Chapter 21

As I sit on the couch and scroll through my phone, the door swings open, and Remi storms inside. She climbs on my lap, and I wrap my arms around her, laughing.

“Hello,” I say as she grinds against me.

“Why didn’t you tell me you hang out with my parents?”

I lift a brow at her. “Do you care?”

“No,” she whispers against my mouth. “You”ve been drinking coffee with my dad since you came home?”

“Yeah. We have a good time.”

“I’m jealous you spent more time with him than me.” She laughs. “You’re smooth as whiskey.”

“If you only knew,” I say.

She settles on my lap, creating just enough friction to have me growing hard beneath her.

“So, you gonna tell me what y”all discussed?”

“No,” I confirm, digging my thumbs into her hips. “Cowboy”s honor. A man doesn’t mess with that.”

She laughs against my mouth. “I can’t believe this.”

“Rem. They’ve known since the beginning,” I admit.

She creates space between us so she can look directly into my eyes. “What?”

I tilt my head. “Oh, come on, Rem. We spent countless nights talking in the treehouse until the sun rose. Your mom would bring us plates of food when we hadn’t stepped inside for hours. Your dad knew when I picked you up to go horseback riding with me, or all the times we met at the firepit. You’re the only one who thought they weren’t aware of us. The first time your parents asked me about us, I told them the truth. They never cared. Okay, well, your dad threatened my life once, but that’s not here nor there.”

She swallows hard. “I”ve...I”ve lied for years.”

“The truth is the best policy. When I was in Houston, I”d talk to your dad on FaceTime several times a month. We”re closer than you think,” I say, tucking hair behind her hair. “I’m not considered the eleventh Valentine for nothing. I love your parents like they’re my own and couldn’t lie when confronted. My word is my life, Rem. I’d rather someone hate the truth than love a lie.”

“I understand,” she whispers, petting my face. “Today, I told my dad I loved you.”

I smile. “And were they shocked?”

“Not at all,” she admits, resting her forehead against mine. “Wait, have you been playing matchmaker with my parents the entire time?”

“I’m going to tell them you said that,” I say, laughing as her fingers tickle my sides. I wiggle away from her. “Your dad asked me not to give up on you.”

Her eyes soften.

“Rem, he knows you’re the love of my life. Do you?”

“Yes,” she whispers, looking up at me with big eyes.

I admire how fucking pretty she is and kiss her slow and sweet. “I told your dad I was gonna marry you,” I admit.

She inhales sharply. “Cash.”

“When you’re ready.”

“And when will that be?” she asks, painting her mouth across mine. “How will you know?”

I twirl her hair in my fingers as she grinds against me. I’m thick and hard, needing her more than I want her. “There will be signs. There always are.”

Remi removes her shorts and panties, and then she removes my jeans, taking all of me out. When my cock is free, she grins, swallowing hard. She straddles me, rubbing me between her slick folds as I wait at her entrance. Remi has control, and she eases down on me until our ends meet.

“Always so fucking needy,” I mutter with my hands on her hips, pumping my hips upward as she slams down. It’s intense as she takes me from the tip to the base, gasping with each thrust.

“Always so ready to please me,” she whispers, racing to the end so desperately as she bounces up and down. “To fuck me. To love me. To own me.”

I slide my hand up her throat, rubbing my thumb across her lip. She sucks on my thumb. “Are you already gonna come for me?”

“Come with me,” she begs, our bodies slamming together, our moans of a symphony of pleasure. “Please.”

“Keep going,” I whisper until our bodies tense. My eyes slam shut as we float into the abyss, collapsing together. We are nothing and everything at the same time.

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