Page 77

I snort. “Three to five business months?”

“Yep. Healing’s not instant.” She grins up at me, and somehow the air between us becomes lighter, but still full of that pull I can’t resist. And god help me, I don’t want to.

“I like you, broken bits and all,” she says, voice a little quieter now. “But I’m not going to stick around just to be another thing you eventually push away.”

I nod. “I know.”

“So what’s it going to be, Sinclair?” she asks, tilting her head, eyes locked on mine as she dares me to flinch.

I could deflect. Say something to buy time like I always do when someone gets too close.

But this isn’t someone. This is her.

I lean in, closing the last inch between us until there’s no space left to hide in. Her breath hitches, but she doesn’t back away.

“It’s gonna be me and you,” I say quietly. “Even when I don’t know what the hell I’m doing. If you’ll have me.”

Her eyes shine. “You sure?”

I just nod in response. She watches me for a beat, like she’s checking for cracks. For hesitation. Then she grins. Wide and wild and bright as hell.

“Good,” she says. “Because I was about to break into a whole dramatic monologue and cry on your very expensive countertop.”

“Still might,” I tease, brushing a thumb over her cheek.

“Oh, one hundred percent. I’m a Leo, Beau. Big feelings. Lots of hand gestures.”

I let out a quiet laugh, the sound surprising even me. “I’m learning that.”

She tilts her head, studying me. “So…what now?”

My hand slides from her cheek to the back of her neck, fingers tangling in those copper strands I’ve been aching to touch again. “Now I stop being an idiot.”

“That’s a start,” she murmurs, lips quirking.

I dip my head, bringing my mouth close to hers. “I’m sorry, Whitley.”

Her eyes flutter closed for just a second, and when they open again, there’s something raw and hopeful gleaming there that makes my chest constrict. “Kiss me, Sinclair.”

I capture her mouth with mine, and it’s different this time. Not desperate or frantic like in the truck. This kiss is deliberate. I can feel her whole heart in it.

Her lips part beneath mine, soft and yielding, and I deepen the movement, tasting her slowly. She makes this small sound in the back of her throat, needy and sweet, and it shoots straight through me, lighting me up like a match dipped in gasoline.

I walk her backward until her back hits the counter, never breaking the kiss. The angle lets me crowd her in, one hand still tangled in her hair, the other gripping her hip hard enough to leave marks.

She whimpers, and the sound nearly undoes me.

I drag my mouth from hers, trailing kisses along her jaw and down the column of her throat. She tilts her head back, giving me access, and I take full advantage, nipping at the sensitive skin below her ear.

“Beau,” she breathes.

“Hmm?”

“I want you to take control,” she whispers, fingers twisting in my shirt. “Like before.”

My hand tightens in her hair. “You sure?”

“Yes.” Her eyes grow dark with need. “I want to let go. Just…let you have me.”