“The thing is, Dylan Wild.” My voice cracks with emotion. “I forgive you. And I love you.”
His hands tighten on my hips.
“I love you like I’ve never loved anyone before. Including myself. But I’m working on that because I can’t be much good to you without it.”
Dylan pulls me onto his lap, and I keep talking into his ear.
“I didn’t know what home felt like before I met you.” I show him the key still in my hand. “Will you help me put this on?”
“Put it on?” His brow furrows. “I’m not sure what you mean.”
I smile as I reach behind my neck and unclasp the chain of the necklace. Dylan watches as I slide the key to his house onto the chain. It nestles softly next to the delicate silver home.
“They fit together,” I say to him as I look up at him shyly.
“Perfectly,” he says as he takes the necklace from me, and I shift around so he can refasten the chain around my neck.
His arms then slide around my middle and he holds me against his chest.
“I think you’re going to have to change your locks,” I say with a laugh. “This probably isn’t the safest thing to do, to walk around displaying Dylan Wild’s house key.”
Dylan chuckles. “I will gladly change the locks as long as you’re with me.” He inhales. “Which leads me to my last piece of news.”
I turn around in his arms. “What is it?”
“They finally caught her. The fan.” His dark eyes go cold momentarily. “She’s locked up.”
I stare at him. “That’s not why you decided to come here and find me, is it? Because if that’s true, then maybe you’re not really ready for…”
“No,” he says firmly. “Trust me when I tell you my mind was fully made up already. I was in the gallery when my phone buzzed. You heard it when we were standing by the sculpture you made of me?”
I nod as I remember hearing the vibrating in his pocket.
“I waited until I was outside to check it. It was the authorities. So my twenty-four seven security has been toned down a level, thank Christ. Although, wait until you see the house in Malibu. It’s like Fort Knox.”
I laugh. “I think I’ll be okay.” I lean in close to him. “Are you going to kiss me now?”
His mouth is on mine so fast I gasp.
“I love you, Jasalie Gordon.” His tongue finds mine. “Christ, I love you so much.”
He flips us so my back is flat on the seat. I slip my hands inside his jacket and pull his hard body flush against me until one of his solid thighs is between my legs.
Dylan wrenches his mouth away from me long enough to whisper against my cheek. “Do you know how much I’ve wanted you this week? I’d get hard just thinking your name.”
I let out a moan as his fingers dip below the neckline of my dress. His thumb grazes my nipples, and then he pulls down the shoulder straps so I’m half-naked before him, my bare breasts spilling out of my bra cups. He unhooks my bra and tosses it onto the floor as his mouth latches onto my hard nipple. The alley has no lights, and it feels like we’re the only two people in the world.
I bite back on my cries, trying to stay quiet because despite the privacy, we’re still in public and—
“Dylan.” I force out. “This isn’t good—I mean if you get caught, the press…”
He shakes his head as his mouth goes to my navel. “This car is impossible to see into. Besides, look around,” he murmurs. “Nobody goes outside in L.A. when it rains. Not even the paparazzi.”
He’s right. The city’s like a ghost town. Everybody’s inside staying dry.
Except for us. Because I’m soaking wet.
Dylan says as much when his finger finds its way underneath my panties. “Shit.” His mouth returns to mine, and he groans. “I need you, Jasalie.”
His eyes are heated as we lock gazes.
“Do you want—”
I cut him off with a fast nod.
He gives me a hard kiss. “Lift up the skirt part.”
My legs are trembling as I raise my dress to my hips and he unzips his pants. He peels my thong off my body and then gently tilts my hips until I feel his erection between my legs.
“I’ll take you there, I swear,” he vows in halting tones. “But I’m so close already, sweetheart. I may have to go slowly.”
“You have no idea how close I am,” I mumble as he presses his lips against my neck. “Please hurry.”
One push, and he’s all the way inside me.
The sensation deep within is so intense my thighs shake, and I nearly scream his name.
His fingers tangle in my hair as he begins to move. “So good,” he mutters into my ear. “So fucking good. God, I’ve missed you—feeling you clench around me. Christ…just like that—”
I’m coming so hard I drag my nails down Dylan’s back and nip at his bottom lip. He lets out a low groan as he spills into me with deep, long thrusts. Each time he drives inside me, my climax escalates.
When I finally come down from the high, I’m barely aware of where we are. Dylan fixes my dress for me and wraps me up in a hug.
“Maybe being apart had some benefits,” I joke.
He gives me a long, slow kiss. “I don’t need time apart to know that you’re it for me. And beautiful. And amazing.”
I put my hand on his cheek. “I love you, Dylan.”
He leans over and gives me the most incredible kiss of my life. “I love you so much.”
He grins at me. “I’ll call Richard and we can go. Will you come over tonight?”
“Your house?”
