Page 93 of Wild For You

Cash sighs, and for a moment it feels as though even he doesn’t know the answer to my question. “Dillinger’s cost me a lot of money. It might not sound like a good investment, but I think I know the right people to tame him. And even if he won’t be tamed, he sort of saved my life, not literally speaking. I owe him that, in a twisted kind of way.”

“But…” I shake my head. “He almost killed you.”

“Yes, but he was an unwilling participant in the matter. No one gave him a choice. Besides, the way I see it, without Dillinger I might never have met you.” He pulls me onto the bed. I settle beside him, my hands instinctively touching the gruff on his cheeks. “You know what? I actually asked him if he wanted to spend the rest of his life in Madison Creek, even though it can be quite boring? I mean, nothing ever happens.”

“And what did he say?”

“He said you better make my stay worth it.” He pulls himself on top of me, his weight pinning me down. I wrap my legs around him, my core tingling with anticipation. “I wouldn’t think of disappointing you, Erin. I made a promise to you, and I’m going to honor it. Unless…” He places a soft kiss on my lips. “Unless you break up with me.”

“Break up with you?” He can’t be serious. I laugh at his ridiculous statement. “Even if I wanted you, you wouldn’t let me leave. Remember?”

“I’m glad we’ve established that.” His lips brush my cheeks, trailing down my neck, my collarbone. I grind my hips against his and find him rock hard. “Do you want to leave?”

Do I want to leave?

Hell, no. I want to stay for as long as I can.

For as long as this lasts. But what isthis?

“I don’t understand,” I whisper. “When you say ‘break up with you,’ are you talking about a therapist patient kind of relationship or—”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about, Erin. My family knows. My friends do. Maybe even the whole town.”

“Know what?”

“That I’m fucking you. I told my Dad at some point. Strangely, he had changed his mind and thought it was a good thing. By now, everyone knows we’re an item.”

“You told your dad?” I’m so mortified I could crawl under a rock. “But nobody’s mentioned anything.”

“Because I asked them not to. What?” He laughs at my horrified expression. “There’s no such thing as a secret in my family. You might as well just spill it out because once they’re done with you, they’ll know all the skeletons you’re hiding in the closet and then some.”

I short laugh escapes my throat. “Nice way of talking about your family.” I’m mortified, but at the same time, I feel giddy beyond control. The whole world knows about us. It’s official. There’s no going back. “Aren’t you supposed to ask me first whether I was okay with it?”

His eyes glint with mischief. “I asked you…in your sleep. You said yes.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“I am.” He sounds so grave, my smile slowly vanishes.

Something’s wrong.

In a good way, but still wrong.

“Why are you smiling?” I ask warily.

He squeezes his hand inside his pocket to retrieve his phone. “I thought you might not believe me, so I recorded you.”

He scrolls through his apps and then hands me his cell, pressing play.

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