Well, I thought maybe this nickname could work.” She looks up at me with uncertainty written in her eyes.
In the middle of my wrist are three small letters: D-A-D. I let out some kind of noise, though I’m not even sure what. My heart is so full, I feel like it’s ripping right out of my chest. Emotion immediately pricks at my eyes, and my nose stings as I try and fail to hold it back. I swallow the lump in my throat, but my voice is thick as I say, “That’s a good one, kid. I like that one a lot.” She smiles at me, so much hope in her gaze. “You do?” I fold her against my chest, cradling her head. “Yeah.” I inhale sharply as I’m overcome with that emotion, tears leaking down my cheeks. “I think
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I spent most of my life going through the motions, having no idea which direction I was headed. All I wanted was a purpose, one that made me feel like there was something worth working toward, something to live for. I slide my hand down Dahlia’s side, then spread my palm across her middle. With them in my arms, it’s like I’ve found everything I’ve always needed and didn’t realize I’d been searching for. It was right here, wrapped up in them. All my reasons to breathe, my entire world. My home.
