Page 92 of Summer Heat
Was he talking about when we had sex? Sure, it had been intense, but he hadn't said he loved me or that we were exclusive.
He curled his fingers over the railing. "I wanted you to know that you're the one for me."
I huffed. "You have a funny way of showing it."
"I wasn't sure how to handle those women. A year ago, I would have loved the attention, but I haven't been into that scene in a long time, even before you moved in. I told you I wanted something more. I was looking for a serious relationship, specifically with you."
I was afraid to read too much into what he was saying. "I remember you saying that, but we never talked about our relationship and where it was going."
"You're right, and that's my fault. I should have talked to you. I shouldn't have assumed that my feelings were obvious." He looked away. "I've never done this before. My brothers told me that I'm bound to screw this up."
"Your brothers told you that?"
He moved away from the railing. "But I don't want to mess anything up. I want to get this right."
My heart caught in my throat. "What do you want to get right?"
He lifted his hand to my jaw, cupping it before he spoke. "This. Us. I don't want those other women. I don't want them in my space. I don't want them touching me or talking to me. And if I'd told you how I felt before, maybe we could have gone out as a couple last night, and none of that would have happened."
"What about your dad? I overheard him that night in the office telling you that I needed to move out."
Shep growled. "We're taking the business over from him. It will all be ours soon enough, and I want you. I don't care if you're our employee. I intend to make you mine, and no one is going to fire you."
I raised a brow, a little surprised by his vehemence.
"I've been trying to please my father all this time, and I'm done. This is who I am, and I do things differently from my brothers. And it's not wrong that I want you."
I tipped my head to the side. "Do you?"
He stepped closer, forcing me to tip my head up to maintain eye contact. "I love you, Kins, and I hope you love me too."
"I was afraid of falling in love. I wasn't sure I was the one for you. I was worried you'd go back to your old ways. I can't compete with those women." My eyes stung with a rush of tears because my insecurities were out there for him to see.
Shep chuckled. "There's no competition. There's only you. I know you're the one for me, if you'll have me."
I nodded shakily as he pulled me to him. "I love you, Shep."
"I love you too." He lowered his head, kissing me with an intensity that reminded me of Friday night. He was trying to tell me that he loved me then, whether he knew it or not.
He broke away, sitting on the couch and pulling me to straddle his lap. I couldn't believe that I was here with him like this. I settled on his thighs. "I looked at apartments today."
He winced. "I don't want you to move out, but if it's what you want?—"
"I want to know what you want." I enjoyed hearing him voice his desires, especially after we'd held everything in for so long.
"I don't want you to leave. I intend to spend every spare minute I have with you, so it only makes sense for you to stay here with me. But I understand if you need your own place. It will suck, but I respect your decision."
"I should talk to Maya about what she wants." I had a feeling she wouldn't want to leave. This place was a playground for a little girl like her.
"I built her a princess bathroom, and I had these ideas for a castle bed." He pulled out his phone and showed me a picture of a castle inside a bedroom. The bed was on the bottom, and there was a play area on top. "This is amazing. You know she'll love it. You don't even have to ask her."
He set his phone aside. "I want to build a life with you and Maya. This isn't a temporary thing or a whim. You're it for me."
I looped my wrists over his shoulders. "Then you're stuck with me."
He grinned. "There's nowhere else I'd rather be."
I lowered my mouth to his as thunder sounded. We kissed as the rumble continued around us. When the first splashes of rain landed on our heads, he lifted me so that my legs wrapped around his waist and carried me inside.
