“Lifting my hand to his lips, he kisses each of my fingertips, his lips soft. Each kiss lights me up inside, fanning the flames of my desire for him. “Maybe you are a ghost,” he goes on, splaying my hand against his chest. “Because your laugh…it fucking haunts me. At the wedding, it was like I couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe, because you were everywhere all at once, laughing and chatting with everyone. I followed you across the party, Tess. I had to be closer to you, to that sound—I needed to be near you—” “Ryan,” I murmur, tears brimming in my eyes. “Please…” “Tell me what you want,” he says, his voice catching as he gazes into my eyes with such depth of feeling. He’s so good, so kind—too kind. I’ll break him. I’ll ruin this— “No.” He cups my face with both hands. “Tess, no, goddamn it. Don’t pull away again. I see it in your fucking eyes. They give you away every time. There’s something you’re not telling me. You feel this between us too. I know you do. But something is holding you back from me. Stop pulling away, and let me in.” He drops his forehead down to mine and whispers, “Give me something, baby. Please.” Throwing all caution to the wind, I hold him by the hips and give him my truth. “I’m only here because of you.”
―
Emily Rath,
Pucking Wild
