Page 173 of Pucking Wild

I stare down at her as I run the tape back in my mind. “Babe,yes,I did. I told you I loved you, and I made a whole speech about how we’re fucking made for each other.”

“No, we were talking about his leverage—”

“Yeah, and thenIsaid—”

“Ohmygod, you said it,” she cries, eyes wide as she covers her hand with her mouth. “Wait—you said it and I missed it? You have to say it again.”

And now I’m laughing. I can’t help it. This woman is going to be the death of me, whether through soul-shattering sex or these circular conversations.

“Ryan,” she huffs, slapping my arm. “Please. Say it again.”

“Why bother? You clearly don’t listen,” I reply, feigning hurt feelings as I cross my arms.

“I was distraught,” she cries, tugging on my arms and trying to weasel her way closer. “I was thinking about how I’d already lost you, and how I couldn’t fucking bear it, and how lonely I was without you. I thought I had to do this on my own, like I was fucking cursed to be alone. So, my heart was breaking, and I couldn’t hear you beyond the sound of my own agony.”

We both go still as I gaze down at her. She’s clinging to me with both hands, gripping tight to my forearms. Her freckled cheeks are flushed red, her chest heaving with the exertion of unloading so much emotional baggage at once. I peer into her eyes and smile. My Tess is back. She’s in control. The scared creature she was when I first arrived is gone, banished. Tess the Mess, queen of my fucking heart, is here now and I mean to make her stay.

I cup her face. “You look at me right now, you wild creature. Are you looking at me?”

She nods.

“Tess, can you hear me?”

“Yes,” she says with a roll of her eyes.

“Do that again, and I’ll take you over my knee and spank your ass raw,” I warn.

She twitches in my hold, her gaze going molten as she looks up at me. “Ryan—”

“No speaking,” I say over her. “It’s the Virgo’s turn. Tess With Two Dark Sides can have her turn when I’m done, agreed?”

She nods, lifting her hands to wrap around my wrists.

“Tess Owens, I love you,” I say, trying to keep my voice from trembling. “I’m in love with you. Did you hear me that time?”

She nods again, happy tears filling her eyes.

“I don’t give a fuck what happened in your past,” I go on. “We all have one. The only thing I care about is that your past brought you to me. Your past is the story you’ve already written. You have to let it stay there, okay? We’re on a new page together, you and me. I’m your future, Tess. Say it.”

“You’re my future,” she says.

“The past doesn’t control your present,” I intone.

She repeats me, her voice soft. But I can tell she’s not quite convinced. It’s okay. I hold enough conviction for the both of us.

“You aren’t alone anymore, do you hear me? The only person who can keep you from me isyou. In that sense, He Who Must Trip on a Shoe Tassel and Boil in Lava is right. Youarein control, Tess. You’re in control ofthis,” I say, taking her hand and splaying it over my heart. “You’re in control of us. If you walk away, that will be your choice. If you stay, that will be your choice too. The door to my heart will always be open, and I will never seek to control you—”

“But you’re in control too,” she says. “You could walk away. You could shut me out.”

I just laugh. “Have you seen you, Tess? Have you seen these lips?” I brush my fingers over her mouth. “Have you heard your laugh? It stops me dead in my tracks every time.”

Her gaze softens as her body sinks into me, craving my closeness.

“Have you watched the way you cross a room in a pair of heels?” I bend lower to brush a kiss against her temple, my hands smoothing down her arms. “Have you ever felt what it is to hold all your attention?” My hands graze over her breasts, and I love the feel of her nipples hard against my palms.

The energy between us turns on a dime, and now I know my Tess is fully here, ready to put her crown back on. She’s ready to fucking own me.

And I’m ready to let her.

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