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He laughed again. “Yes, babe. I feared that you’d find someone so much better than me that you wouldn’t even remember me—wouldn’t remember our touches, our hugs, our late-night talks where we shared secrets with one another.”
“I’m sorry I lied to you,” I blurted out suddenly…meaning it for the first time ever. Well, maybe not the first time ever but there’d always been a part of me that still defended what I’d done. Not anymore, though. I was sorry that my lies had been the cause of us being apart from one another. Hell, I was sorry for every damn thing I’d done where Eli was concerned. He’d loved me then and he loved me now. Everything he’d done had been perfect while everything I’d done had been misleading.
Last night when he’d mentioned us moving in together, I’d been hesitant and, like always, my actions had hurt him; I’d seen the look all over his beautiful face. Sure, he’d been disappointed but hurt more than anything. Clearly, I was still acting like the child I believed myself to be—the hang-up was mine, not Eli’s.
“I know, angel. I know. I’m sorry that I had to disappear instead of having the strength and courage to hang around and wait for you to come of age. I wanted you so badly, Ari. If I’d stayed, I’d have done something we would have both regretted.”
“Not me,” I argued. “But I understand.” Taking a deep breath, I added, “You were right, and I was wrong. I see that now. No more lies between us, Eli. I want to spend the rest of my life with you and while our foundation has been shaky because of my lies, I intend to do everything within my power to make up for it.” A plan started forming in my head, causing excitement to bubble through my blood. Actually, the excitement was so strong and all-consuming that I ignored the strange look that flashed in Eli’s eyes for the briefest of seconds at my declaration. Nothing, not even my insecurities, was going to interfere with my life with Eli going forward. Since our happiness had been such a long time coming, we deserved every damn second of it.
“I like the sound of that…the part of the rest of your life with me. There’s nothing for you to make-up for, angel. You did what you thought was right, and I did what I thought I had to do. The beauty of it is that it’s all behind us. It’s time for us to focus on our future, on our love for one another. Make no doubts about it, angel, I intend to spend the rest of my life loving you.”
“Ditto, babe,” I answered and leaned forward to accept the kiss Eli and I both so wantonly craved—a kiss to seal our deal of love, honesty, and faith in one another. Scrunching my nose, I said, “I need to think of a nickname for you. That angel thing is especially annoying since I have no idea why you call me that. I’m gonna think of one that will drive you as equally insane as angel does me.”
He laughed. “One day, angel, I’ll tell you. One day.” He pulled me tight, crushing our bodies together and dropped his lips to give me another soul-shattering kiss. “I love you, Ari. I’ve always loved you, and I always will. I would move heaven and earth or sacrifice my very life to keep you safe and happy.” He hugged me tighter. “It’s like I’ve waited an eternity for this moment.”
I snorted. “Yeah, but you could have had it years ago…”
He smacked my ass. Hard. Followed the smack with a growl and then pulled my wrists together, wrapped them around his hand and tugged them behind my back. While holding me prisoner, he dropped his lips to my neck and sucked hard enough to surely leave a mark…a brand. I shivered as I realized he’d just publicly marked me as belonging to him. It might not be a collar or wedding band like Baker wore, but it was the same, at least to me.
“I love you, Eli,” I whispered.
Before he could answer, my dad’s office door flung open and Samantha stepped outside. “For fuck’s sake, Eli, save it for when you’re off the clock,” she growled, obviously still frustrated from the lack of support she’d received from Eli and Seth earlier. Her face, normally stoic and firm unless she was looking at Baker, was still twisted in an angry scowl. “Grab Seth and get in here. We need to review both of your next cases.” She looked at me and her face softened just a bit. “Ari, there’s some tech work in your email that I’ll need by the end of the week—no biggie, at least not for you. Just get it to me before the end of the week, if you can. I’m sorry about pulling your dad away before you had the chance to get back home. He told me to tell you that he’d left some birthday presents at your house and that you all would do something special when he got back into town.”
