Page 134 of Beautifully Reckless

“Do you feel better now, Angel?”

I nod, my gaze slipping to his lips, catching the satisfied grin that tugs at them.

“I’m sorry for scaring you before.” He leans in close to my ear, voice low. “That shit with Wendy… well, it makes me fucking wild.”

“Yeah. I noticed.” I relax into him, letting his arms completely claim me.

It’s a mix of hard and soft. Like the brutal beast of a man is still right here in this room, but his gentleness is just for me.

And God… that does something to me.

“I’ll fuck up anyone that tries to hurt you, physically or emotionally, Angel. I don’t care who they are.”

My brows lift. “What if it’s your ma?”

He grins. “My ma would never treat you badly. No matter what. She’s got a golden heart.”

I open my mouth to give him another example, but he silences me by pressing his lips to mine.

The sound around us fades away, muffled, like we’re trapped in a bubble. Just me and him. Nothing else. No one else.

He deepens the kiss, and my stomach flutters, but it’s not from my heart or butterflies.

It’s my baby.

A sob lurches up my throat, but Ringo swallows it, squeezing me closer like he wants to crawl under my skin and stay there.

Do you like him, little corn?

Do you feel safe around Cameron?

Do you feel how much he cares?

He or she can feel him. I just know it.

Breaking the kiss, Ringo pulls back just enough to swipe his thumbs across my cheeks, and that’s when I realise. I’m actually crying.

“I got you, Abs,” he rasps, his whiskey eyes locked onto mine, so intense that I want to look away… but I can’t.

“Must be my hormones,” I lie, and he lets out a soft, knowing chuckle.

“Yeah. Must be.”

Then, like the universe knows we need a breather, the smell of food hits us. We glance around to see the Doxies carrying trays of food, being bossed around by Ringo’s mum as she tells them exactly where to put everything.

“Come on, Angel. It’s time for me to feed my wife.”

My heart flips again at hearing him call me his wife, and it does something to me.

I want to question my reaction, since I’ve been so against marriage. Against the whole idea of being someone’s wife. Someone’s property.

But things feel different now. With Ringo, everything is different.

The way he looks after me, the way he sees me. It’s the kind of care I’ve craved for longer than I want to admit.

Maybe I just need to stop overthinking everything and just be in these moments with him.

We spend the next couple of hours eating and chatting, Ringo never once letting me out of his reach.

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