Well, that was putting it out there, she thought, her pulse picking up speed.
“I want you to believe I’ll never intentionally hurt you. I won’t cheat when I’m on the road. I don’t know how long the touring part of the Original Kings will last, but it won’t be every year. I’ll talk to Dash and see if he’s ready to cut back some. I’ll give you everything you want for your future because I want the same things, but only with you.”
Her mouth parted, and she stared up at the man she’d once dreamed would be her future, even as she knew they could never make it work. She’d been fighting him from the day he walked back into her life, and she understood why. She’d lost Axel, then not long after, her father’s death had left her with abandonment issues that ran deep.
Now she had to choose. Let him in, in every way, or continue to protect herself and never know true happiness. She’d watched her mother conquer her grief and move on. Was she going to doom herself to a life of loneliness?
He held out a hand, silently asking for … everything.
She drew a deep breath and took that final leap, linking her hand in his.
“Thank fuck,” he said, the relief in his tone palpable. The husky desire in his voice renewed her own.
She wasn’t sure who moved first, but he fell on top of her, his lips consuming hers, their kiss more open, honest, and giving than anything she’d felt before.
He helped her slide back to the center of the bed and rose over her, his cock once again in his hand, this time at her pulsing, needy core.
“You’re mine. You’ve always been mine,” he said and slid into her, filling her, consuming her.
He was smooth and hot inside her, and with nothing between them, they bonded in ways that surpassed sex and broke through the concrete wall she’d built around her heart.
Chapter Nine
Axel woke up wrapped around Tara. For the first time in forever, all was right in his world. Since he didn’t want to wake her, he had a long time to think about everything that had happened yesterday and how quickly things had done a one-eighty. Walter was still in the kennel, which broke his damned heart, but the woman he loved was in his arms.
Given the choice, things had worked out in his favor, but he wished he could help those dogs find homes and Norah save the shelter. Ideas came and went as Tara slept, some sticking and helping him form a game plan.
Once he’d worked out those issues, his thoughts turned to Tara. He breathed her in, inhaling the strawberry scent of her shampoo and the lingering hint of sex in the air. Last night had been a reunion of the best kind. After that first time, they’d fallen asleep. He’d woken her at three with his face in her pussy and his name on her lips, and after an explosive orgasm where he thought she’d pulled out all of his hair, she’d greedily returned the favor. He’d come harder than he ever had in his life, and he grinned at the memory.
He didn’t know how he’d convinced her to trust him, and as she stirred, he was worried she’d wake up and regret that she’d given herself to him in the deepest way. He’d made himself clear he wanted everything, and he hadn’t been kidding.
She rolled until she was facing him, and her lashes fluttered open, her brown-eyed stare as enticing as his morning coffee.
“Hey,” she said, one side of her face on the pillow as she met his gaze.
“Hey.” He brushed long strands of hair off her cheek. “Sleep well?”
A pleased, sated smile took hold. “Really well.”
“No regrets?” He had to ask.
She placed her finger over his lips, stopping the question. “Not one.”
He blew out a relieved breath. “I need to know what changed your mind.”
She sighed and placed her hand over his chest. “You asked me to trust you with my heart. You wanted everything, and I knew if I walked away, I was going to be alone. Worse, I’d be without you again.”
He saw the sheen of tears in her eyes before she blinked them away. He never wanted to see her sad or hurting.
“I knew my mother had loved and lost my dad, and she’d moved on. There was a lesson there I was finally willing to see.” Her fingers drew circles on his skin. “So I opened my eyes. I needed to get over my fear of loss and abandonment or I’d lose you. And I couldn’t let you go again.”
He’d heard what he needed to. There was no going back. For either of them. He kissed her hard, his mouth parting her lips, his tongue making itself at home.