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I woke up the next morning, surprised to find that my head wasn’t throbbing. There was a happy ache in my hips, but nothing I couldn’t handle. My mind wasn’t as foggy as I imagined it would be, and there was no regret gnawing at the back of my mind.
As I sat up, I groaned softly and propped some pillows up so I could lean against the oak headboard comfortably. The soft snoring sound beside me drew my attention and I smiled a little as I looked down at the man I’d cared so deeply for, for so long. There was a part of me that felt I should be ashamed for the depth of my feelings for him, but I knew it was okay.
I was already close to loving this man, but that was because I’d loved him from afar for a very long time. He groaned and shifted in his sleep, eyes fluttering open. He looked at me and sighed, a smile coming to his dangerously full lips.
“So it wasn’t a dream?” he said.
I scoffed to hide the blush coming to my cheeks, but I didn’t hide the smile. “No, it wasn’t a dream.” I said, reaching out and touching his hair. “How are you feeling?”
“A bit hung over, but if that’s the price I have to pay, I’m down with it,” he said, sitting up as well.
My fingers were still threaded through his locks when he smiled at me and made my heart flutter. I had to resist to urge to put my hand over my chest.
“Do you want to grab a shower?”
“Sure. Who first?” I asked.
He cocked a brow and chuckled. “I thought we could grab it together,” he suggested.
“O-Oh, right! Yeah. Together sounds great.” God, he turned me into a puddled mess.
We slid out from under the covers and he started the shower. He stuck his hand under the water and I watched him closely, admiring the tattoos that decorated his tanned skin.
“Ryan?”
“Yeah?” he asked, adjusting knobs.
“Why were you single for so long?” He never really dated, despite all the women having their eyes on him.
He hesitated and glanced back at me. “I was waiting for you to get your shit together,” he said, reaching out and offering his hand to me.
I took his hand and leaned into him once I was under the spray of the water, my eyes fluttering closed. It felt good to be close to him like this.
“You were waiting for me?” I asked.
“Of course I was. I always cared about you and I was just hoping beyond hope that you felt the same way,” he said, wrapping his strong arms around me.
The entire world fell away when I was wrapped in his arms. For a moment all of the trouble and danger went away and it was just me and him. I held him tight and took a deep breath.
“I’m sorry I made you wait so long.”
“Don’t be sorry. I mean, I was being an ass too,” he said with a soft smile. “It’s no one’s fault and we shouldn’t be apologizing. We’re happy now and that’s all that really matters,” he pointed out.
I put my chin on his chest and looked up at him. “So this isn’t a one-time thing?”
“Like a fling? God no. At least I hope not,” he said after a moment, looking down at me. “I mean, at the end of the day you have to say yes.”
“Say yes to what?”
“You have to say yes to being my girl.”
The comment was so surreal. Everything I’d ever wanted all these years was finally within my grasp. The man I’d wanted to be mine was finally here, asking me to be his woman. He was embracing my naked body in the shower, admitting that he wanted more than just sex from me.
“You’re an idiot,” I murmured, watching his face fall. “Of course I’m going to say yes.”
Chapter Eleven
That was just the beginning of what I felt like might be the rest of my life. Suddenly, being sent away to this cabin in the woods didn’t feel like a punishment at all. Ryan wasn’t a nuisance anymore. I actually wanted to be with him; I wanted to spend all of my days with him.
