His arms go tight, his body solid, and I take a second before continuing.

“You, everything that is you and the promise of you, is something I’m terrified to take because you hold the power to crush me. You hold all of the power here.”

I feel his head move as he shakes it lightly.

“Yeah, you do. And it isn’t just me, Liam. You wouldn’t just be crushing me, but Molly too. I let you in and it isn’t just me I’m giving you. I’m giving you a little girl who I’ve known for a while now, but only just come to terms with, is so desperate to give her heart to someone to hold.”

“Darlin’, you give me that and there is no way I would throw the world away when I hold everything I want in my hands.”

“You say that now, but—”

He pulls back and I silence immediately.

“I say that now because I have no doubts. Megan, I’m not just some stranger you just met. You know me. I’ve gotten to know you as much as I can. You opened yourself up to me for one night and I knew with no fucking doubts that I would fight until I was blue in the face for this chance. I’ve watched as you’ve come alive, baby. You had me hooked before I even said one word and everything I’ve discovered about you over the last year and a half just dug that hook deeper. These few weeks, seeing you grow and heal took that hook and dug it so deep it hit bone. That was all you. All I did was give you a little push.”

He pauses, but I know he isn’t done when his finger comes up and silences my words before they can leave my lips.

“You spend one second with Molly and you’re in love. Doesn’t matter if you’re a stranger on the street or a man with his own desperate need to give his heart to someone to hold. Wouldn’t be a hardship to take what she so willingly gives, darlin’. I want that. I want this. I want you both. Please tell me you can see that.”

“I see it,” I utter as my vision clouds with tears.

“You see what,” he implores his tone just a hint away from begging.

“Everything,” I choke out.

He doesn’t say another word. His body relaxes instantly against mine and before I can blink, I’m pulled flush against him and his mouth is against mine. I gasp, breathing him in as he uses my shock to deepen the kiss further until I’m not sure where I end and he begins.

Our hands roam over each other’s bodies in a frantic pace. I slip my hands under his shirt and moan when I feel his warm, soft skin against my fingers. It’s an odd mix of silk and steel as I move my hand over the ripped muscles of his back and sides. My fingers dig in and try to find purchase when he bends slightly and with his hands flexing against my bottom, he pulls me up and my legs leave the ground to wrap around his hips.

“I had plans, Megan,” he moans against my lips. “Have a list of things I need to check off, but right now that has to wait.”

“Wait for what,” I breathe, kissing a path from behind his ear and down his neck.

“For me to make you mine.”

He starts walking, back the way that we just walked. I continue to let my lips learn his skin as he moves to open his truck. When he drops me lightly into the passenger seat, I whine from the loss of his body. Bending forward, his lips find mine again and when he pulls back, the dome light above our heads illuminates his face.

“Last chance,” he tells me with a wicked grin. “And this time I mean last one, darlin’. We take this step and make no doubt about it, you will be mine. You give me this and I fucking promise you that I will never make you regret taking that step. You ready to jump from that chapter you’ve been skimming through and skip into mine?”

I give him a smile, one that is full of confidence and not the least bit unsure as the words that he had told me weeks before come back between us.

“I’m ready.”

“Fuck,” he groans. “Buckle up, baby.”

My smile doesn’t slip for a second. Not when I pull my belt across my chest. Not when he slams the door and races to his own. It grows wider when he slams the truck in drive and fishtails back onto the path that will take us back toward town. It isn’t until his big hand reaches out and takes my leg in his strong hold that my smile slips slightly, but it only slips because my head falls back and I whimper and try to rub my legs together to ease the ache between them. I lose the smile completely when my mouth drops open and that whimper turns into a loud whine as his long fingers dance up my legs until he slips beneath the hem on my shorts and pushes my panties to the side, pressing against my clit in sure movements that have me panting in seconds.