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I loved this man.
Maybe I always loved him.
Maybe we just needed to journey alone for awhile before finding each other again. I was a firm believer that everything in life happens for a reason, that everything has a purpose.
Maybe the purpose was our kids.
And to make us ready forthis.
This weighty kind of love and need that felt so consuming sometimes, I worried I would burn to ash if ever I lost him.
Ryker stared down at me, a questioning look in his eyes.
“I love you,” I blurted, before I could second guess myself.
His eyes darkened, swirling with emotion so strong, my knees nearly gave out. “Say it again,” he demanded, grabbing my face, gaze boring into mine.
“I love you,” I repeated, breathless, my heart thundering as I gripped his hands. I felt a little light-headed and before I knew it, Ryker’s mouth crashed down over mine, his teeth nipping my bottom lip, his tongue plundering and taking.
His hands slid into my hair, taking control, holding me there and kissing me senseless until I was a nothing more than a boneless noodle.
Then his mouth gentled, slowed, the kiss becoming more sensual and deliberate, and heat pooled in my belly.
“Meg. Sweet, sexy, sassy… beautiful Meg… I love you too,” he whispered against my mouth. “If I’m honest, I think I never stopped. You just made me the happiest man on earth,” he rasped.
Tears welled in my eyes and I blinked them back, burying my face in his neck and inhaling his woodsy scent as I gathered myself.
When I felt steadier, I stepped back and held his beloved face in my hands, gently stroking back a lock of his hair that gave him a rakish look.
“It’s settled then. I’m all in if you are. Equal partners in this. But the second you start leaving dirty socks on the floor, I'm changing the locks," I joked.
Ryker smirked and leaned close, his lips finding that sensitive spot below my ear that never failed to make me shiver. "Deal. Though I can't make any promises of good behavior once I get you alone. Tell me, Daniels. Have you been naughty or nice while I’ve been gone?” he growled.
A thrill shot through my veins.
His words dripped with dark promise.
As Ryker's mouth claimed mine again, more hungry than ever, I dragged him with me, walking us backwards to my bedroom as we peeled off our clothes.
Gratitude filled me because in my heart of hearts, in my romantic, high school girl heart that still beat inside me despite my years and wisdom, I knew this second chance wasn’t by accident.
Ryker and me, we were always meant to be together.
We just needed time to grow, to evolve, to become the people we both needed in the here and now. I could never have loved him like this when I was 17, and neither could he.
We were too young, too selfish.
We would have destroyed each other.
But now… now I couldn’t wait to love him like this. Ryker was the missing piece, the thing that filled the empty ache I’d always felt in my soul.
We tumbled together onto my bed with a collective grunt and I grinned against his mouth, all thoughts fleeing my brain, except for two.
We just needed time for it to marinate, for it to get this damn good.
And…
Merry Christmas to meeeee.
