Page 139 of Reputation (Tempt)

“What are you doing?” I laughed, looping my arms around his neck.

“Taking my fiancée to bed.”

“What about all the candles?” I asked, peering over his shoulder. They were beautiful, but I was afraid they’d start a fire.

“Juliana’s team will take care of it.”

He carried me to the bedroom then tossed me on the bed. I bounced a little, laughing as I did so. But instead of joining me, he dragged a hand through his hair, closing his eyes briefly and inhaling slowly.

“Hey,” I asked. “You okay?”

When he turned to me, his smile was watery. “I’m just so fucking happy. So fucking relieved.”

“About the custody hearing?”

“That, and the fact that I worried you might say no.”

“Seriously?” I furrowed my brow. “I would never say no to us.”

He crawled over the bed to me, bracing himself on his arms above me. His gaze was so intense, in that moment, it felt as if I could see to his very soul. “I don’t know what I would’ve done if you had. I can’t imagine a life without you.”

I grabbed his shirt and pulled him down to me for a kiss. “Luckily, you don’t have to.”

He chuckled. “True. Because it would suck to have my new tattoo removed so soon after getting it.”

“Tattoo?” I asked. “What tattoo?” What the hell was he talking about?

He claimed my mouth, his hands roaming my body. I stripped off his shirt, eager to feel his skin. To have nothing between us.

And then I saw it. Right there on the inside of Nate’s forearm in a small handwritten font was a tattoo.

(Em’s version)

I gasped,running my fingers over his skin. “Youdidn’t.”

“Idid.” He grinned. “You like?”

“I love it. I can’t believe… I can’t believe you did this.” He’d proclaimed his love where anyone could see it. And he’d done it by showing everyone that I owned him. Owned his heart.

“Good.” He kissed me like I was his everything, and I kissed him back just as passionately. Nate was everything I’d ever wanted—him and Brooklyn. He was a partner in every sense of the word, and I couldn’t imagine spending my life with anyone else.

He flipped us so that I was lying on my back, and I watched as he lined himself up with my entrance. He paused, silently checking in with me. We’d never had sex without a condom, and I loved that he wanted my explicit consent.

I nodded, more than eager to feel him inside me. To become one.

“I love you,” he said, thrusting into me.

I couldn’t form a response, the sensation of being filled by him was so intense. The way our bodies joined. The love we had for each other.

“I love you.” He kissed my temple. My cheek.

I pulled him closer, wrapping my legs around his waist, needing as much of his skin touching me as humanly possible.

“I love you.” He rested his forehead against mine, our noses brushing.

“I love you.” I peered into his eyes, knowing that he was meant for me. Just as I was meant for him and Brooklyn. We were a family. “Forever and always,” I said, echoing his proposal.

“Forever and always,” he said, claiming my lips as he claimed my body.

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