“Sorry, but it’s true. That’s all it ever was.” Finally, he turned to face her. “The other day my brother told me about some conversations he’d overheard around the time my mom left the family, and it made me realize how different I was before that happened. I was a pretty wild kid. But, after all that went down—me demanding she come home, reaming her ass when she kept putting me off and giving me bullshit excuses—after I figured out she wasn’t ever coming back, I just shut down.”

He stalked back to the bed, towering over her with his imposing physique. “You’re leaving in six days, Rosie. I’ve known it from the beginning, but I feel like that kid all over again. It’s killing me, because I want you to stay. I want to beg you to stay. And it feels exactly the same as it did with my mom.” Putting a knee on the bed, he crawled over her. “What I feel for you? I’ve never felt this for anyone. You make me smile. You make me happy. I never understood why my brothers would settle down with one woman, because until I met you, I had more fun with them than anybody else. But I get it now. I get why they put a ring on it. Because, when I look at you, I see my heart, my home, I see my future. Do you understand what I’m telling you?”

She thought she might, and it sent a thrill through her.

“So, don’t listen to anyone’s bullshit. Listen to me. You’re the only one that makes me wild, Rosie. The only woman I’ve ever wanted to be with.”

“I want to stay here. More than anything, I want to stay. But I just don’t see a way to do that.”

“I know.” He lowered his hips over hers. “Dammit, I know.” His mouth closed over hers, and he kissed with an urgency and passion that melted all the worry and anxiety out of her bones.

He kissed her so deeply and fiercely that she lost her sense of time and place, until she could feel her spirit merging with his. It was the most powerful, soul-shaking moment in her life.

“Need you. All of you.” She pushed him off to kick aside the blanket, so there was nothing between their bodies.

His mouth wandered to her neck, forming a neckless of kisses along her collarbone. “You’ve got all of me, sweetheart. Couldn’t hold back if I tried.”

She clutched his hard ass, sealing their bodies together. His cock, trapped between them, rubbed her clit, and an electric, searing sensation swept through her. “Inside. Now.”

“Fuck, princess.” His hips lifted, and he fisted his cock before lining himself up and thrusting hard.