Page 207 of Tessa and Nash

One sharp buck of his hips and he’s inside me, causing me to cry out, biting down on my lip to keep from screaming his name loud enough for the whole house to hear.

His reaction is just as immediate.

A rough groan escapes him as his forehead drops briefly to my shoulder, his breath warm against my neck while he holds me there, like letting go isn’t even an option.

“Fucking hell, Tessa,” he mutters through clenched teeth, holding me firmly against the wall as he begins to move. The rhythm builds quickly, strong and unrestrained, each motion pulling another helpless reaction from my body. “You feel incredible.”

I cling to him, my arms looped around his neck as I press my face close to his ear, my breath coming in uneven bursts. I feel consumed in flames, wound tight, trembling, so close it’s almost unbearable.

“Nash…” I manage, the word breaking apart on my breath as the feeling rises higher and higher. “I…”

His mouth brushes my throat, the scrape of his teeth sending a shiver through me.

“Let go,” he murmurs roughly. “I’ve got you.”

And I do.

The sensation breaks over me all at once, sharp and overwhelming, my whole body shuddering as his name escapes my lips. I cling to him while the wave rolls through me, every muscle tightening as the feeling crests and spills over.

Nash keeps moving, holding me firmly against the wall as the rhythm carries him with me. His breath turns rough against my skin, the control he’s been clinging to slipping away with every second until a low groan tears from his throat.

He pulls me closer as the tension finally catches him too, his body going rigid before the release hits.

For a few seconds, we stay there like that, pressed together, both of us breathing hard while the last tremors fade.

Everything has changed. For real now. Me and Nash have confessed our love for one another.

Who the hell knows where we go from here.

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

Nash

February 20th

I don’t know why I’m still surprised by how well Tessa and I work together.

Maybe it’s because I spent so long imagining us as rivals, standing on opposite sides of every line. But here we are, collaborating on a project that matters more than either of us wants to admit.

I lean back in my chair, watching Tessa scribble words down on the notepad in front of her. Her pen moves quickly, the sharpness of her focus making it seem she’s solving a puzzle no one else can even see. The way her brow furrows when she’s deep in thought still gets to me. There’s a whole world inside her head I’ve barely scratched the surface of.

It’s hard to ignore everything that’s happened, but Laura has created a welcoming environment for us at The Rusty Mug, and it really feels the right place for us to work out a way to end this once and for all.

“I think we can compromise,” Tessa says, her pen moving across the page at the speed of light.

She doesn't even look up when she speaks. It's second nature to her, finding the middle ground, making sure no one’s left behind. I admire that about her, the way she approaches everything as if it’s just another puzzle to solve.

I lean forward, fingers tapping lightly on the table. “You’ve got a solution in mind?”

Her eyes meet mine now, a flicker of emotion I can’t quite place.

“We give him a piece of the land," she says. "Enough to make him feel like he’s part of the process. Something he can hold onto without trying to take over.”

I nod slowly, letting the idea sink in. Tessa’s uncle isn’t easy to deal with. But money? Money makes people do a lot of things.

"It might be the only way to keep him from digging in his heels. He needs to feel like he's got some say in it."

Tessa scribbles a few more lines, glancing up at me as she does. “It’s not just about the money, though. We need to make sure he feels like it’s fair. That’s the hard part. We need him on board, but we can’t let him think he’s in control.”