Page 122 of Wilder

I took a step forward, waited for him to mirror me by taking one back.

When he didn’t, I continued. “Letting you go—that was a mistake. The biggest one I’ve ever made.”

Asher swallowed hard, his arms folding across his chest. “You didn’t even let me talk you out of it.”

“I know,” I said again, quieter this time. “I’m sorry. I never meant to hurt you, Asher.”

His eyes glistened again, and this time a tear slipped free, trailing down his cheek before he could swipe it away.

I reached out to touch him, my fingers skimming along the soft curve of his cheek. “You’re it for me. Life never made sense until you came into it. I don’t want to wake up in a world without you in it, by my side. I can’t do it. I won’t.”

His voice, when it came again, was small and cracked and heartbreaking. “You really mean that?”

I nodded immediately. “Every damn word.”

Asher stared at me for a long moment, then he launched himself into my arms.

It wasn’t graceful or soft. It was desperate and tight and overwhelming, an entire package wrapped together in that all-encompassing way of his that never failed to amaze me. He crashed into my chest, arms winding around my neck as he pulled me in like he was afraid I might vanish if he blinked hard enough.

“You’re never sending me away again,” he whispered. “Promise me.”

“I won’t,” I swore. “Ever. You’re mine.”

We stood there like that for a while, wrapped up in each other until Asher eventually shifted away slightly, just enough to give me room to press my lips along his forehead, his cheekbone, over to his nose.

His light laugh eased the lingering fear inside my chest, helped me breathe fully for the first time in days.

“So... Gage is probably pacing around his room like a feral cat.”

I huffed a soft laugh, resting my forehead against his. “Yeah, I’d believe that.”

He looked away for a second before he said, “I want to introduce you to him. Like, officially.”

That had me blinking in surprise. Not just because it meant he was letting me back in. He wasn’t simply forgiving me and moving on. He was claiming me, out loud, in front of one of the people who mattered most to him.

“You sure?” I asked, gently.

Asher nodded. “Yeah. I mean... he’ll grumble and glare and probably make a few more threats to get his ex-military fiancé to kick your ass, but if he sees that you’re serious—and if you’re willing to stand there and take it for a little while—he’ll come around. He always does.”

I didn’t hesitate. “Then let’s do it.”

A flicker of relief crossed his face. “I want him to know this isn’t a mistake. That we’re not a temporary thing. That I chose you and you chose me back.”

I leaned down and kissed his forehead, moving down to kiss both corners of his mouth. “I’ll show him I’m serious about you. I don’t care what I have to do if it means you coming back to Texas with me.”

“Okay,” he whispered with a smile, threading our fingers together tightly. “Let’s prove it.”

CHAPTER 32

Wilder

My pickup rumbled through the last bend in the dirt road, the ranch finally coming into view.

Asher shifted beside me in the passenger seat, sunglasses perched on his nose while one arm rested out the open window to let the breeze thread through his fingers. His shoulders were relaxed, posture easy, but I didn’t miss the way he tapped his other hand lightly against his thigh, betraying the nerves I knew were building up the closer we got.

“You ready?” I asked quietly, gaze still on the road ahead.

I felt him glance over at me. “Are you?”