Gasping, I writhed back, my breath instantly gone.
My pulse crashed as it thundered.
I nearly cried when he peeled himself away. He dropped his forehead to mine, panting with his hands still gripping my face. “You’re everything, Dakota Cooper. The most important thing in this world. Whatever happens, promise me that you won’t forget that.”
“I won’t.”
He gulped then nodded as he stepped back, then he sent me a cocky grin. “Do you have any idea the number of times I’ve considered following you into this bathroom, wondering if you’d let me kiss the hell out of you? Wanting to push past that line?”
A surprised laugh ripped from my throat, and I shook my head, my grin coming slow. “Probably as many times as I imagined you doing it.”
His hand slipped under the skirt of my dress and took a handful of my left butt cheek. “I blame it on this dress.”
Shivers raced, a collision of this love and the playfulness and the edge of the darkness that kept seeping into the atmosphere.
“I guess I’m going to have to order one in every color.”
“You do, and I can’t be held accountable for my actions. All of them are going to end up tattered shreds on my bedroom floor.”
“Oh, and here I thought it was going to be on my office floor?”
“Whatever floor is below us at the time. The bedroom. The kitchen. Your office. This bathroom is seeming like a mighty fine place.”
“Sorry to break it to you, but I think my family might notice if I come out and my dress is torn to bits.”
“We can blame it on a pack of wild dogs that came through.”
“I’m pretty sure a wild dog would be the one to blame.” My fingers plucked at the fabric of his shirt.
Amusement traipsed through his features, this fierce affection that pulsed so thick when he reached out and stroked his thumb over my bottom lip. “I love you, Cookie.”
“I don’t think I’m ever going to get tired of hearing that.”
“Good, because you’re going to be hearing it forever.”
Emotion dumped into my chest.
All the years of holding it back and there was no chance of keeping it checked any longer.
“You’re the only person I’ve ever loved, Ryder.”
He rushed forward, pressing his lips to my forehead, breathing me in before he forced himself back to the door. He set his hand on the knob and glanced back. “This pretending bit is fuckin’ painful.”
My bottom lip caught between my teeth. “We won’t have to do it forever, will we?”
“No, baby, not when I want to shout your name from every rooftop in this town.”
My spirit glowed, and I gave him a nod. He returned one before he slipped out.
I waited for a minute before I followed, and I started to slink down the hall.
All stealth mode.
Only I startled when I heard the movement behind me, and I whipped around to find my mother coming out of her room with a bottle of sunscreen.
I was pretty sure I was painted in guilt with the way I gulped and fidgeted and tried to smile around the discomfort.
Her gaze turned knowing. “While you didn’t hit things off with Brad, it appears to me that you might have hit it off with somebody else.”
“Mom.” I warred with what to say, almost pleading with her to drop it, but I remained frozen as she stepped forward and set her hand on my cheek.
“The only thing I want is for you to be happy, Dakota. Fully happy and fulfilled. I pray every day that this life gives you everything you deserve. That you find the one who makes your heart and body sing, holds you up when you need uplifting and cheers you on when you’re standing fine on your own. And I’m not blind…I know your heart made its pick a long, long time ago.”
Uneasiness wobbled through my being. I thought to deny it, but what was the use?
It was already written all over me.
I was marked by it.
Scarred by it.
Held by it.
Tender eyes flicked over my face. “And I love that boy like my own son, but I also know there is something in his life that is far more complicated than he lets on. And more than that, there is a pain…a fear there,” she corrected, “that scares me. And I won’t ever tell you what to do, but I will ask that you be careful.”
My nod was shaky against her hand.
She stared at me for a beat before she pulled away and walked to the end of the hall. She paused to look back. “And for the record, your brother doesn’t get to decide who’s good enough for you. Only you can decide that.”