Scared of getting hurt again. Scared of loving someone so much it could destroy me when they inevitably left.
But what if she didn’t leave? What if I was about to lose the only woman who’d ever seen past my walls to the man I used to be—the man I could be again with her?
I’d almost let what if’s rule my world once, I wasn’t going to do it again.
“Fuck this,” I growled, and took off up the trail.
I caught up with her as she neared the lodge. Her hips were swaying with each step, and I immediately reacted.
She was mine, damn it. And I was about to make sure she knew it.
“Ellie,” I called out, my voice carrying the authority I’d learned in the military. “Stop.”
She almost did. I saw the glitch in her step, the way her shoulders tensed. But then she continued walking, didn’t look back.
I smirked. She had no idea what she’d unleashed in me. Had no idea how her life was about to change.
I stalked toward her with the single-minded focus of a predator, caught up to her in three long strides, and spun her around to face me. “We need to talk.”
She tilted her head, defiant and hurt and so beautiful it made my chest ache. “No, we don’t.”
“Yes, we do. Let’s go back to my cabin.”
“No.” She set down her gear with deliberate precision, crossing her arms over her chest. “If you have anything to say to me, you can say it here, in the great wide open. I’m sure the squirrels will bear witness.”
Smart mouth. God, I loved her smart mouth.
“Fine.” I moved closer, close enough to see the flecks of gold in her brown eyes, close enough to smell that floral shampoo that had been driving me crazy all week. “Stay.”
Her mouth fell open at that one unexpected word.
“Stay with me,” I said, moving even closer, a wicked smile playing at my lips. “Didn’t think that was going to happen, did you?”
“You left this morning,” she said, but her voice was softer now, uncertain.
“Yes, I did. I was an asshole.” I reached up to cup her face, my thumb tracing along her cheekbone. “And I had to feed my dog. But I’m here now.”
“You have a dog?”
“Yeah, I do. There’s a lot you don’t know about me, baby.” I leaned down until our foreheads were almost touching. “Just sayyou forgive me, Ellie. Say you’ll stay. That’s all you need to think about right now.”
She was quiet for a long moment, studying my face like she was looking for lies, for the catch, for the reason this couldn’t be real. Then she tilted her head and closed the distance between us, her hands coming up to rest against my chest.
“Oh, I think I need to think about a few more things,” she smirked. “Like how I hooked the best thing this summer.”
She looped her arms around my neck, pulling me down toward her. “How I hooked you.”
“Damn straight you did.” I couldn’t quite say everything I needed to. But I would. And soon. “From the moment you put that fly in my shoulder, you had me.”
“Really?”
“Really.” I slid my hands into her hair, tilting her face up to mine. “I love you, Ellie. I should have said it last night. Should have said it this morning instead of leaving. But I’m saying it now.”
Her eyes went wide, bright with unshed tears. “You love me?”
“More than I thought possible. More than I’ve ever loved anyone.” I pressed my forehead against hers, breathing her in. “Stay with me. For the summer. Forever. However long you’ll have me.”
“I love you too. I have since that first day. Since I hooked you and you didn’t kill me for it.”
