“I’m getting your attention.” I braced my hands on the arms of her chair and bent over until I was so close that my forehead nearly brushed hers. “I love you.”
Her laughter cut out abruptly. Her lips parted as her breath caught. She blinked rapidly a few times, her expression transforming from amusement to incredulous surprise.
“I love you,” I repeated, saying the words slower this time. “I’m in love with you, Aurelia. You don’t have to say it back and I know it goes way beyond what we agreed to, but things have changed for me. A lot. I should’ve told you that I loved you the last time we spoke about the fact that we’re not just friends anymore, but I don’t think I actively realized it then. I do now, though. I realize it now.”
Her eyes shimmered, but before she could answer, I dropped down onto one knee. For the second time, I held her gaze while I was on my knees in front of her, but this time, it wasn’t about convenience or a contract. There was no clever justifications to fall back on.
It was just me, stripped bare. “The first time I asked you to marry me, it was for all the wrong reasons,” I said, my chest tight and my heart hammering. “So I’m going to ask you again.”
I cleared my throat, but it didn’t dislodge the boulder stuck there. “Marry me because I love you. Because I want you to be my wife. My partner. My everything. Not for business and not for the sake of appearances, but for us. Because we’re good together. We’re right for each other.”
She pressed her hands over her mouth, tears slipping free. I desperately hoped they were happy ones.
Aurelia nodded, and the next thing I knew, she was pulling me up and bringing me closer.
“I love you too,” she whispered against my lips, her voice trembling. “God, Harrison, I love you.”
The relief that spun through me was unlike anything I’d ever felt before. Relief. Joy. Fuck only knew what else, but it was good. Not even just good, but great. Frankly, it was everything.
My lips slanted over hers without my brain giving the conscious command to do it, and it felt like the first time all over again. Only somehow, it was even better. Probably because this time, I knew it was real.
CHAPTER 40
AURELIA
Harrison swept me off my feet, literally, lifting me against him with his strong arms banded around me. His heart pounded against my chest and the intensity of it all was making my head spin. I had no idea where any of this had come from, but God. I sure didn’t mind it.
For so long now, he and I had been doing this dance, saying one thing and doing another simply because we couldn’t resist. It had been driving me crazy, not really knowing what page he was on, and even though I’d also thoroughly enjoyed being his friend, this was light years better.
Knowing that he felt the same way I did, and the fact that I would never have to wonder again, made my knees weak and my heart race. Harrison was now, officially, my fiancé—for no other reason than hewantedto be.
The purest joy sent bubbles floating through my veins. My insides were having a party. Harrison lifted me higher and I wrapped my legs around his hips. I smiled against his mouth, really allowing myself to appreciate how pillowy soft his lips were for the first time.
“I’m never going to stop kissing you,” I murmured breathlessly, meaning it all the way to the very root of my soul.“I don’t even care if that means never getting anything else done either.”
He chuckled, a deep, low sound that vibrated from his chest into mine. “I’m down for that. As long as it means I get to kiss youeverywhere. Anywhere I want. Anytime.”
“I don’t foresee myself having any complaints about that.” Shit, the guy was masterful with his tongue. An entirely new level of pleasure had been unlocked for me when he was between the legs.
The mere thought of him there made me shiver. Sparks of need shot through me. My nipples peaked and I felt the first rush of dampness wet my panties. Harrison paused for a beat before he seemed to make a decision, walking us out of the office and toward my living room.
My desk was absolutely covered in wedding prep, which was probably what he’d been considering. Although I wouldn’t have minded him doing one of those sexy moves where he swiped it all off in his desperation to get to me, it would have taken hours to reorganize it. The ring practically pulsed on my finger, reminding me that we were getting married in just two days. I didn’t have time to waste on things like that.
Better to spend my spare minutes doing exactlythiswith Harrison.
It took him no longer than half a minute before we were in my living room. Strangely, he set me on my feet facing the floor-to-ceiling windows of one wall. I frowned, wondering what was going on, but then he dropped to his knees in front of me, fingers hooking into the waistband of my pajama pants.
Those captivating hazel eyes burned into mine. His lips were swollen from the force of our kisses and slightly parted as he stared up at me. “Anything you see out there is yours if you want it, Aurelia.Anything. I would even burn the whole city to the ground for you if that’s what you want.”
“I don’t think that’ll be necessary—” I cut myself off when my pants hit my ankles and he pitched forward.
He buried his face between my legs and my hand flew to his hair. He wasn’t even doing anything yet, just nuzzling, and shit, this had never happened to me before.
If he had been absolutely anybody else, I would’ve been mortified right around now, but with him, it just seemed impossibly hot. So hot that I felt more heat pooling between my thighs and I moaned. “Harrison, what…”
“I love the way you smell,” he answered in a husky half-whisper, swallowing like his mouth was suddenly watering. “I love the way you taste. I could live down here, Aurelia.”
Arousal exploded from deep within, sending a sharp whine out of my mouth before I could bite it back. My fingers tightened on his hair and I reached out to steady myself against the window with my free hand, thanking my lucky stars that they were all mirrored on the outside.
