Page 111 of Big D!ck Energy

“I'm fine.”

“Liar.” But he was almost smiling. “I heard about half of that speech. The part where you said I chose you.”

“You did choose me.”

“Damn right I did.” He pressed a kiss to my temple, soft and certain. “Come on. Let's get out of here.”

“The match…”

“Is over. Matt's handling the press stuff.” His arm tightened around me. “I want to show my wife my favorite part of the arena.”

“Is it the part where you escape from situations like this?”

“It's the part where I get you alone backstage and show you exactly how proud I am of you.” He leaned closer, lips brushing my ear. “Among other things.”

Heat flooded my cheeks.

As Dallas guided me toward the backstage entrance, I caught one last glimpse of Amber—standing frozen, face pale, clearly processing the fact that she'd just been publicly rejected by her imaginary boyfriend in favor of the woman she'd spent the last hour insulting.

The brunette gave me a small wave and a thumbs-up.

I waved back.

“For the record,” Dallas said as we pushed through the backstage doors, “the DM thing was bullshit. I haven't messaged anyone except you in months. My social media team handles everything else.”

“I know.”

“You know?”

“Dallas, you can't even keep birthday presents secret for more than twelve hours. If you were messaging random women, you'd have accidentally texted me screenshots within a week.”

He laughed. “Fair point.”

“Also, I saw your phone this morning. Your recent messages are me, Matt, your mom, and someone named 'Protein Guy' who I assume is not a romantic interest.”

“Definitely not. He's sixty-three and has opinions about creatine.”

“Sounds like competition.”

“You're hilarious.” But he was grinning, pulling me into a side hallway of the backstage area. “Seriously, though. You okay? What she said…”

“Was nothing I haven't heard before.” I shrugged, but the movement felt heavy. “I've been dealing with women like her my whole life. They see someone like me with someone like you, and their worldview short-circuits.”

“Someone like you.” His voice had gone quiet. Dangerous. “You mean someone brilliant, successful, beautiful, and absolutely devastating when she's delivering a verbal takedown?”

“I meant fat. That's what she meant.”

“I know what she meant. And she's wrong.” His hands framed my face, tilting it up until I had no choice but to meet his eyes. “You are the most beautiful woman I've ever known. Not despite your body, because of it. Because of all of you. Every curve, every edge, every sharp corner of your personality that makes me want to argue with you and worship you.”

My throat was tight. “Dallas…”

“I heard what you said to her. About believing you didn't deserve me. You know that's insane, right? If anything, it's the other way around.”

I laughed, and he caught the sound with a kiss, soft at first, then deeper. His hands sliding into my hair, his body pressing me against the wall of the corridor like he could shield me from every cruel word ever spoken.

When he finally pulled back, we were both breathing hard.

“For the record,” he murmured against my lips, “watching you defend our marriage was the hottest thing I've ever seen.”