She knew he meant it. “You do know how to make a woman feel special.”
He made her smile. Sometimes he still came up with some sentence that had her reaching for a Wren-to-English dictionary, but he was more relaxed now. More accepting of her putting a stamp on every aspect of his life.
“You are that.”
She was so lost in her thinking that she missed what he said. “What?”
“Special.” He put his fingers on her throat. Lifted her head so they could see each other. “And I think it’s unbelievably sexy how amazing you are in bed.”
“You make me feel confident. Pretty and powerful.”
He smiled down at her. “You are all of that, too, and more.”
She tucked her head under his chin. “Keep that fancy talk up and I’m not going to give you a lot of downtime before the next round.”
“You know I was serious, right?” His fingers tangled in her hair.
She lifted her head again because his tone sounded so serious. She also had no idea what he was talking about. “You lost me.”
“When I told you the other night that I wanted you to stay here. That wasn’t a line or me being chivalrous. It was selfish as hell. I want you here for me. For us to get to know each other better.”
This was serious. The kind of serious that usually made her shaky and had her reassessing a relationship as she sprinted to the door. She waited for that panic sensation to whoosh through her and wipe out everything else. For her brain to click on and remind her that she had a vow to Tiffany to uphold and shouldn’t find happiness until she did.
She didn’t even sense a touch of any of it, which made no sense. They barely knew each other. He lived this reclusive dangerous life, things she did not want.
All good arguments, but for some reason she couldn’t say any of them. “For a man who claimed not to get the concept of dating, you seem to be embracing it.”
He frowned at her, which was a pretty regular thing with him. “Is that a no?”
“It’s surprise.” She let the words settle in her brain. Thought about how big a step he was taking. The risk, one she was too scared to commit to.
“What kind of surprise?”
She thought about not being there, in that house she had explored and found comfort in, and realized that sounded just awful. “A happy one. Very happy.”
Yes, that felt right. The hollowness had eased. Saying the words, making a commitment to him, made her feel lighter not weighed down.
His frown only deepened. “Okay, so is that a yes?”
The poor thing. “I love when you stumble over people stuff.”
His expert fingers kept skimming over her skin. “I know it’s annoying,” he said.
“It’s actually pretty cute.” It no longer bothered her. She wasn’t sure it ever really did. “I love that you try.”
“Did you answer my question about the house?”
She’d ducked it. Brushed past it hoping a half answer was good enough. Maybe it was fear that had her stalling. She wasn’t sure since she didn’t feel any hesitation on the inside. And he deserved to know that.
“I don’t understand how it happened or why it did, but I know that I’m comfortable here. I feel at home and welcome. Bigger than that, I want to be with you. No matter where we are.” The words tumbled out of her. Instead of measuring them and protecting herself from future heartache, she didn’t hold back. “So, that’s a yes.”
Satisfaction flashed across his face. “Good, since I know I’m not really great at dating.”
“Wrong.” She gave him a small kiss. Then another, this one a bit more lingering and with a slip of tongue.
He pulled back and stared at her. “What?”
“You’re very good at it.”
“Are we talking about sex?” His hands were more insistent now.
He cupped her breasts and gently massaged them. Brought her body screaming back to life.
“We’re talking about everything. The things you said to Tyler today.” She couldn’t think about that meeting without feeling conflicting emotions. Her heart expanded after listening to Wren. It broke for Tyler.
“He needed to know he wasn’t alone.”
Wren got it. He totally understood all the insecurities that went along with being in this horrible exclusive club. “You don’t think he has anything to do with Tiffany’s disappearance, do you?”
“Probably not.” Wren put a hand on each of her cheeks. “I think everything that happened messed him up as a kid and he never got past it. Maybe his parents were too busy trying to protect him legally to see that he needed something else.”
“You could have been a dick and you weren’t. You made a difference.” She leaned in and gave him a real kiss. Long and sexy enough to have her squirming on his lap, and when she pulled back he looked as dazed as she felt. “You should see your expression.”
“The conversation is jumping all around.”
“No, it’s not.” It totally was, but she didn’t care. “We’re talking about us and how much I enjoy being with you.”