“I needed to find you, Kyra.”
I open my mouth to speak, but no words will come out. My instincts tell me this is a trick. But I’ve never heard him sound more certain as he goes now.
“The first time I saw you, I knew I had to have you. I can’t explain it. It was like a… like a lightning strike, Kyra. I know how that sounds.”
“Keep going,” I whisper, fighting back a wave of tears. “I don’t care how it sounds, or how it should sound. Just… just keep going, Kayden.”
“It was like my whole world changed the minute I laid eyes on you. Suddenly I knew I was right. There was a woman out there for me. Because there you were, the woman of my dreams, so cute and adorable and beautiful and funny and mine. I tried to hold myself back.”
“Why?”
His eyes widen and he tilts his head, as though the answer is obvious. “I thought you’d want nothing to do with me if I told you the truth. Maybe you don’t understand, Kyra. When I say you’re mine, I mean it literally. You belong to me. No other man gets to touch you. No other man gets to even look at you. The thought of you being with someone else tears me up inside. When I say you’re mine, I mean I want to start a family as soon as possible. I want – need – us to be a family.”
I nod, unable to hide my eagerness at his words.
“I’m not blind to how insane this sounds. There are more than twenty years between us—”
“I don’t care about the age gap,” I say passionately, gripping his hand so hard I’m surprised he hasn’t asked me to stop. “I love the age gap. I love how experienced and mature you are, how protective and just—just you, Kayden. Your age doesn’t matter to me.”
He grins, pushing away the sadness of his story. “I feel exactly the same. I love how young and ready to start the adventure of your – our – life you are. I love how passionate you are. I can’t wait to help you make your mark on the film world.”
“Then why did you leave when I told you I was a virgin? If you feel this way?”
“Because I was going to tell you that you belong to me. I was going to tell you that the first time I laid eyes on you, you became mine. In my mind, we’re already together. You’re already a piece of me. Dammit, I’ve never been the best with words…”
“No, it makes sense. I get it.”
“You do?” He narrows his eyes. “Really?”
I swallow as my words threaten to get caught in my throat. But I force them out and somehow manage to keep my voice steady.
“I understand, Kayden because I feel the same. The first time I saw you, I started having these crazy fantasies. About a future together. About children. About a house full of laughter and love. I wasn’t going to tell you, because… well, you understand.”
He smirks. “You thought I was going to run from you, the same way I thought you were going to run from me.”
“Exactly.” I wipe at my cheeks, pushing away the bothersome tears. “How is this possible? What’s happening between us?”
“Say it again.” He clasps my hands in his. “Tell me who you belong to. Tell me you feel the same.”
“I belong to you,” I declare, too caught up in the moment to doubt. “I feel the same. I want it so freaking badly, Kayden. A future together. A life together. You don't know how badly I need it.”
“I can,” he growls. “I’m the only person in the world who understands this desire.”
He chuckles, shaking his head.
“I can’t believe it. I was so certain you’d call me crazy.”
“Maybe you are. But maybe I am too. I don’t care. As long as you mean it. As long as you really want me like I want you.”
“I do,” he says passionately, and suddenly I’m imagining him at an altar, ruggedly handsome in his suit, saying those same words. “Forever.”
He leans down and presses his lips against mine. I open my mouth to taste him, my man, my future.
Chapter Seventeen
Kayden
I cut into my steak, smirking across at my woman as she takes a bite of her burger. Even when she’s holding a giant burger bun in her hands, she still somehow manages to look beautiful. But anything she does would make her look downright alluring.
I can tell we’re both still awestruck by what we shared, the declarations she made. I asked her to repeat it several times, telling her she belonged to me, and each time was sweeter than the last. I can’t stop smirking, my cheeks aching from it as happiness fills my chest.