Maddux smirked. “If you were a real asshole, she would have kicked you to the curb way before now, so don’t fuck it up a second time with her, okay?” He hesitated a moment, then met Remy’s gaze in a mutual understanding. “Just make my sister happy, man. That’s all I want for her.”
“I intend to,” Remy promised.
But first, he had some groveling to do.
With the use of Maddux’s private key card, Remy rode up the elevator with the other man, nervous about the reception he was going to get as the doors opened on Tempest’s floor.
Maddux gave him a friendly slap on the back. “Good luck,” he said, grinning.
“Yeah, thanks,” Remy muttered, and walked out into the foyer. The elevator doors closed behind him, taking Maddux two floors up to his apartment.
A few steps in, he found Tempest in the living room. She frowned when she saw him. She was still wearing that sexy red dress, though she’d taken off her shoes, and she crossed her arms over her chest, giving him the distinct impression that she now had her walls up. Definitely his fault, and he felt like a dick for putting that chasm between them.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, her tone wary. “I thought you’d be long gone by now.”
“I seriously thought about it,” he admitted as he took off his sports jacket and draped it over the back of one of the barstools in the kitchen, then slowly walked toward her, hating the cautious look in her eyes since he was directly responsible for putting it there. “But it didn’t take me long after you got out of my car to realize I’d royally fucked up.”
“Yes, you did.”
He stopped about a foot away from her, and she tipped her chin up, so strong and stubborn and beautiful. He saw the moisture still on her cheeks from her tears, and his gut twisted with regret.
“I’m so sorry I made you cry,” he said, reaching out and wiping away a bit of wetness with his thumb. “I’m so fucking sorry I hurt you. I don’t ever want to hurt you, Tempest.”
“You didn’t hurt me,” she corrected him with an incredulous laugh. “These were angry tears, you jerk! Because I was afraid I wasn’t going to be able to get through to you and . . . I might lose you for good.”
He folded her into his arms, and she was stiff against him at first, then her body gradually softened against his. “I’m not going anywhere,” he promised her, breathing in the familiar scent clinging to her skin. The one he wanted to wake up to every single day. “I want this, Tempest. I want you, so much it scares me.”
She wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her cheek on his chest. “I want everything with you, Remy. You’re the one I want to come home to every day. The one I sleep with at night. The one who knows all my secrets and calms all my fears.” She lifted her head and met his gaze. “But I know this has been fast for you, and I’m willing to be patient and take everything one day at a time until you fall in love with me, too.”
“I’m already there.” The surprise that lit her eyes made him smile. “I love you, Tempest Wilder. I know I’m a work in progress. I know my insecurities and fears haven’t magically disappeared, but I’m done living in the past. From here on out, it’s all about my future with you. Our future.”
“I like the way that sounds.” She lifted up on her toes and touched her lips to his, gentle and soft, but he ached for so much more.
Feeling ridiculously happy, he smiled against her mouth and reached for the zipper at the back of her dress, drawing it down the curve of her spine. “I believe you still have one birthday present left to give me.”
Before he could push the sleeves of her dress off her shoulders and see what she’d worn beneath, she stepped away, took his hand, and led him to the couch. With her hands on his shoulders, she pushed him down until he was sitting on a cushion. Then she straightened and shimmied out of her dress, until she was wearing nothing more than a bra and panty set that made his mouth go dry . . . a bra that had cutouts for her nipples to make them easy to suck on and crotchless panties to make it easy to fuck her. He was pretty sure he’d died and gone to heaven.
He groaned his appreciation, and grabbing her by the hips, he drew Tempest to him until she was straddling his lap. With his hands tangled in her hair, he kissed her, until they were both breathless.
“Happy birthday, Remy,” she said, smiling down at him. “I love you.”
She was the best birthday gift ever, and he reveled in her unconditional love. Her kind heart. And the fact that she was all his.
Epilogue
Six months later . . .
Wilder Things was complete and everything Tempest dreamed it would be and so much more. She strolled through the bar area, greeting the select guests that had been invited to the pre-opening night party, a sense of pride and accomplishment rushing through her like the best kind of adrenaline. All her close family and friends were there, along with the press and a food and wine magazine photographer, who was snapping pictu
res of the signature cocktails, appetizers, and the trendy but stylish décor that was both elegant and sophisticated.
She caught sight of her brothers standing together with their now-wives, Arabella and Elle, laughing and talking to a few people they knew, including Remy, who was hanging out with her family while Tempest worked the room and gave interviews to the press in attendance. Both Maddux and Hunter had gotten married over the past few months in small, intimate ceremonies, and Tempest couldn’t be happier for all of them. She was hoping that soon she’d have nieces and nephews to spoil.
A few hours into the evening, when Tempest felt as though she could finally relax and enjoy herself, a pair of strong arms circled around her from behind and warm, familiar lips pressed against the side of her neck. The scent of Remy’s cologne filled her senses and made her shiver with desire.
“Have I told you how radiant you look tonight?” he murmured into her ear, his hands lightly skimming over her hips encased in the new red dress she’d bought specifically for tonight.
She bit her bottom lip as her body automatically responded to his touch. “Umm, a few times, yes.” The compliments had started as soon as she’d walked out of her bedroom and Remy had seen her in the dress for the first time.