Tell Me You Crave Me (Search and Seduce 3)

“No, I think you’ll hand me my ass, like you’re doing right now.”

“Because you’re impossible!”

“Yeah, well, you’re impossible, too,” he countered. “Impossible for me to stop thinking about.”

“That isn’t fair, East,” she said. Her shoulders slumped a little. “Do you have any idea what it’s like loving you? I just want to strangle you and hold you close, and I just want…more. All the time. Just you. Because you have my entire damn heart in your hands and it’s just not fair, East.”

“But you love me?” he said.

She nodded.

“Good. Because I love you, too, and I’m a giant idiot for not saying that sooner. I’ve never trusted anyone like I trust you. I’m sorry I pushed you away. I was just afraid of losing you.”

He glanced at Michelle in thanks for that gem of realization, and she smiled.

“Well, that’s dumb,” Natalie said. “Like I would ever leave you.”

He stepped closer. “Care to make a promise on that?”

She smiled, and her eyes were teary, and just when he cupped her hips and pulled her closer, she said, “I promise to love you forever and make your life a living hell if you ever hurt me like that again.”

He brushed his lips over hers. “Hell is life without you. I’m sorry, baby. I love you so damn much, you’re going to be so annoyed with me by the end of all this.”

“Promise?” she asked.

“Promise.”

Matt came up to him then, and East turned to face him. His face was red, and East couldn’t read his expression.

“So, you want to tell me why in the hell you didn’t talk to me about this?” Matt asked.

East looked at his friend but didn’t let go of Natalie. “I wanted to, man. I just couldn’t. I knew you wouldn’t think I was good enough.”

Matt’s face went redder and he sighed. “You’re such an asshole,” he said. “I’ve depended on you to take care of Nat our whole lives. I told you she was vulnerable.”

East held up a hand to stop him. “I know, I fucked up.”

Matt looked at Natalie. “So. Are you happy with this guy?”

Natalie nodded. “Yeah.”

Matt put his hand on East’s shoulder. “I love you, bro. But if you fuck this up, I will kill you.” He fake-punched East, but just hard enough to let him know he was serious. And then he broke into a grin and gave him a huge hug before he went back to his new bride.

East felt Natalie’s arms wrap around him, and he turned back to face her. He held her face in his hands and kissed her, and a round of healthy applause erupted. He wrapped up Natalie, the one woman he couldn’t live without, in his arms and held her, kissed her, in front of everyone.

Finally feeling like he was clinging to something worth holding on to.

Epilogue

“Why are you being such a pain the ass about this?” East asked.

Natalie rolled her eyes and just kept her head down, frosting another batch of cupcakes. “Because I prefer living in sin, all right?”

East slapped the counter and paced. “I’ve asked you to marry me thirty-one times in the past month.”

“Thirty-one?” she repeated and glanced to the ceiling.

“Yeah.” East came around the counter to stand behind her and kiss along her neck. “Remember last week, when I asked you right before I fucked you in my truck because you were so hot for me you couldn’t wait to get inside…”