She nodded, eyes bright. “Last night, I realized a couple things all at once. That I had been punishing myself for the role I thought I played in the worst years of my family’s life. Always leaving so I could stay one step ahead of my own guilt and regret. Never letting myself be truly vulnerable with anyone.” She touched my lips. “Until you. It gave me the courage to tell my family everything.”

I curled my hands up her back and pulled her closer.

“They’d been holding on to their own secrets from that time. Their own guilt. We were all trying to protect each other from the worst of what our mother did. But all those secrets, all those white lies, they weren’t allowing us to heal together. Hiding those parts of myself also meant I hid them from you. Pretended I wanted a sexy summer fling when the truth is…”

I held her face. Swiped her tears away with my thumbs. There was no sound, no distractions. I was only focused on the woman of my dreams.

“The truth is I knew from the very beginning that what I felt for you was different,” she whispered, voice thick. “That it was precious and rare and deserving of my honesty and true feelings. Instead, I pushed you away and told you I wasn’t interested in anything real over and over. I am so sorry, Dean. I’m desperately, head over heels in love with you, and I had no idea it could be this beautiful—”

I had Tabitha on her back on the couch a second later. We reached for each other at the same time, mouths crashing together in a possessive kiss. I broke us apart to hold her face, our gazes locked. “I’m desperately in love with you, Tabitha Tyler. You’re everything that I was missing in my life.”

Her smile became laughter, filled with relief. And that sound became a muffled, pleased moan as I kissed her in earnest. Those luscious, tattooed thighs hooked around my waist. I licked down her throat as her nails bit into my back. I slid my hand down her leg until I could palm her pussy, already hot and wet against my fingers. Her back arched at the contact.

“Why are we always having sex on couches?” she sighed. “And why are we always wearing clothes?”

I nipped at her ear. Circled her clit with my fingers. “Do you want me to stop so we can move?”

“No, no,” she laughed. “Please…God, I need you.”