Heat curled low in her stomach. “I can live with possessive.”
His mouth curved slowly, and he took her hand again, leading her toward the water.
The sounds of the club faded as they crossed the lawn together, the warm night wrapping around them until the world narrowed to the soft lights, the water beyond the dock, and the man beside her.
Inside the airy wooden structure, the curtains fluttered gently in the breeze.
Julia took in the changes. Cushions with sage-green throw pillows. In a corner, a stone planter filled with sand. Beside it,incense sticks and a lighter. “Cari’s citronella finally arrived,” she murmured with a faint smile. She picked one up and turned to Leland. “Will it bother you?”
“Seeing you spotted and scratching tomorrow would bother me more.”
Sweet and dry, and honest. She got welts the size of quarters sometimes.
Julia lit the stick. Scented smoke filled the air with a hint of lemongrass, not bad.
“You haven’t changed your mind?”
She looked at him. “No. Why?”
“You seemed like you were stalling,” he said, walking forward. “And you have too many clothes on.”
He tugged the bow at her neck, and her top fell to her waist. A little shimmy and the rest of her dress slid down to her feet. She stepped out of it, angled her head up, and asked, “Better?”
His gaze skimmed downward. “If you got any better, my heart couldn’t take it.”
She ran her fingers over his chest, warmed by the compliment as much as what was ahead. “You’ve changed since our first scene together. You’re not as intense.”
“Is that good or bad?”
“Neither, just different. I like playful Master Leland too.”
Leland stepped into her space, one hand sliding to her waist while the other tipped her chin up. “Love has mellowed me.”
She sucked in a breath. “That’s the first time you’ve said it.”
“If you haven’t figured that out by now, I must be doing something wrong. Maybe intense Master Leland needs to make a comeback.”
“No. You’re doing everything right. Perfect, in fact.”
He bent to her, lips hovering close. “Got anything to say to me?”
She hesitated. Uncertain.
“New rule. When I say I love you, you say—”
“Oh, yes! Of course… I love you, too. So much.”
Whatever ghosts had followed her there, whatever echoes lingered beneath the surface, they faded beneath the certainty in his eyes.
Tonight, instead of fear, there was only love.
When he kissed her—tender at first but turning deep and claiming—Julia let the rest fall away. The careful months. The circling. Every almost that hadn’t been allowed to become reality. None of it mattered now.
He drew back just enough to look at her. Then he sat on a cushioned bench and lifted her astride him in one easy motion.
“This,” he murmured—like he’d always known exactly how this ended.
Quiet. Certain. A man done fighting what had always been true.
