“I want you,” I growl. “That’s all I know. Everything else is just background noise. There is nothing you could ever do to make me want to give you up. You’re everything to me, Lucy. In such a short amount of time, you’ve become the most important thing in my life.”
“But even if that’s true, don’t you see how complicated this is going to be? That’s why I walked away. Because I knew that it might be too late to save myself, but not you. If you give up on me, you won’t have to deal with all of this mess. My dad is never going to accept this. He’s never going to allow us to get away with it. I’ve made such a mess, Wyatt. I know you care about me…and I care about you too. More than anything in the world. But that’s why I have to leave you. You deserve better than this.”
“That’s for me to decide,” I counter. “It’s too late, Lucy. I’ve fallen for you. I want you, I need you. I can’t function without you. Today was hell, and I know it was for you too. Don’t give up on us. We can figure this out.”
“I wish we could, but you don’t know my dad the way that I do. If I don’t walk away from this, our entire world could implode. He’ll never forgive us for this. I grew up being taught to hate you…all because of him. But for me, all it took was one look to know you’re different, but he won’t listen to me…we have to cut the cord for our own sake.”
“For his sake you mean.”
I’m so angry with her dad that I could punch a wall. I’ve never had strong feelings toward the man. He’s always been a business rival, sure, but I’ve always seen it as friendly competition. I never realized how deep his hate for me ran. And now, I can see why Lucy is so concerned. She thinks this could all go wrong and blow up in our faces.
But isn’t it worth it?
“Lucy, I know this is a hard decision. I know it feels like you have to choose between me and your dad, but I would never ask you to do that. If you need us to be a secret, then so be it. We can keep this entirely to ourselves. No one needs to know about us until you’re ready. But there’s no way I’m letting you go so easily.”
Lucy blinks back tears. “You mean…,” she pauses the emotion getting to her, “you want to fight for me?”
“You’re damned right I do. I’ll never stop fighting for you, baby. I told you, you’re all that matters. I know we’ll have hardships and challenges. I know people will judge the age gap between us, that your dad will be furious if he finds out, that we might have to walk on eggshells for a while, but you’re so fucking worth it. I’ve never felt this way before. You’ve made me into an insatiable animal. I can’t get enough of you. And if you try to leave me, I’ll follow you to the ends of the earth…because now I know for a fact you want this as much as I do. We’re meant to be, baby. Don’t give up.”
Lucy’s eyes have cleared of tears now. I know she’s scared. Of course, she is. I’m asking a lot of her. But we owe it to ourselves, to our relationship to try. I know we have a future together, all we have to do is be brave enough to walk into it, hand in hand. This is our moment. This is our crossroads. And I’m not moving on without her by my side.
Lucy takes a deep breath, shaking her head. She’s trembling beneath my touch. I want to comfort her, but she has to make this decision alone. She has to want it enough.
When she looks up at me, there’s a small smile playing on her lips, and I know I’ve got my answer. She wants to try, wants us to be together. She stands and lets me wrap my arms around her, pulling her in close.
“I want this. No matter the consequences,” she whispers, bowing her head. “I…I’m so sorry, Wyatt. I’m sorry that I lied. I’m sorry that I led you on…”
I put a finger to her lips. “I know you are. And I understand why you did it. But now we have to be a team. No matter what, we stick together.”
She nods. “That’s what I want. Just you and me against the world.”
Her eyes raise to meet mine, and she presses her body against mine and I groan at the contact, remembering the previous night, my cock surging to life.
Everything that’s happened today, it’s in the past.