“I can promise you this. If there’s ever a point where this no longer works for me, I’ll tell you. I’m not going to cheat when I could just walk away. If I wasn’t ready to settle down I wouldn’t have. I know my words mean nothing, but I promise I’ll spend the rest of my life showing you with actions. I love you. I’ve never said that to anyone but my mother. I’m ready. I need you to put your fear aside and be in this with me. Can you do that?”
She studied him for a long moment before she spoke. “I can do that.”
“Good, now let’s get some sleep before round two. I’m not done christening this place.”
She curled into him, and he smoothed her hair away from her face.
“Neither of us is perfect. You’ve got to work through this thing with your parents and I’ve got Rayen. It won’t always be sunshine and ice-cream cones, but we both knew that going into this. We’ve got something good together, and we’re going to keep it that way. I’m not letting anything ruin that for us. Are you?”
“No.” She rolled onto her side and toyed with the end of his braid. “You saved me. I was drowning in anger, uncertainty, and a life I wasn’t truly living. I tried to convince myself success was happiness, but every day I felt a little emptier. Then you came in like a hurricane, swept away all my preconceived notions about you, bikers, and myself. I could love you for that alone, but then you had to go and reveal this sweet side I never would’ve imagined existed. I like that you think with your head first and adhere to a clearly defined set of rules.”
“What you see is what you get, girl.”
“I know, and I love what I see.”
His lips twitched up. “Yeah? Why don’t you climb on top of me and show me?”
“I thought you wanted to take a break,” she said in a teasing tone.
“That was before you started declaring your feelings and shit.”
She laughed as she climbed up to straddle his lap. His dick went to half-mast and their lips met. Their connection exploded stars behind his lids and he lost himself in the magic that only his Ariel could create. Beneath the tough layers and bravado was a woman made just for him. He had no plans of letting her escape.