Page 132 of Forbidden Forget-Me-Not

“I see that.”

His eyes remained locked with mine.

“This entire night has felt like a dream.”

“Good. You deserve it.” Finally, he slid his hand around the back of my neck. “You need to know something.”

I stilled.

“I want you to hear me when I say that you’re the only woman I’ve ever loved. The only woman I will ever love. No matter what happens, I will always choose you.”

“Goran…”

“No. Let me finish, because I’ve been holding this in and I really want you to understand.”

My throat tightened.

“No matter what happens, I will always choose you. Not the family. Not the position. You. I never meant for you to feel that I wouldn’t. I’m programmed to worry. My instinct is to protect you at all costs.”

Tears pricked my eyes, leaking slowly down my cheeks.

“Why does it feel like you’re saying goodbye to me?”

“No. Never. It’s not goodbye. It’s a promise. My life is not complete unless you’re in it.”

He held me a little tighter and kissed my forehead.

“This world is dangerous. You know that. But I will stand in front of you when danger comes for us. Beside you when you’re strong. And behind you when you need someone to push you forward. That is my vow to you, now and always.”

His eyes burned a hole straight to my soul, branding me with his love and the intensity of every word. He lifted his head and tilted my chin slightly.

“Ya lyublyu tebya bolshe vsego na svete.”

My heart cracked wide open.

“You mean that?” I breathed.

He didn’t hesitate.

“Yes. I will always love you more than anything in this world.”

There was no embellishment, no poetry, and yet he couldn’t have said anything sweeter.

I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him down into a kiss that sealed our vow to belong to each other.

Goran held me as if I might vanish. And for the first time since all of this began, he wasn’t guarding me.

He pulled the tie on the robe, and I shuddered as the cool air caressed my naked body. Goran’s hands slipped inside the soft fabric, and a trail of fire ignited wherever he touched.

His palms flattened against my bare skin, thumbs dragging slowly upward as if he were rediscovering every dip and curve inch by inch. My breath stuttered as he broke the kiss.

The robe slid down my arms until it pooled at my feet.

He didn’t rush to remove his pants, even though I wanted to rip them off him.

Instead, he stepped back and just stared at me. I had never felt so vulnerable and yet so desired under the dark intensity in his eyes. My pulse pounded so loudly I could hear it in my ears.

“You’re shaking,” he murmured.