Page 66 of Tempt the Dragon
“I couldn’t,” he said, his throat tight with emotion. “I couldn’t stay away again. Not for another eighty years, not for another eight days, not even eight hours. That’s why I’m here at two in the morning. I couldn’t stay away because I love you, Mel.”
“Just like that,”she said and then shrugged. “You come in here and dump all this at my feet and I’m supposed to say, sure, okay, I missed you too, and things are back to the way they were just a couple months ago, just like that?”
For a moment he’d stood frozen believing she was about to tell him to hit the road and mean that shit for eternity. But then she spoke the next words, “I missed you too.”
Hetook a cautious step toward her. “I didn’t say I missed you.”
“What? You did say—”
Shaking his head, he continued closing the space between them. “No. I said I love you.” He stood so close now, he could smell the floral scent of the soap she used.
“Same thing,” she murmured.
He couldn’t help it, she was sexy as hell when her anger was unraveling. “I guess.” Taking another gamble,he lifted a hand, touching his fingers lightly to her hair.
“I understand if you don’t want to leave Rosilda. I talked to Theo and he’d be open to me starting a branch of Legion Security down here.”
She held still for another second or so, but then licked her lips as she stared up at him. “Are you kidding? She can’t wait until I’m out of her hair.”
Lifting his other hand, he cuppedher face. “So you’ll come back to Burgess with me? We can be partners again.”
She leaned into him. “We can sleep together every night so this vicious pain the beast puts me through all day can finally subside.”
His heart warmed and he dropped a soft kiss to her forehead.
“We can go back to the Far Realm to have a ceremony to seal the Selection. I’ve been back in the last two monthsto make amends with my family and the Nobility.”
“Really? Good for you, Aiken. I know that must’ve been hard.”
“I’m learning that I sold a lot of people short in my assumptions of how they would react to things.”
“I accept your apology.”
He smiled down at her, this time kissing the tip of her nose.
“And no, I don’t want a ceremony on the Far Realm. I want a real, human wedding.Catered, with gowns, music at a reception and you in a tux.”
“Is that a proposal?” he joked.
“Not at all. I’m just telling you that I’ve decided that I love you too and that if we’re going to be partners again, you’ve gotta start with a wedding.”
He grinned. “That kinda sounds like a proposal.”
She lifted her head and brushed her lips quickly over his. “It sounds like you’ve gotlots of planning to do.”
