Page 74 of Whirlwind

“Baby, you’re shaking,” he murmurs.

I look down at our hands and study them. I don’t have small hands, but his rough ones dwarf mine, and he’s holding them with such gentle care that emotion starts to thicken in my throat.

“I—” I manage to say. “I told you I didn’t want that.”

He tilts my chin up so he can look me in the eye, his gaze soft yet intense. “I know, butIwanted to, Finley. For me.”

My brow knits to match my frown. “But you love teaching.”

“Yes, I do. But there are other things I love more.” He squeezes my hand, and his confession sends shockwaves through my body.

“Ryker—you can’t, we haven’t—”

He cups my cheek, his other hand still holding mine on my lap. “I can, and I do. Maybe it sounds crazy, and you don’t have to say it back, but I do love you. I’ve loved you from the first moment you walked into my classroom, hair a mess and too many books in your backpack.”

My eyes turn watery, and he brushes his thumb over my cheek. “You weren’t supposed to quit. The school—”

“Fuck the school.”

“But the paper, your work—” I counter.

He smiles. “I’ve spoken to HR. I thought I wouldn’t hear back so quickly, but someone called me as soonas I emailed them with my resignation yesterday. You don’t have to worry about the paper; it’s going to be published, and everything will be sorted. Hawk’s already reached out to other organizations and private entities for investing, and I told Joey to put those damn T-shirts up online—he said he’s already got over one thousand orders.”

“You’re serious?” I laugh.

“I wouldn’t joke about that,” he grumbles, though the grumble is more playful than annoyed. He drops his hand from my cheek to my lap.

“Wait!” Worry fills my stomach. “You told the school about us?”

“No, but not because I didn’t want to—because I knew you wouldn’t want me to.” He grips my hand. “But don’t get me wrong. I don’t plan on hiding you away. I won’t do it. I want the whole world to know you’re mine.”

My lip threatens to twitch from his caveman statement, but heat fills my chest. “I appreciate that, Ryker. But is that why you were able to keep everything in order for the paper, because you didn’t tell them?”

“I told you, my only motive for not telling the school about us was for you. I won’t lie and say it won’t make it easier for the paper to be completed, but I told you, there will be more. I’ll go back and tell them about us right now to prove that to you, but please know that I want you. Everything else comes after.”

My sinuses sting, and my chest constricts. He’s saying everything I want him to say. I feel as if I’m in some kind of weird dream. “And do I get a choice in this?”

He grips my hand tighter. “Of course you do. If you tell me to fuck off, I will. But I need you to know I made this choice because I wanted to, and I’m happy with it no matter what you choose.”

I observe his features for any lie, but I can’t find any. Ryker is a man of his word, and I know if I told him to leave, he would. Even after blowing up his life for me.

“I was going to delay getting my degree for at least a semester, if not more,” I confess.

Ryker’s eyes widen. “What?”

“I was about to email the registrar’s office when you knocked, then I was going to call you to talk.”

He gets closer to me on the couch, his body so near his heat warms me. It makes me want to lean in closer and have him hold me.

“Saved by the knock,” he says quietly.

I blink up at him. “I meant it when I said I didn’t want you to have to quit.”

“I know, baby. But if you deferred, we’d be right back here again in the future, trying to figure out what to do.”

“And you’re so sure that we’re going to work?”

Some men would be upset that I implied our relationship could fail after a few months, but not Ryker. His gaze is still soft as he tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. “I may fuck up sometimes, and you’ll get angry with me, but I’ll always be the best man I can be for you. I plan on being with you for a lot longer than a semester, after all.”

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