“Are you okay?”
He nodded. “I wasn’t. But then you got here. And… Benedek needed to go a while ago. When he spoke to you like that… I was done. Or, well, he was.”
“He’s your brother.”
“And you’re my future.”
Oh damn it,those tears were coming back.“I don’t want to come between you and your family.”
“He did this himself.”Zolt’s voice darkened. “He hasn’t been honest with Veltar about my recovery. Your report was a bit of a surprise, it seems.”
“Shit,” I swore on a breath.
“Exactly. So, I won’t have any guilt from you, thank you.”
“But you’re still shaking.”
“I’m cold,”he admitted with a dismissive shrug. “So hurry up and use your body heat on me.”
A part of me wanted to keep pushing him. Sacking his brother had more of an impact than he was willing to face.
If he found his peace in me, he could keep it — keep me — forever.
And I unzipped his leathers, just as slowly as I’d done them up those months ago when we first met. His hands were sure on my top, pulling it over my head with no hesitation as I kicked off my shoes.
As he threw off his boots, I pulled the leathers down his arms and checked the temperature of the water. I leaned into the stream, and Zolt pulled down my leggings and dragged me into the water with him, still trying to get the leggings off my ankle.
“Zolt!”
“Shh!” he laughed, pressing a wet finger to my lips. “Someone will hear.”
I bit it gently and rolled my eyes, the water pouring down my face.
It was going to be hard to explain why my hair was soaking, but I didn’t care enough to let it dampen our moment.
I kissed the scar on his chest, his collar, his cheek, before looking up into his dark eyes.
“I love you, Zoltán,” I told him. “If you didn’t know.”
“I could only hope,” he said, stroking my hair, cupping my chin.“I could only dream.”
He kissed me, softly, slowly, the water trickling down our faces. I pressed myself against him, loving our slick skin against each other, the way his hands slid over me.
Loving him.
* **
Sunday. Race day.
Though that wasn’t the only thing to worry about.
Livie’s smile was false. She was almost baring her teeth, her eyes wide and pained.
She reminded Everly and me that she wasnotin labour. She wasnotgoing to give birth to her son today. She was willing that into existence.
“It’s Braxton Hicks, it’s Braxton Hicks,” she murmured, leaning over the table of the PR tent, her knuckles white as she held the far side.
Everly didn’t want children. She’d told me seeing Livie like this the first time had made that a certainty.
