Page 59 of Wild for the Knight

We sit here until the fire dies down, and then I plant my lips on her forehead one more time before setting her feet on the ground. I bring my hand down to smack her butt, jutting my chin toward the house. She smiles before she takes off running. “Try to keep up, soccer star!” she yells, her squealing laughter echoing through the otherwise silent night as she goes.

I’m going to show her just how much I missed her.

Chapter 32 - Abby

He hobbles to grab his bag from the side of the house before walking through the front door. “I can sleep in one of the other rooms if you want.” I pout, my lip pokes out as I bat my eyelashes at him. He lowers his eyelids, taking on a predatory gaze, seconds before he’s stalking in my direction.

His massive body backs me against the wall, his leg sliding between mine. His hips press into me, pinning me in place as his hand finds my cheek. His eyes burning with desire, his face inching closer until I can feel his breath on my lips. “Is this what you want, Abby?” he grinds out as his tongue darts out to wet his bottom lip. My eyes track the movement, I’m dying to get my lips on his.

“You want me to show you just how much I missed you?” He rests a forearm on the wall above my head, his breath coming out shallow. He lets out a humorless laugh as his head shakes slightly, letting his eyes slowly close. “If your answer is yes, neither of us will be getting any sleep tonight.”

Words escape me, so I nod, my eyes never leaving his. That’s exactly what I want. I want to be so lost in him that I don’t know where he starts and I stop. I want to jump in the shower like we did last time we were here and burn away every hurtful word, every secret, every last thing that stands between us.

He dips his head and runs his nose up my neck, stopping when he gets to my ear, “All I want to do is love you.” His voice breaks, and I unravel. My body goes slack against his, he’s the only thing holding me up. It was always going to be him and I. I was stupid to think otherwise.

“I’m so sorry, Abby, I pushed when I should have pulled.” He nips my ear, “God, I was blinded by my anger.” The hand that was on my cheek drops to my hip and squeezes. “There’s no one who hates me more than me.”

I can’t see him through my tears, but I feel him, I feel him everywhere. My head hits the wall as my eyes fall shut. I let his words stitch the shattered pieces of my heart back together one by one. He kisses my neck, the warmth of his lips a stark contrast to how cold my skin is. The sensation causes my hips to buck, and I feel him smile against me.

“You drive me up the freaking wall. But I couldn’t handpick a better woman for me than you.”

Kiss.

“You push me to be better in every aspect of life.”

Kiss.

“You get me out of my comfort zone, helping me forgive what I can’t forget.”

Kiss.

“You’re always in my corner, even when I don’t deserve it.”

Kiss.

The moment of silence that follows is heavy as we lock in a battle of wills. The weight of everything left unsaid, how we left things when I walked away after his accident. How our friends suffered from a fallout they weren’t even aware of. It just seems to grow heavier as the silence stretches. I can’t take it anymore.

“Tate, please.” It comes out in a ragged whisper. His lips slam against mine, his hands frame my neck in the most delicious way. My hands snake up his chest, fisting his shirt as I pull him closer. A hand leaves the side of my neck, weaving itself into my hair. With a sharp tug, he pulls me from his lips, my eyes pop open as I gasp at the sensation.

His eyes are full of fire, fear mixed with desperation. “Lie to me again,” he grinds out, “Tell me we won’t work, that you don’t want this, that you need more time, and I’ll walk out the door.” The hand in my hair tightens at the same time his other hand finds the base of my neck. I immediately melt into his touch. Hand necklaces are my favorite. The safety I feel with his hand there, pinning me in place. Taking control, emptying every single thought from my mind, other than I’m his. Completely at his mercy, I know he’s got me; nothing can hurt me here. And I freaking love it.

His breath is hot against my cheek, coming out in deep, short pants. “I dare you, Abby.” A sob works its way out of my throat as my fists softly hit against his chest in frustration. His arms wrap around me as he holds me while I let go of all the bullshit that’s kept us apart.

I let go of every last thing I’ve been trying to control. Because at the end of the day, that’s what I’ve been doing. Trying to control the narrative by avoiding him. Not letting myself hope that what we had before could still be intact after all this. The fear of his rejection built the wall that kept me from jumping in and begging him to forgive me for keeping things from him. When I finally pull myself together, I clear my throat and take a step back until his hands are resting on my shoulders. His eyes look as heavy as my heart felt ten minutes ago.

I’m standing at the edge of a cliff. This is where our relationship mends or breaks. There’s no half in anymore, we’ve been afraid and hurting long enough. There is no doubt in my mind that the man in front of me is my future. So, I say what I’ve told myself I wanted for weeks now, every time my therapist would ask what the best possible outcome would be, this was it.

“Marry me, Sunshine.”

His eyes widen almost comically. “W-What?” he whispers, his arms dropping to his sides. If this weren’t such a pivotal moment, I’d laugh. Instead, I take his hands in mine and look up at the most beautiful man I’ve ever met and smile.

“I said, marry me, Sunshine.” Before I have a chance to take another breath, he picks me up behind my thighs, my legs circle his waist, and my high-pitched squeal cuts through the remaining tension. In this position, I’m looking down at him. His big, ocean blue eyes swim with tears as the most heart-wrenching smile takes over his face.

My hands frame his face as I bend down to kiss him. It’s comforting, a promise that it’s us against the world. No more miscommunications, no more jumping to conclusions, no more running to things I can control when something else is out of my control. My life would be bleak without this man. I only pull away when I feel something wet and cold slide between my fingers. Tears. Tatum Wilder is crying.

His head falls forward onto mine, “Don’t mess with me, Abby,” he sniffles, and my God, it’s the most adorable thing I’ve ever witnessed. I kiss my way across the bridge of his nose, making sure not to leave any freckle unloved, before I press my lips on his again.

“I’m not.” I unhook my legs from around his waist, sliding myself down the front of his body until my feet meet the floor. My hands still cup his face as I brush my finger lightly under his eyes. “You are my everything, Tate. There is nothing I want more than to wake up next to you every day.” I press up on my toes so I can kiss his chin, “I want to dance around the kitchen and sing into wooden spoons while you stand on the island and dance like you’re Magic Mike.”