My breath catches in my throat, mesmerized by the way his pupils blow wide as he gazes at me.
“You did that… for me?”
His eyes pinch at the corners. “I did it for me. I can’t stand seeing you sad, or unsure, or worried. I didn’t want you to feel that way if you were ever here.”
“Because worrying is your job, right?” I breathe.
“I told you, with you, it’s what I do. And it’s a privilege that I’ve been close enough to be able to worry about you.”
I flick my eyes to Monty on the dog bed and back again. Two and a half years. He’s had that dog bed for two and a half years in case of the small chance I might be here one day with Monty.
“But… come on… always?” My voice falters with disbelief. “I’m sure you never used to see it that way. You… you barely spoke to me.”
“Ialwaysspoke to you when you spoke to me first. But I was never going to push for conversations that you might not have wanted.”
“But I like talking. I talk a lot.”
His eyes hold mine. “I know.”
Shock zaps my gut like a lightning bolt. He’d see me chatting with my family, my friends, with colleagues, but he knew I didn’t want to talk to him, and he never pushed it.
He’s waited all this time while I was busy trying to ignore him.
I rest my palms on his chest, feeling the beat of his heart through them.
“I don’t think I’d have been ready for what talking with you would have done to me if we’d started any sooner than we did,” I confess.
I wasn’t ready for this. For him. I was too consumed with getting my career started, and then after the accident… too busy grieving.
And he respected that, never pushing for anything I wasn’t ready to give.
“I know.” His voice is full of tenderness as he cups my face in his huge palms. “And that’s okay.”
I swallow as I gaze at him. “How did I see you every day for years and notseeyou?”
“Don’t make me sound special, Sinclair, I’m just a man.”
“You’re not, though,” I breathe, something shifting in my chest and embedding itself inside my heart as I slide my hands up so I can stroke his jaw. “You’re not just anything…You’re Denver.”
We stare at one another, energy flowing around us in big, billowing waves. It’s like magic, just like Halliday is always talking about. It’s as though the universe was scheming and planning all this time, intent on bringing us to this exact moment.
“You’re Denver,” I repeat, rising on my toes to brush his lips with mine with an increased tenderness. “You’re exactly who I want to talk to. Every day. Always.”
“Yeah?” he murmurs, his voice lifting. He dusts his lips over mine, making me want nothing more than to lose myself in one of his earth-shattering kisses.
“Yeah.” I drag the tip of my tongue across his lower lip slowly.
“Sinclair, Princess, I want to take you to bed,” he rasps, his fingers tensing against my cheeks.
“And you seem mad about that, why?”
“I’m not mad, I’m…” He exhales heavily, the sound making me press closer to him to offer comfort.
“Because we’re back in the city?” I say, pressing a gentle kiss to his lower lip. “Because doing something here will make itreal?” I kiss him softly again. “Because it’s not just something that happened in the forest anymore, something we can close off?” Another kiss makes him suck in a sharp breath as I leave my lips touching his and whisper, “It’s not just a momentary lapse of?—”
His mouth crashes into mine, devouring me in a deep and searing kiss that goes on and on until I’m panting.
“It wasn’t a momentary lapse of anything,” he growls, kissing me again. “Don’t ever imply that. I told you I missed you. I’ve been going crazy since we got back not being alone with you. Not being able to find out how you really feel.”
