He pauses at the windows to survey the city glittering below us. “Amazing.”
Then he joins me on the couch, eyeing my book. “A little light reading?”
“Homework?” I bite my lip. “I’ve been seeing a psychologist.”
His eyes are warm. “How’s that going?”
“It’s been hard. But good.”
“Okay. Why was Mabel right?”
“Um. I didn’tthinkI pushed people away. But I thought about it and… I’ve had boyfriends. Nothing that ever stuck, though. Sometimes I felt hurt that it ended and blamed the guy. But… Ihavehad a hard time loving myself… sometimes. And that could be making it hard for people to love me.”
“Not me.” He kisses my forehead.
“I know. It’s weird, isn’t it?”
“What?”
“How we connected so instantly. And even… after the accident, even though I was a dog’s dinner, you… were there for me.”
“I don’t think it’s weird.”
“I can’t get you out of my head,” I tell him. “Which is a problem because sometimes I have other things I need to be thinking about. Like what I would name my dog if I had one.”
He barks out a laugh of surprise. “Important stuff.”
“Yes.”
He nods, then slides a hand around the back of my neck, so gentle yet strong, and pulls me close again to kiss me. His tongue slides into my mouth and ohhhhh God, his kiss. I give myself up to it, to his taste, his heat, his scent. I slide my fingers into his hair and kiss him back like this is my last moment on Earth.
He groans, his tongue pushing into my mouth in an erotic rhythm and I shift closer, pressing against his muscle-packed body, sinking into the loveliness of his kiss and his touch. His love.
“God, I love you,” he murmurs against my lips. “Every sweet, silly inch of you.”
I smile. “I love every charming, fun, brave inch of you, too.”
“Some people have told me I’m a coward.”
“Those mean people?”
“Yeah.” He brushes his mouth over my cheek. “They might have been right.”
I ease my head back so I can see his eyes. “Why do you say that?”
“I was too fucking scared to fight for you. I shouldn’t have let you walk away. Or I should have come with you. But I… I’ve never done this.” His eyes shine with honesty. And vulnerability. “I was afraid you’d reject me again.”
My mouth trembles. “I’m sorry.”
“And I was afraid I didn’t know how.”
“How to…?”
“How to love you.”
“Oh.” My sinuses sting. I’m going to start crying again. “Marek. You just have to do it.”
“I do. I am. I’m going to love you the way you should be. I’m going to be the man you need. I might fuck up sometimes, but I’m not going to be a chicken shit anymore.”
