Page 134 of Hard to Handle

“I’m thinking I’ll wear the panties.” I sit on the top of the desk behind me. “I never trust someone who changes a deal midway through.”

“Says who?”

“Says me.” What in the world is he getting at?

There’s that slow smile again that tugs on every part of me. “You’re an agent. You know full well that negotiations shift. Change. Realign.”

“Should I worry about what exactly it is you want to realign?”

“More like I want the terms to change.”

“You’re talking in circles, Hunter,” I tease, and his grin widens.

“Good thing you’re familiar with how to follow circles.”

“True.”

But he is talking in circles and it’s making zero sense.

“What is it you want now?”

“You.”

Thud. My heart on the floor.

“Oh.” I don’t hide the shock or the stupid grin on my face from his unexpected comment. “In that case . . .” I grab the sides of his shirt as he takes a step toward me before framing my face and dipping down so he can meet my eyes. His are intense and alive with emotion.

“In that case?” He brushes his lips over mine.

“New terms accepted. Negotiation successful.”

He laughs as I pull him against me, wrapping my arms around his waist. He rests his chin on top of my head and I revel in the feel of him and the knowledge that he’s all mine.

Who would have ever thought I’d say that about the only man who ever truly broke my heart?

“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, Dekk,” he murmurs, his chin moving on the crown of my head. “Scary, I know.”

“About?”

“Things.”

“Like?”

“My career. My life. What I want from it.” He leans back and our eyes meet again. “All of this—the clarity, your belief in me, you pushing me, the Cup—has me looking at things in a different light.”

“I don’t see how I had anything to do with that.”

“How can you say that?” he asks. “You heard what your dad said. That it’s your belief in me that allowed me to be my best me.”

“I was just doing my job.”

“No, you were being you.” Those lips of his meet mine again in a kiss that lacks intensity but is loaded with tenderness. “I’m madly in love with you, Dekker Kincade. Maybe I always have been, but you helped me see the me I had lost. You allowed me to be the me who had hope. You allowed me to tell my darkest truths and instead of walking away, you held on tighter. You loved the me I hated.”

“And I love the you that you now love too.”

“I know.” Tears well in his eyes, but he blinks them away just as quickly as they appear.

“If there’s one thing I learned with everything, it’s your next tomorrow is never guaranteed. I don’t want to miss any tomorrows with you. I think we should take the next step. I think we should move in together and start building that tomorrow and the day after that and the week after that together.”