“Snakes don’t have hands.”
“That’s what makes the cheating so impressive.” She tilted her face up, invitation clear. “Did you and Beck work things out?”
“We reached an understanding.”
“What kind of understanding?”
“The kind where he accepts you’ve made a choice, and I accept that he cared enough to be hurt by it.” Leo’s hands slid down to her hips, pulling her closer. “He’s a good man.”
“He is.” Her fingers worked at his buttons. “But he’s not you.”
“No.” Leo let her push his shirt off his shoulders. “He’s not.”
She rose on her toes to kiss him, and he met her halfway—slow at first, then deeper as she pressed against him. Her tongue slid against his, and he groaned into her mouth, his hands fisting in the fabric of the shirt she wore.
His shirt. On her body. The possessive thrill of it raced through him like wildfire.
“I missed you,” she murmured against his lips.
“I was gone three hours.”
“Three hours too long.”
He laughed—a real laugh, the kind he’d only recently rediscovered—and lifted her. She wrapped her legs around his waist with a familiarity that sent heat spreading through him. Her weight was nothing. Her presence was everything.
“I talked to Theo too,” he said, carrying her toward the bed. “He gave me his official blessing.”
“Theo doesn’t give blessings. He gives grudging acceptance and veiled threats.”
“Same thing, coming from an alpha.” Leo lay her on the mattress, following her down. “He reminded me that you deserve patience.”
“Did he now?” Her fingers traced the line of his jaw. “And what did you say?”
“That I already knew.”
She pulled him down for another kiss, and this time, there was nothing slow about it. Heat and hunger and the electric awareness of skin against skin. Her hands explored his chest, his back, the muscles that flexed under her touch. His mouth found her neck, the sensitive spot below her ear, the curve of her shoulder where his teeth grazed without breaking.
But not tonight. Tonight was about this—the growing certainty between them, the trust building with every touch. The claiming would come when she was ready. Until then, Leo would take every moment she gave him and count himself lucky.
“Stay.” She whispered against his mouth.
“Always.”
“I know.” Her smile was soft, certain. “That’s why I’m asking.”
He answered with a kiss instead of words.
Later, tangled in sheets and each other, Junie traced patterns on his chest while his hand stroked lazy circles on her back. The moonlight painted silver stripes across the bed. Somewhere outside, an owl called.
“Two weeks,” she murmured. “And then Victor’s finished?”
“If everything goes according to plan.”
“Your plans always work?”
“Almost always.” He pressed a kiss to her hair. “But I’ve learned to appreciate chaos.”
She laughed, the sound vibrating against his skin. “Took you long enough.”