“Our house,” he answers me. “Our house-to-be in Malibu. I never even slept there before I knew you. It’ll be ours. I know you need time to live on your own first at Theresa’s guesthouse and figure everything out with your career, and that’s all good, Jasalie. No pressure, no rush. Just know that whenever you’re ready, so am I.”
I smile. Our house-to-be. Looks like I’m going home at last.
EPILOGUE
Three Months Later
Dylan
I park at the Saguaro National Park, and Jasalie beats me out of the car as usual.
“I was planning to open your door for you,” I say as I catch her already starting down the desert trail walk.
“I can hold my own door,” she teases me.
Jasalie and I moved into the house in Malibu a week ago. Her business is booming, and with more clients than she can sculpt for, she’s well on her way to making more money than she ever dreamed possible. She won’t have to manage Theresa’s gallery for her much longer. In a few months, she’ll focus just on sculpting so that in a year or so, with the sales of her sculptures, she plans to open up her own gallery in L.A. I always believed in her, and I love seeing her dreams come true.
I’ve had this trip planned for a while now. I didn’t want to take Jasalie back to Tucson before she was ready, but I knew what I was going to do when we finally returned here.
As soon as we reach the U-turn in the trail, I drop down on one knee. Jasalie’s mouth opens as she stares down at me.
“Dylan Wild, what are you doing?”
I pull out the little box from my pocket and open the cover. She gasps when she sees the diamond sparkling in the bright summer sun.
“Jasalie Gordon, I love you more than I could ever have imagined loving someone. I want to spend the rest of our lives together. You make me a better and happier man in every way, and…” I nearly choke up. “Will you marry me?”
She’s on her knees then, too, and her arms are around my neck.
“Yes,” she says softly into my ear. “I’ll marry you. I love you, Dylan.”
I put my mouth on hers and kiss her for a long time. When I pull back, I say, “I have one more surprise.”
From my other pocket, I produce a business card, which I hand to her. She looks at it.
“A realtor in Montana?”
I nod. “How about we buy a house together for a wedding present?
We’ll live there in the off-season, and eventually you could open a second gallery in Montana if you wanted.”
She gasps again. “Oh, my God, buying a home together is a perfect present. That’s the best gift ever.”
That’s the only thing I disagree with her on. Because the best gift ever is her. It’s always been her. She’s become my home just as much as I’m hers. And life is pretty fucking perfect.
COMING NEXT!
A Best Friends To Lovers Romance! Get ready to read about Dylan’s perpetually-single cousin, Ayden, whose friendship with Bella has never been tested like it is now. AYDEN releases this summer! Pre-order here.
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Take a peek at AYDEN:
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Bella
I promise to keep my hands to myself tonight.
No matter how much I want Ayden Wild, I will not, should not, absolutely cannot, have sex with him.
Ayden’s always been my lifeline. My lighthouse in a raging sea, guiding me home again.
Warm, safe, rock solid, erect….Oh GOD, I just can’t stop myself.
Ayden’s always been hot, but this summer, his body’s distracting me so much I forget what we’re talking about.
So I keep my ass glued to my barstool, and I flirt with the guy next to me. He’s not Ayden, but he’ll have to be my distraction.
But Ayden’s acting…different. Like he wants something but he’s not telling me.
* * *
Ayden
Bella Wesley is driving me crazy tonight.
She’s letting that douchebag flirt with her, and buy her drinks, and ask her out.
I should be the one she’s looking at that way. I should be the one holding her hand. And I desperately want to be the one taking her into my bed.
But we made a pact to strictly be friends. To make sure we’d get each other through the dark times. And we did.
It doesn’t mean I didn’t want her every damn moment since then. Of course I handled it the only way I knew how—I dated everyone but her.
So I know a distraction when I see one.
But if I tell Bella how I feel now, right before I leave town, it could screw everything up.
And if I don’t?
I’LL REGRET IT FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE.
* * *
AYDEN releases in the summer of 2018. Pre-order your copy today!
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thank you to my husband for all his love and support; to J. W. for the incredible story editing; to Dawn for the amazing editing and proofreading; to Hunter for the sexy cover art; and to all the readers who love a good HEA!
ALSO BY MELISSA BELLE
The GORGEOUS Series
UNDERNEATH THE MASK: The Gorgeous Stranger
FINDING JOY STREET: The Gorgeous Neighbor
WHO RIDES SHOTGUN: The Gorgeous Driver
* * *
WILD MEN Series
COLTON
DYLAN
AYDEN
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Melissa Belle writes contemporary romance novels in a style that's sexy, sweet, and steamy. She lives in New England with her family, and often works through her story ideas while hiking with her husband or hanging out with her two rescue kitties.
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When she’s not writing love stories, Melissa Belle loves to travel. Her first novel was written while riding through Europe on the train.
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www.melissabellebooks.com
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Contents
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Epilogue
Coming Next!
Acknowledgments
Also by Melissa Belle
About the Author
Dylan (Wild Men) Page 31