I stepped fully into the bathroom, closed the door behind me. The space was small, steam making everything hazy. We were close now. Close enough to touch.
"You're not shy about being wet and naked in front of me," I observed.
Luca's jaw tightened. "Should I be?"
"Most guys would be."
"I'm not most guys." His ice blue eyes held mine. "And neither are you."
The air between us crackled. The bond pulled, insistent.
I moved closer. Until there was barely space between us. Close enough to see the water droplets on his eyelashes. Close enough to smell his scent, cedar and ice mixing with steam.
"All those years ago," I said quietly, "we never acknowledged fucking each other."
Luca's eyes flashed. "We were drunk. Grieving. It didn't mean anything."
"Bullshit."
"Roarke."
"It meant something then and you know it. And it means something now."
"Because of Reina."
"Because of Reina," I agreed. "But not just because of her."
His hands clenched at his sides. "What do you want me to say?"
"The truth. That you feel it too. The pull. The attraction."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Liar." I stepped even closer. "The bond connects all three of us, Vale. You to her. Me to her. And us to each other through her. You've been fighting it since the moment we bonded. Right here in this cabin."
"I haven't been fighting anything."
"Then why do you tense up every time I get close? Why do you avoid looking at me unless Reina's between us?"
His jaw worked. The muscle in his cheek ticking.
"Say it," I challenged. "Say you feel it."
"I..." He closed his eyes. When he opened them again, something in his expression had cracked. "Yes. I feel it. Are you happy now?"
"Getting there."
I closed the last bit of distance between us. Cupped the back of his wet neck. Felt his pulse hammering under my palm.
Pulled him into a kiss.
He froze for half a second. Then he was kissing back, hard and desperate. His hands came up, fisted in my shirt, pulled me closer. Twelve years of denial burning away in the heat between us.
The bond flared hot and bright. Not just mine to him. Him to me. The connection we'd been pretending didn't exist finally acknowledged.
We broke apart breathing hard.
Luca's pupils were blown, lips swollen from the kiss. He looked wrecked.
