Page 108 of Reputation (Tempt)

“But, but—” I shook my head. No. No way. He didn’t mean that. “You’re such a good actor, you convinced yourself this was real.” Convinced me his feelings were real.

He leaned his forehead to mine, his gaze intense and unwavering. “You’re wrong.”

“But this is all pretend.”

“It isn’t,” he said. “At least not for me. And I don’t think it is for you either.”

I closed my eyes, trying to calm my racing heart. I wanted to believe him. I wanted his words to be true so badly.

“You once asked me why I spent the night in the hospital chair,” he said. “The truth is, I was terrified of losing you. And whether I realized it or not, I was falling for you even then. Before then, if I’m being honest.”

“You…were?” I asked, scarcely believing my ears.

He nodded, his expression solemn. “And the rose tattoo.” I couldn’t do anything but stare at him, mouth agape. “Do you know why I selected that?”

“Because I’m the thorn in your side,” I said, thinking of the play on my last name—Thorne.

He shook his head, his expression solemn. “Have you heard the quote by Rumi that ‘a rose’s rarest essence lives in the thorn’?”

“No. What does it mean?”

“Basically, just as a rose isn’t complete without its thorn, a human isn’t complete without trials and tribulations.”

I lifted my head. “To appreciate beauty, you have to understand pain.”

“Exactly.” He smiled softly. “And you, Emerson—” he cupped my cheek “—are the beauty. The rose.”

And all this time, I’d thought… Well, I’d been wrong. So very wrong. About him. Me. Us. All of it.

“I don’t think you realize just how much you mean to me,” he said with a sincerity that stole the breath from my lungs. And just when I didn’t think I could possibly handle any more, he said, “I love you, Em. I love you.” He smiled then, and it was filled with hesitancy and hope. “So damn much.”

I blinked a few times then pinched myself for good measure.

He furrowed his brow. “What are you doing?”

“I, uh—” My cheeks flamed with heat. “Just trying to reassure myself this is real.”

He chuckled, tucking my hair behind my ear. “It’s real. What I feel for you is very real. And it was never an act, except when I pretended not to like you.”

I rolled my eyes, but I couldn’t hide the smile forming on my face. Relief and euphoria nearly overwhelmed me. I wasn’t a fool. I wasn’t alone in my feelings. Nate loved me, and I loved him.

“Nate,” I said.

“Yeah?” he asked.

I draped my arms around his neck, smiling up at him. “I love you too.”

He smiled back. Genuine. Dazzling. Earth-shattering.

“Say it again,” he rasped, claiming my mouth.

“I love you,” I gasped as he pulled my skirt up over my hips. He smoothed his hands over my thighs and groaned when he came to my ass.

He spun me around, and I glanced over my shoulder, loving the crazed look in his eyes.

“Fuck, Em. This ass.” He gave it a slap—just enough to sting but not enough to leave a mark. And then he ran a hand lovingly over the material of my silk thong, smoothing his hand down my ass.

He pressed gently on my upper back, forcing me to grip the back of the banquette. He knelt to the floor and kissed his way up my leg. First one, then the other. “Your legs are my favorite part of you, besides your heart.” He slid his finger over the silk, making it even wetter if that was possible. Then he followed the same path with his tongue. He was the perfect blend of sweet and dirty.

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