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The sudden seriousness in her tone made every muscle in my body tense. “What is it?”

She took a shaky breath, her hands trembling in mine. “I love you, too.”

The words hit me like a lightning strike. I'd known how I felt about her for weeks now. Hell, the guys were right; it’d hit me the instant I saw her. She was my magic, my woman, my everything. But knowing she felt the same way? It knocked the air clean out of my lungs.

“Joy.”

“I love you, Graham Wallace. I love your terrible morning hair and your empty house and the way you take care of everyone around you. I love that you make me feel safe, cherished, and feel like I'm the most important thing in your world.”

Before she could say another word, I cupped her face in my hands and kissed her. It started tender, reverent, like she was something precious I was afraid of breaking. But when she melted against me, when her lips parted on a soft sigh, something inside me ignited.

The kiss deepened, became hungry and desperate and full of every emotion I'd been carrying around in my chest. I poured everything into it. My love, my need, my promise to protect her, my gratitude that she'd chosen me despite everything.

When we finally broke apart, gasping, I saw tears streaming down her cheeks.

“Don't cry, baby.”

“Happy tears.” She laughed through them, her hands fisting in my shirt. “I just never thought I'd feel this way about anyone. After London, I thought I was broken.”

“You're not broken.” I kissed away her tears, tasting salt and joy and hope. “You're perfect. You're mine. And I love you too, more than I thought it was possible to love another person.”

The words seemed to shatter something inside her. She kissed me again, fierce and claiming, and I felt my control snap.

My hands found the hem of her shirt, desperate to touch skin, and she arched into me with a soft moan that went straight to my cock. The sunset painted everything gold around us, but all I could see was my Joy. All I could think about was showing her exactly how much she meant to me.

“Graham.” My name on her lips was half prayer, half demand. “Please.”

I glanced around the overlook. We were completely alone, surrounded by nothing but trees and sky and the fading light of day. Without breaking eye contact, I shrugged out of my lightweight jacket and laid it down on the soft grass. Then I opened up one of my saddlebags and pulled out an old sweatshirt and T-shirt. I shook them out and covered the coat.

“You sure about this?”

Instead of answering, she pulled her shirt over her head and dropped it beside my clothes. The sight of her in that lacy pink bra, her skin glowing in the golden light, made my mouth water.

I guided her down onto the soft material, following her until I was braced above her on my forearms. Joy looked up at me like I was her whole world.

“I want to taste you,” I murmured against her throat. “I want to make you fall apart with my mouth.”

Her breath caught. “Yes.”

I took my time with her jeans, kissing each inch of skin as I revealed it. Her belly, the curve of her hip, the sensitive spot just below her navel that made her gasp and arch beneath me. By the time I had her completely bare, she was trembling with need.

“So beautiful.” I settled between her thighs, inhaling the sweet scent of her arousal. “Look at you, baby. So wet for me already.”

The first stroke of my tongue had her crying out, her hands fisting in my hair. I'd gone down on her before, but this felt different. Sacred. This time I was worshipping at the altar of the woman I loved.

I took my time, exploring every fold and hollow, using every bit of knowledge I’d already accumulated to make her moan and beg. When I found her clit and circled it with my tongue, her whole body went taut as a bowstring.

“Graham, oh God, there, right there.”

I sealed my lips around that sensitive bundle of nerves and sucked gently, feeling her thighs shake on either side of my head. She was close, so fucking close, and I wanted to push her right over the edge.

Two fingers slid inside her tight heat, and I curved them to find that spot that made her see stars. Her back arched off the ground, a broken sob escaping her lips.

“Come for me, baby. Let me hear you.”

She shattered with my name on her lips, her inner walls clenching around my fingers as wave after wave of pleasure crashed over her. I worked her through it, gentling my touches as she came down from the high, pressing soft kisses to her inner thighs.

When she finally went limp beneath me, her chest rising and falling in rapid pants, I crawled up her body to capture her lips in a deep kiss. She could taste herself on my tongue, and the knowledge seemed to inflame her all over again.