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“Yeah, because that’s what you are. Mine.”
“Which you’ve had, like, six years to get used to. Doesn’t seem like something you need to keep marveling over. But you say it as if you can’t quite believe it.”
He twisted his lips, sliding his hand from her cheek to her hair. “I hadn’t expected to find you that day at the restaurant. It caught me off-guard—something that doesn’t happen often. My priorities reshuffled in a millisecond. You became the focal point of my life. My own personal sun. I orbited around you for years, waiting for the moment when I could finally close that distance between us. After so long of having you right there yet never feeling close enough to you, it’s sometimes hard to believe that I’ve finally solidified my claim to you.”
“Never feeling close enough to me? What do you mean by that?”
“I ensured I was a huge part of your life, but I would have been far more up in your business if Noelle hadn’t been so difficult. In never welcoming me into your life and your family, she was a constant bump in the road that made the entire ride feel like it could take a wrong turn if I wasn’t careful. I wanted it to be a smooth ride for you, but I could never quite manage it. I guess there were times when it felt like we’d never get here; that she’d succeed in pressuring you to drag things out.”
Biting her lip, Blair smoothed her hand over his solid shoulder, skimming over a fading bite mark she’d need to renew sometime soon. “I get it. The foundations for what we have now began to form years ago. But until we mated, I didn’t feel as secure in our connection as I should have, because even though I knew down to my soul how important I was to you, Noelle was like a threat that hovered around our unborn mating bond.” It had made her female constantly antsy.
He nodded. “She would never have succeeded in making me walk away from you. She was a fool to have tried. Before I found you, I was … lost. Then I heard your voice tell me I’d dropped my wallet, and everything changed.” He leaned his forehead against hers, gently combing his fingers through her hair. “Thank God I dropped it.”
Her chest squeezed at the mere thought of how they might not have realized who they were to each other that day if it hadn’t been for the wallet incident. But the twinge of discomfort she felt at that was nothing compared to the ache she felt in her heart at how much anguish had coated the word “lost.”
She played with the short strands of hair at the back of his head. “You’ll have to tell me about that at some point, you know.”
“What?”
“Why you were lost.”
He drew in a sharp breath through his nose. “I know. And I will. Not tonight, though, yeah? Tonight is a night for celebrations only. A night I want you to remember for good reasons. I don’t want anything marring it. Hence why I want to rip Rhonda and Lucille new assholes.”
“Don’t bother; I rather enjoyed myself.” So had her female.
His lips twitched. “I noticed.”
“You enjoyed it as well.”
“I enjoyed watching you own your strength and slap them with the weight of your dominance, yeah. It made my cock hard.”
“I noticed.” She stroked his chest, smiling when he purred. “You’re such a cat. My cat.”
“Yours.” He caught her face between his hands, raking his gaze over every feature. “I love you, Blair. You can feel it through our bond, I know, so this isn’t fresh news. But I’m giving you the words because it’s selfish of me to leave our connection to say it for me.”
Her chest tightening, she swallowed. “I love you, too. I honestly don’t remember a time when I didn’t.”
His mouth hitched up. “Then kiss me.”
She did.
Sitting at the table across from his mate the next morning, Luke flexed his grip on his coffee mug, irritation a buzz in his blood. Blair was a smart woman. Wiser than her years. She would often see elements to a situation that no one else had considered. But there was really nothing smart about the request she made half an hour ago. A request that, in truth, was a declaration of intent. And he’d so far had no success in talking her out of it.
“Surely you can hold off for another day or so.” Or even ten. A few weeks would be better.
Her brow pinching, Blair sipped her vanilla latte. “I could, but why would I?”
“Oh, I don’t know, maybe because the person stalking you may well live in the very place you want to go.” Something he should not have to point out.
