“One night,” he whispered. “That’s all I’m asking for. Just your trust for one night, Charli. That’s the only way this thing will work, right?” He tugged on my hand, pulling me to a stop in front of him. “I can tell you that I love you, that I’ve never felt this way before, and it’s the truth. But talk is cheap and with my history words probably sound pretty hollow. I don’t blame you for feeling that way. I would too, in your position.”
All I’d ever wanted was to have a man love me as much as I loved him and tonight Dade made that wish come true. Even if it didn’t last forever, I was grateful I got to experience it.
“One night,” I repeated, trying to process what that meant.
“Tonight.” His lips were soft, but demanding when they claimed mine, making it impossible to resist him. “But I never wanna let you go, baby. Know that.”
All of my adolescent fantasies were wrapped up in this enigma of a man. So many layers to him. The broken and battered. Talented and gifted. Sweet and generous. Tough and relentless. Loving and protective. Scared and confused. And I loved them all. Every complex facet woven together to make him the person the soul craved.
“I never want you to let me go.” I rolled forward on my toes, wrapping my arms around his neck. “I only left because you didn’t give me a choice.” He picked me up, his strong arms banding around my waist when I whispered, “I can’t be with someone who can only love with half of his heart, ‘cause the other half’s been shattered beyond repair.”
“I know.” He pressed his forehead to mine. “It wasn’t losing them that did me in. It was losing faith in myself, in my own judgement, that finally made me crack.”
“I want to help you re-build that faith.” I peppered his lips with kisses, making him smile. “Just like I need your help to rebuild my faith, Dade. It’s been broken too. Too many men who used me or cared more about boozing and getting high than loving me.”
“They were idiots,” he grumbled. “Every last one of them. You’re a goddess. And they didn’t deserve you if they couldn’t see how lucky they were—”
I cut him off with a kiss. “I don’t care about anyone else anymore. Just you and me. That’s all that matters.” I looked into his eyes. “If this has a prayer of working, we have let go of the past. Right here and now. Your past relationships and mine are just a… distant memory from now on. Agreed?”
His look was intense, even more heated when I wrapped my legs around his waist. “Agreed.”
“Good. So, you gonna take me inside or you wanna put on a show for the squirrels and chipmunks?”
He chuckled, spinning me around so he could see the path in front of him as he walked me up the steps. “I’m not sharing you with anyone, gorgeous. Not even the critters.”
Chapter 19
Dade
This crazy beautiful girl was teaching me, one word, one caress at a time, how it felt to be loved. Not because of my money or fame, but because of my heart. She loved me for me. And I realized, as I was stealing her breath with kisses, that’s what I’d been searching for all my life. A partner who could look past all the things that didn’t matter and value the one thing that did: my love.
If I’d found Charli first, there never would have been another. She’d have been my first, my last, my forever. She’d be the mother of my kids by now. Maybe my co-writer on a few songs. Not my assistant, but my equal in every area of our lives.
I was perched over her, after winding her up with my mouth, staring into her piercing green eyes, and Iknew. Any fear or doubts I’d ever had were gone. I didn’t care what anyone else said or thought. I wasn’t afraid of another bitter, embarrassing break-up. Because there was no end in her eyes. They flashed forever. And I hoped mine did too because that’s what I wanted her to see when she looked at me. Certainty.
“I love you,” I whispered, sinking into her slowly as I tried like hell to hold back. “You’re my everything, Charli.”
Her whimper was soft as her nails dug into my shoulders as she drew me deeper. “I love you too.”
I’d heard those words a thousand times throughout my life, but they’d always felt hollow. Now I knew why. Because I was only ever meant to hear those three little words from this woman. Hearing them from her fulfilled me in a way that felt like completion. The conclusion to a long and bitterly grueling path that ended with the ultimate reward.
I made love to her, pouring all of the thoughts teasing my mind into every thrust. Stretching her body and mind to accept and believe that the seemingly impossible was possible. From this night on it was my mission to make all of this girl’s dreams come true.
I could do it now, in private, or on a public stage. Silencing all of the naysayers and giving the middle finger to all of our critics. I knew what Charli deserved. The big public declaration. A man who was willing to stand up and tell everyone she was his and he was never letting her go.
It may be years before people actually believed me and Charli were the real deal. I didn’t care. They could waste time waiting for the other shoe to drop. Me? I’d be too busy loving on my wife. Making babies with her. Filling albums with beautiful memories of our life together.
“You feel so good,” she murmured, letting her teeth graze my shoulder. “I could get used to this.”
“You better.” I plunged my fingers into her hair, tipping her face up to meet mine. “I’m the last guy who’ll ever make love to you.” I let that sink in before I said, “The guy who gives you those babies you’ve been wanting.”
She sucked in a breath as her eyes filled with tears. I could tell she wanted to believe me, but there was a tiny piece of her heart still guarded by the wall she’d built to protect herself. I wasn’t worried. I knew what I had to do to break that down.
“You want that, beautiful?” I kissed away the tears gliding down her cheeks as my body gently guided her higher.
“You know I do.” Her voice was broken as she bit her lip, letting her hands slide down my back before curling into my hips. “You know what else I want?” Her smile was saucy as she clenched me tighter. “To finish you off.”
I grinned, getting the message loud and clear as I picked up the pace.
