She melts into me and fists my shirt, pulling me closer. My tongue brushes hers—slow and searching—then deeper, more certain. Every flick, every stroke claiming her.
I fought this. God knows I tried. But I’m done. I want her. All of her. I want to kiss her wherever, whenever. To feel everything I’ve never had the balls to say out loud.
Her body presses into mine, and I soak in every whimper, every hitched breath, every fucking second I’ve craved. When I finally pull back, her lips are swollen, her cheeks flushed, and all I want is more.
“I’ve wanted to tell you to leave your husband for months.” My voice breaks. “But I was scared. Scared that if you saw all the shit I hide, you’d look at me the way I look at myself. And I wouldn’t be enough for you.”
“Are you kidding me?” she fires back fiercely. “Your past doesn’t scare me. You’re everything I didn’t even know I was looking for.”
I exhale hard, jaw tightening. “You say that now… but I can’t ask you to break up your family for someone like me. You deserve better than what I can give you.”
Maybe if I showed her how fucked up I really am, she’ll finally see I’m not worth the risk. She’d understand why I push people away.
“Jenna… that time with my brother—the drugs.” I lower my voice. “It wasn’t just a phase.”
She stays still, listening.
“After he died, I spiraled into a full-blown addiction. I lost years being drunk, high, waking up beside strangers, not caring if I lived or died.” My voice stays steady, but everything inside me churns. “I was chasing anything that helped me not feel.”
I finally meet her eyes. “I don’t know what that makes me. But that’s who I am. Or who I was, I guess.”
“Exactly. Who you were,” she says without hesitation. “And that makes you human. We all find ways of surviving the shit life throws at us. But it doesn't change how I see you, Dylan. Not one bit. If anything, it makes you even more incredible.That’s strength. You lived through hell and still became the most amazing man I’ve ever met.”
And in that moment, I knew I was wrong. She doesn't pull away. She doesn't run. She sees me. And she stays.
As the truth settles between us, I try to lighten the mood. “At least I made some money off you breaking my heart.”
Her brow arches. “Oh, really? Do tell.”
“Gabriella made me start a breakup jar,” I say, a small smile tugging at my lips. “Every time I thought about you, it cost me ten bucks. Let’s just say I made enough to backpack across Europe. But even halfway around the world, I couldn’t escape you.”
Her laugh spills out. “No way! You got rich, and I gained ten pounds. Every time I thought of you, I distracted myself with gummy bears. So, thanks for that.”
I grin, sliding my hand across her ass. “This does feel… extra juicy. I like it.” I pause, letting her go. “She also convinced me to go back to therapy.”
Her eyes widen.
“And I went,” I say softly, “just like I told you I would.”
“You did?” Her face lights up. “And… did it help?”
I nod, smiling. “Yeah. It did.”
We spend the rest of the afternoon walking, riding horses, catching up like no time’s passed. When she agrees to swing by the guest house I’ve been fixing up, my pulse kicks up a notch. It’s nothing fancy, just a warm, lived-in space with fresh wooden beams, sanded floors, and a clawfoot tub I finally got around to installing. A soft country song hums in the background, the radio left playing from earlier this morning.
Jenna’s gaze drifts around the room taking in the bed, the tub, the worn-out leather chair tucked in the corner. Then her eyes land on me. Her chest rises, hesitation flickering across herface as she looks away. When her eyes turn back to me, it's not doubt I see. It’s want. Need.
Standing here with her, I feel something I’ve never known. She tames something wild in me. Not by breaking me. Not by force. But by her presence and her patience. By seeing me. Like a horse that finally stops resisting and trusts. And with her, the world doesn’t seem like such a terrible place anymore.
I step closer, reaching for her, instincts taking over. Her fingers slip into mine, and the second our skin meets, the rest of the world disappears. Because right now she’s mine, and nothing else matters.
Her breath hitches. “I shouldn’t be here. But I missed you like crazy.”
Fire burns through my chest as my fingers slide over her back, my lips brushing along her neck, her shoulder. Her body shudders under my touch like she’s been starving for this as long as I’ve been craving every inch of her. “Then it’s a good fucking thing that you’re here,” I murmur.
I pull back slightly and look her in the eyes. This isn’t just physical, and I need her to know. “We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. You know that, right?” My voice is firm, but unsteady. “I may think about you naked all the damn the time, but I’d also be happy sitting here, talking. Hell, you could even just watch me take a bath if that’s what you need.”
She laughs, tension melting away. “I know…” She walks over, turning the tub on and starts to add soap. My eyes follow her movements, locked on the sway of her hips to the music. “But since you offered, and you love your bubble baths…”
