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“Mom,” I warned.
I’d already told her to stop talking about us like that.Sarah could overhear her and get confused.
“I take that as a no.Well, you’d better get around to it before some other handsome man swoops in and steals her right out from under your nose.”
“I’ll see you in an hour,” I said, then ended the call, slamming my cell down with more force than necessary.
The image of Oakley with any other man made me livid.The thought that she could fall in love with someone else and get married.Have a family.Fuck, that burned deep in my chest.I couldn’t picture her with anyone else.No other family.
Just us.This one.
DAMMIT!Why was it that all the reasons for not pursuing her made sense during the day, but at night, none of that shit mattered?I had her in my arms, and I felt like a damn king.
Standing up, I started to leave the room when I caught a glimpse of Oakley and Sarah in the backyard.They were laying their ornaments out to dry in the sunshine.Sarah said something to Oakley, then turned and ran toward the tree swing, laughing as she went.Oakley chased after her.
Sarah jumped onto the swing, and Oakley went behind her to push.
Oakley would make a great mom.She deserved to have that.But the thought of letting someone else give her a child, I couldn’t fucking even consider it.Every damn muscle in my body tensed, and I felt ready to kill any fucker who tried to touch her.Take her from us.From me.
I gripped the windowsill and watched them, and the one word that kept hammering in my head was,MINE.They were mine.
Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath.I couldn’t keep denying it.Telling myself I could control it.Acting like I had ever really stopped.I was in love with Oakley Leola Watson and her quirky personality, sharp wit, big heart, and ability to forgive.To accept.Her strength humbled me.
Looking back at the females in my past, I knew, this time, it would be different.I wouldn’t let anything come between us.No lies.No heartache.Nothing.I wanted that life with her that I’d dreamed of once.
This wasn’t going to hurt Sarah.I’d been using that as an excuse because I was afraid of losing Oakley again.I didn’t think I could survive it another time.
At that moment, she looked up, and her eyes found me.A smile lit up her gorgeous face, and she lifted her hand to wave.
Even after I’d told her I couldn’t love her, she had given me this.Stayed here.She hadn’t left.She let me bury myself inside of her over and over, giving me all of her.Taking me to a paradise I’d never realized existed.One where I wanted to keep her wrapped in my arms forever.
It was time I let go of then and focus on now.
We were different people.Life had changed us.Yet it hadn’t managed to unlink us.Even through hate, betrayal, loss, our souls had never truly let go.
Thirty-Eight
Oakley
Sitting on the edge of Wilder’s bed, wrapped in a towel, I watched as he dried his body from the shower we had just shared.I shivered—not from the cold, but from the memory of him on his knees with his face buried between my legs while I leaned against the stone shower wall.
A slow smile curled his lips as he ran the towel over his abs, then tossed it on the dresser before walking toward me.The predatory gleam in his eye thrilled me because I knew what was to come.Being tangled up in the sheets with him was the time each day when I believed he was mine.I found myself longing for hours to speed up just to get here—from the moment I walked out of this room early every morning until we came back in it together at night.
“For a woman who was just screaming and coming on my face, you sure look needy,” he teased, reaching for my towel and tugging it out of my hands so that it fell open.
“I look needy?”I asked, tilting my head back to look up at him.
He nodded as he traced my jawline, then ran his thumb over my bottom lip.“My girl shouldn’t ever be needy.I must not be doing my job correctly.”
He hadn’t meant to say that … had he?My girl?He hadn’t called me that in … nine years.It had been a slip of the tongue.He would get weird on me if I didn’t make a joke.Lighten the mood.
“You’re doing your job just fine.But you might want to be careful with who you toss thatmy girlstuff to.Another woman might think you mean it.”I mentally scolded myself for letting this hurt me.Just saying the words.My chest was aching, and I didn’t want to ruin our night.
“I’d never call any other woman my girl.That’s always been your title, Oakley,” he said.He wrapped his hand around my wrist and pulled me up.
If he was trying to be funny, this wasn’t the way to do it.Deep breaths were becoming difficult.Could heartbreak happen over and over?Haunting you.Never truly letting go?Or was that my curse in life?
“Oakley.”Wilder said my name, and I swung my eyes up from the random spot on his chest I had been focused on, trying not to fall apart.
