But if this was goodbye… He wanted it.
She took his hand and led him toward the music. Slipped into his arms with a familiarity that sent heat straight through his chest. His hand settled at her back, careful at first, as if she were fragile. The music was slow, stretching time thin. Lantern light caught in the green of her dress and turned her unreal.
He had danced before, but it had never felt like this.
She rested her head briefly against his chest. He felt her exhale. Felt the way her body aligned with his as if it had always known where to go.
“Than,” she said softly. His heart already hurt. “I need to tell you something. I know it’s sudden. But I couldn’t keep it to myself anymore.” His pulse began to pound. “I didn’t say anything before because of Fly. Because of what we were.” She lifted her head and looked at him fully. “But we’re leaving Annapolis. Everything is changing. I can’t walk away knowing I wanted more and never said it.”
The night narrowed.
“I already know,” he whispered. “You love Flynn. I get it.” He swallowed hard. “I hope you’re happy.”
“Oh, Than.” She cupped his jaw. “You really are the sweetest, most clueless man I’ve ever met.”
Her body pressed closer. He nearly lost control.
“I love you,” she said. The world tilted. “I don’t know how we’ll make it work yet. I just know I want you in my life. If you want more, too.”
“I thought you loved—” He couldn’t finish.
“No. From the moment I met you. It was only you.”
The music stopped. So did his heart.
He didn’t remember deciding to move. Only that he was guiding her away from the crowd, past hedges and stone paths until the light softened and the river whispered closer.
They stopped beneath an old tree, and he cupped her face, his hands trembling just slightly.
“Mei,” he said, like a vow. He had always known she was beautiful. That wasn’t what undid him. It was the way his body reacted before his mind caught up.
She was petite but carried herself with quiet confidence. When she shifted closer, he felt it low and steady in his body, instinctive and undeniable. He was hard for her more often than he admitted, and tonight there was no denying it.
Her face held strength and softness at once. Warm skin, freckles dusted across high cheekbones. His mouth wanted to trace them.
Her lips parted slightly as she breathed, and he had to fight the urge to take them.
He liked the way she spoke. Calm. Measured. When her voice dropped, when something private threaded through her control, it lit him up.
Her eyes held him without flinching. She saw him as a man. That terrified him more than anything.
Jasmine brushed his senses again. He’d tried not to catalog it before. Failed every time.
Around Fly, she was animated. Around him, she was deliberate. Like she understood what passed between them carried weight.
He had told himself for years it was protectiveness. Loyalty. Friendship.
Standing there now, light touching her face, awareness tightening low and steady in his body, he knew the truth.
He was mad for her. Had been for four years, and he wasn’t waiting another second.
Than lowered his head. The first press of his mouth against hers was a question, a careful testing of ground he’d only ever dreamed of crossing.
Her lips were softer than he’d imagined, yielding but not passive, and the scent of jasmine filled his lungs, clean and intoxicating. A fine tremor that ran through her, matching the one humming under his own skin. His hand slid from her jaw to the back of her neck, fingers tangling in the soft hair at her nape, holding her gently but firmly, anchoring them both in the impossible reality of it.
Mei’s mouth parted under his, a soft sigh escaping her as her hands rose to his chest. That sound undid him.
Control blurred.
