Page 123 of Stay for Me

It would never be enough.

If I had it my way, Diana Harper would never leave Hallow Ranch again.

However, this was reality, and my woman had a business to run. “You need to go home tomorrow then,” I assumed, shoving my need to lock her away down.

My firefly nodded, running her hand through her wet hair. “Yeah, I have to prepare.”

I said nothing, returning to the kitchen to grab my dinner, and neither of us spoke again until I was in the chair across from her.

“Though, I’m only teaching one class this semester, and the first day is easy,” she rambled, moving her fork over the food I made her. “It’s just me going over the syllabus. You know, setting the tone,” she explained, popping a little red potato in her mouth.

My question came out easy, but guilt lingered on my tongue. “When did you start teaching?”

She blew out a breath and looked to the fire. “Uh, probably three years ago, maybe?”

The guilt moved the back of my throat, dropping down to my gut. This was going to be hard. I knew that, as did she, but fuck, if I didn’t feel like an asshole for not knowing. The words were out before I could stop them. “I’m sorry.”

Her eyes held mine, firelight dancing across her skin. “I’m sorry, too,” she whispered as she dropped her eyes. “I feel like we’ve wasted so much time.”

My plate was on the table in the next second, and a half second after that, I was on my knees in front of her, taking her plate away. “No. No, see, Firefly, we’re not going to do that,” I said, my voice thick, my hands on her thighs. “We can’t spend the rest of our time together regretting all the things we missed. That’s no way to start this.”

I watched her intently as she took a slow breath, her hands reaching for me. “Mags, I need to know what this is.”

“I told you what this was, baby,” I replied, my brows coming together.

“I need to hear it again,” she demanded.

I watched her, studying the fear in her eyes. “Tell me what you’re thinking,” I ordered softly.

“The truth?”

“Always the truth, Firefly. Nothing else.”

She chewed on the inside of her lip, looking over to the fire. “Last night, I was sitting right here, silently wishing—praying--you would tell me you love me.”

My jaw tightened, but I waited. I wasn’t going to push her, not now.

“And now, I know what you taste like,” she whispered, looking at our hands. “I know what you feel like. I know how good it feels to be in your arms. I know you actually have the capability to laugh when you want.” She looked at me, tears in her eyes. “I know you love me.”

I nodded.

Her bottom lip trembled. “I also really don’t want to go back to reality. I want to stay—”

“This is our reality,” I told her roughly. “This is our fuckin’ reality, beautiful. You and me. There’s no going back.” My hands left hers so I could cup her face. “This isn’t a dream. This isn’t going to go away. You’re going to teach your class, run your firm, and I’ll be here, working on the ranch and building furniture.”

“But—”

“This isus, Firefly. This is you and me loving each other and building something together. This is you in my bed on the weekends and me in yours during the week.” She jerked slightly, but I kept on. “This is you taking me into Hayden and showing me around because, fuck, it’s time for me to leave this damn property. I know I’ll probably fuckin’ hate it and the nosy people in it, but if I’m your man, people in this town need to know that. I’m prepared to show them that. You deserve to be shown off, and I can’t do that by keeping you here, even though what I really want to do is chain you to my bed.” I paused, savoring the heat rising in her cheeks. “This is me introducing you to Carrie and Grayson when they come down. This is me letting you in. This is me giving myself to you and only you, because you’re the only woman I’ve ever fuckin’ loved. This is us becoming a family. This is me making love to you when we both need it, fuckin’ the bad days out of both of us. This is me getting to eat your sweet cunt whenever and wherever I want. This is you seeing me—all of me—like no one else has. This is me being your safe space and you being mine. This is us being together.”

“Mags,” she breathed out, eyes wide.

“You get me?” I pressed. “I need you to tell me you get me. If you don’t, then we have bigger problems.”

“I get you,” she whispered.

“You mine?” I clipped.

“Yes.”

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