Page 91 of Wild Heart

Warmth spread through me at his praise. Wanting confirmation of just how much he liked it, I slid my free hand into his hair at the back of his head. “I can tone it down, if you’d like.”

“Don’t even think about it.” Laughter spilled out of me, and Tate’s arms tightened around my body. “I’m sorry we can’t get ice cream from Rhea’s tonight. We’ll definitely plan that for another time, because I’m not missing out on that. Will something from Jules’s bakery suffice for tonight? I grabbed some treats from her before I left work.”

I planted another kiss on his lips. “Oh, you’re the best for thinking ahead. I’m really going to have my work cut out for me in that bed tonight, aren’t I? In fact, I think you still deserve me licking something, even if there’s no ice cream.”

His fingers pressed in at my side, a groan crawling up his throat. “How long do you need to shut things down here?”

For as long as I lived, I intended to drive this man wild. For so long, I’d done it and not gotten the response I always hoped for. But now, I not only got to tease him like this and have fun doing it, but I also got the greatest reward of his reactions and the promise of him. I was never going to stop. “Just a minute or two.”

“Good. Let’s go.”

I didn’t hesitate.

Tate waited with me while I locked up my studio. Then we stopped to grab dinner on the way back to my place.

And by the time we ate, I showed him how much I appreciated him—he didn’t hesitate to return the favor—and when I was curled up in his arms in my bed, I was convinced I was, finally, exactly where I was always meant to be.

EPILOGUE

AVA

ONE MONTH LATER

Life was extraordinary.

While I always knew I had a reason to be grateful to wind up where I had, to have even come into the lives of the Westwoods, something was different now.

Because they really felt like they were mine now. Sure, they hadn’t treated me any differently than any other member of the family over the years. I was always included in every family function, and none of them had ever treated me better or worse than anyone else in the family.

But something happened inside me. From the moment things changed between Tate and me, it was like somebody had turned on a light switch. Having been so outgoing and upbeat for most of my life, I hadn’t noticed the tiny storm cloud following me around.

It was gone now.

I was the happiest I’d ever been in my life, and it was safe to say I hadn’t realized it could feel this good.

I guess that’s what happens when you fall in love and that person loves you back. Until I had that from Tate the way I do now, I hadn’t understood just how much I needed it.

And I was thrilled it was him. Nobody else would have loved me the way he did, even if we had such a rocky patch for a stretch.

One of the things I loved most was that Tate loved me as I was. He took me as I came. In fact, he seemed to love me more for the things I did that were so opposite of him.

Like what I was doing now.

I was in the kitchen at my place early in the morning, and I was making breakfast for us. Tate didn’t typically like when I snuck out of bed in the morning, preferring I stay with him, so he could wake me up in his own way.

But I liked doing this.

And I believed he secretly enjoyed it, too. Because Tate had gotten a speaker for his condo just like the one I had at my apartment that would allow me to cook and dance around the kitchen without the need for headphones.

So, whenever the mood struck, and I was up before him, I put on some music and danced while I cooked.

I was in the middle of it, lost in what I was doing and who I was doing it for, when I felt a hand settle at my hip before it slid around to my abdomen. Tate’s warm, solid body pressed in close behind mine. “You left me alone this morning.”

Twisting my neck and tipping my chin up, my eyes landed on his handsome face. “I’m working on perfecting my breakfast-making skills. I’ve gotten so many tips from Jules on fresh-baked goods.”

His arm tightened around me, his lips pressing a soft kiss to my cheek. “Mmm. But still not interested in the cleaning as you go, are you?”

I grinned. “Why would I do that when I have you?”