Page 182 of Strange Seduction
“You are the most brilliant, infuriating, beautiful woman I’ve ever known.”
I swallowed hard, and my breath caught before I could steady it. His voice, the way he looked at me—it knocked the wind out of me.
He exhaled softly. “I’m not the best with words, but saying this is easy. You drive me insane in the best way. You challenge me. You make me want to be the kind of man I didn’t think I could be before I met you. I crave you. I crave you so fucking bad. I crave the sound of your voice. I worship the ground you walk on. I’m addicted to the way you think. I love you so fucking much and I’ll be yours forever.”
The flicker of candlelight caught the wetness in his eyes, and my knees nearly gave out.
“I’ve watched you walk through pain these past few days you never should’ve had to endure. I’ve seen you scared, yet you still stand tall. You love so hard, even when you’re hurting.” He smiled a little, almost like it pained him. “And I know I don’t always get it right. I know I’ve hurt you. I hate that I ever did.”
Tears slipped down my cheeks.
“But I’m yours. I’ve been yours. Long before I said it out loud. I wake up wanting to protect your peace and fall asleep to dreams of earning your trust all over again.” He paused, his voice shaking slightly. “And I want to do that for the rest of my life. I want you. I want us. We’re in this together.”
He opened the box, hands trembling now. “So if you’ll have me, I want to grow old with you. I want to be the arms you come home to. I want to be your person. Your home. Your partner.”
His voice dropped to a whisper, barely audible. “Please, baby. Marry me.”
I couldn’t speak. My whole chest was pulsing with a kind of ache I couldn’t name. My father gave him his blessing before he died. They never even met, and he asked because he knew that was important to me. My dad would’ve loved him. That thought struck me so suddenly, I covered my mouth with my hand as a sob cracked out of me.
Theo started to rise, maybe to comfort me, maybe because he thought I wasn’t ready—but I dropped to my knees in front of him, grabbed his face, and kissed him like every second without him had been starving.
I pulled back just enough to whisper against his lips, “Yes, Teddy.”
“You sure?” he asked, finally letting the tears fall.
“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.”
He exhaled a shaky breath, forehead pressed to mine. “You said yes.”
I laughed through my tears. “You idiot. Of course, I said yes.”
His hands cupped my face, and when he slipped the ring onto my finger, I knew.
“I love you.”
How Can I Explain Myself?
Still Day Seventeen.
I was a little tipsy.
That was the only justification I could come up with because I was sure I must have misheard him.
“You ain’t going anywhere.”
“You staying right here with me.”
“I’m not letting you go.”
“Tell me you’re not going anywhere, Sweetness.”
“Tell me you’re not leaving me.”
That was all he groaned into my ear as we had sex. Admittedly, my mind was a bit preoccupied by being put through the mattress to notice the demand in his tone.
Or maybe I just misunderstood.
Maybe this was how he dirty-talked, and I was missing something.
