Right now, there’s only her.

Only this.

“Leo,” she whispers back, her voice shaky, her gaze locked on my mouth. Her walls… they’re gone. Finally gone.

Shattered.

Leaving only this raw, aching need that mirrors my own.

Fuck, I love this woman.

The thought is terrifying. Liberating.

But I don’t say it.

Can’t say it.

Not yet.

The words are too big, too new.

Too much like a promise I’m still learning how to keep.

Instead, I lower my head, capturing her mouth in a kiss that’s anything but tentative. It’s a claiming.

You’re finally mine.

Her lips part under my own, soft, yielding. She kisses me back with such a desperate intensity that it steals my breath.

Her hands fist in my shirt, pulling me closer, her body arching against mine. I can feel the hard points of her nipples through the fabric of her sweater, pressing against my chest. My cock, already hard from just holding her, throbs painfully inside my jeans.

I deepen the kiss, my tongue tangling with hers, tasting her, devouring her. The sound of her soft moans, muffled against my mouth, is the most intoxicating sound I’ve ever heard.

Better than any billion-dollar IPO.

Better than the roar of the wind in a wingsuit.

My hands roam, rediscovering the curves of her body, the places I remember, the places I’ve dreamed about.

I slide one hand under her sweater, my fingers finding the warm, bare skin of her back. She shivers at my touch, pressing herself even closer.

My other hand cups her ass, pulling her tight against my erection, letting her feel exactly how much I want her.

She gasps into my mouth, her hips grinding against mine, a silent invitation.

Yes. Fuck, yes.

I break the kiss, my forehead resting against hers. Both of us are breathing hard, our bodies humming with a shared, desperate need.

“I want you so bad,” I manage, my voice a ragged rasp.

But she can’t even talk. Her eyes are dark, dazed, her pupilsblown wide.

That look. The one that makes me feel like the only fucking man on the planet.

I take her hand, lacing my fingers through hers, and lead her out of the living area, down the hallway, toward my bedroom.

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