“I don’t know where this is coming from, but let’s address it, okay?” he murmured in my ear.
“I love you for many reasons. I don’t give a shit if you’re poor or how many responsibilities you have. You’re strong, capable, talented, smart, and loving. You go to school, look after your brother. Help Paige raise Lucy. You work, study, bake, you look after everyone around you, and you never ask for anything in return.” He shook his head. “You don’t see yourself the way I see you. You have a beautiful soul that draws people to you.”
“You might get tired of—”
He cut me off, turning me so I saw the intense, serious expression on his face. “Your life doesn’t scare me, Beth. If anything, mine should scare you. My huge family, the company, the need I feel for you.” He held my face. “That should scare you. Fuck, it scares me. I have never needed anyone the way I need you.”
“Why?” I whispered. “I’m just me. Plain, chubby, overdone Beth.”
He sat back in shock. “Surely to God you know that isn’t true. You are none of those things.”
I looked away, and he slipped his fingers under my chin. “Today was hard for you, wasn’t it? Letting go of the reins. Letting me and my family step in and take a little responsibility off your shoulders.”
I blinked at his words. Was that why I was feeling so overwhelmed suddenly? So unsure of myself?
He smiled, his voice gentle. “It’s okay to need help. It’s okay to accept help. Especially from me. I want to help you in every way I can, because unlike what you think, you give it right back. You make me feel loved, Beth. Needed. Wanted. Just for me. When you show me this side of you, it shows me how much you trust me. But I need you to understand something.”
I couldn’t look away from his gaze. “What?”
He ran his finger down my cheek. “You are not plain. You are intoxicatingly lovely. Your hair, your face—everything about you pleases me.” He smiled as he traced over the line of freckles on my nose. “Do you know you have a matching line of freckles, just like this, on the back of your neck?”
I shook my head. “No one ever told me that.”
“I don’t think you could see them unless you were looking. I love kissing both. Knowing I discovered it—like my own little secret about you.” He ran his hand along my leg. “You aren’t chubby. You have curves. I love every one of them. The way your waist indents above your hips. Your gorgeous breasts. And your ass.” He dropped his voice. “It’s spectacular.”
He wrapped his hand around mine, pressing it to his erection. “I’m hard just thinking about you, little bird. I can’t fake that.”
“Oh,” I breathed out, curling my hand around him.
He dropped his head for a moment, his breathing getting faster. He lifted his chin, meeting my eyes. “As for being overdone, you are anything but. You are easygoing and wonderful. Your heart is a gift. The fact that you love me is a treasure I will never take for granted.”
He brushed a curl off my cheek. “Whatever brought up these worries, forget them, Beth. I’m yours. I adore everything about you. I want to mesh my life with yours not because I have to but because I want to. Maybe if we share our worlds, both of us will be happier.” He smiled. “I will never get tired of looking after you, because I know you’re doing the same right back to me.” He studied me intently. “As for belonging, I’ll say this. Yes, I have a big family I’m part of. Just like Evan is your brother, so he is part of you. But if you’re wondering where you belong? You’re looking at him. You belong to me. If you’re ever lost and can’t remember your place, look at me. You’re mine.” He cupped my neck, holding me close. “We belong to each other, and together with Evan, we’ll make our own family. That’s where you belong, Beth. With me. Never doubt it, and never forget it.”
Something eased inside my chest. A loosening of doubt I hadn’t known I was carrying broke away and vanished. “I love you,” I whispered. “I can’t imagine my life without you anymore.”
“Good. Because you’re stuck with me.”
He stood, lifting me, and for once, I didn’t worry about how I felt to him. I could sense his love in his touch, feel his strength. It was as if he had been made for me.
And as he laid me on his bed and gazed down at me, I knew.
I had been made for him, too.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Ronan
Beth stirred in my arms and slowly woke, confused in the early evening light. After I had made love to her, she’d fallen asleep, and I didn’t move. I wanted her to rest, unencumbered by doubts or worries. I had a feeling she was rarely afforded that luxury.