Page 114 of Needed You

Lev leans in and takes my hand from across the table. “Dare,” he says quietly, his thumb rubbing the back of my hand. “I love you. I’m in this. I may not be ready to move into the house right now, but I’ve been spending time there, and it’s okay. If you want this, I want this. We’ll make it all work out in the end.”

A shaky breath leaves my lips, and I blink back tears. “Thank you,” I say. “I still have to have a final conversation with my parents, but I needed you on board first.”

“I’m yours, Dare. That means you’re mine, and all of the decisions and plans and dreams? I love that you think we share them now. I love you, and I have no plans to go anywhere else.”

That’s all I needed to hear. A warm smile erupts on my lips. “I love you, too. Now, can we please eat? I’m so hungry I’m about to chew my arm off.”

Lev laughs out loud and lets me go. We dig into our food and enjoy a lighthearted conversation and the delicious pasta and bread. When our bellies are full and our hearts happy, Lev pays the check. He congratulates me on the job and kisses me right there at the table.

After dinner, we get in the car, and Lev starts driving.

“Where are we going now?” I ask. We’re heading in the general direction of his place, but he seems to have taken a different way.

Once again, he puts his hand on my thigh and squeezes. “It’s a surprise,” he says.

I settle back and close my eyes, letting the heat in the car and the feel of his hand on me lull me into a place of peace. My eyes open again when I hear us pull off the main road and onto some gravel. Lev drives his car over the gravel-made lot that butts up against the grass and picnic area of the lake. It’s not super close to the lake because we can’t drive on the grass, but it’s close enough that we can still see the moon shining over the water.

“It’s too cold to go down to the dock and sit at the water, but I wanted to bring you here because I know you love it, and I do too.”

He lets the car idle to keep the heat on and leans over to kiss me. The warmth of his lips and the touch of his hands send jolts of arousal through me. I’m so gone for this guy. We kiss for a bit, until our lips are swollen, but we keep kissing because it feels so good.

Finally pulling away from each other and catching our breaths, we sit and hold hands, heads back on the headrests, looking out at the water and talking. It’s beautiful and thoughtful and peaceful. Sitting here, in the warm car, Lev by my side, I let my mind wander.

There’s something else I want to share with Lev, and I’ve been sort of holding back. I take a deep breath.

“This time of year is always hard for me, you know?”

Lev looks at me and pulls my hand to his lips, kissing my knuckles. “I’m so sorry, little lycan.”

I continue. “It’s just like, the tree farm with you was so fun. And I think about Thanksgiving and everyone sitting around the table and how we used to do that as a family. My parents used to drive Nate and me around at night to look at Christmas lights. We used to love it, and we’d always pick something like a Santa or a reindeer or candy cane or something, and whoever found the most of those on our drive would win.” I chuckle. “It was so silly, but it was so good. And I love the lights.”

Lev squeezes my hand. “I’m sorry it’s hard, but I’m glad you have those memories. I want to make more memories with you.”

“Thank you for bringing me here,” I tell Lev.

“Of course,” he answers. “I want this spot—the lake—to be ours.”

I smile from ear to ear. “I want that, too.”

Lev squeezes my hand and brings it to his lips, placing a soft kiss on the back. He lets go, and I groan. With a laugh, he puts the car in reverse and takes us to his place, where we strip to our boxers and crawl into bed. We make out a little bit more, too full to do much else, and I settle against him again, spooning. As I drift off to sleep, I think about the last few days and weeks. The shadow of gloom and the dark cloud that has been over me for so long feels like it’s lifting.

Finally.

Chapter 56

Levon

The shop is so busy with people coming in to get gift cards and parts that I barely realize how quickly the day passes. While I’m helping a customer later in the afternoon, I notice a specific piece of jewelry that they’re wearing. It leads to a conversation, and I find out that they make the pieces themselves. An idea pops into my head, and we talk a little bit more. I know it looks odd to anyone outside of our conversation, but I pull my T-shirt up and show them my tattoo. They take a picture and make a few notes before we exchange information. I’m so excited by the time they leave the shop that I can’t stop the stupid grin on my face.

At the end of the day, my uncle grabs his keys and turns off the main light.

“Let’s go home,” he says. The temperature has dropped, and it feels like it’s getting closer to Christmas. It’s later than I normally get off, and my uncle tells me that it will probably be like this every day for the next week or so until we close for the holiday.

After we part, I drive to get some hot chocolate and head to Dare’s house.

I knock lightly on the door and wait for Dare to come answer it. There were no other cars in the driveway but his, so I assume he’s home. I probably should have texted him first, but I wanted to surprise him. Just as I’m about to knock again, I see his figure come to the door and hear the lock twist.

“Hey,” he blows out, opening the door and peeking out at me. He gives my cheek a kiss and moves to the side to let me in.