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Footsteps from somewhere around the corner echoed along the marble corridor.
Marli grabbed the front of Sten’s shirt as she darted backward into her room, kicking the door closed as soon as he was through it.
With no natural windows to this internal room, the only illumination came from a small desk lamp in the corner.
The interruption had replaced the distance between them. They stared at one another, waiting for the other to move or speak.
Just weeks ago, Marli had viewed this male as her mortal enemy. Forced time together had eroded that hard stance and she’d allowed the carnal aspects of her opinion of him to seep into the fissures.
Enemies no longer.
He’d offered a heartfelt apology that had truly hit home.
Even though she hadn’t fully let him off the hook, she understood the motivation behind his previous actions.
He waited, gaze unwavering, expression calm, though his pulse ticked at his throat, his entire body taut.
Her fingers reached toward the buttons of his shirt and he sprang, dragging her against him.
Again, he stopped a breath from her lips. “Do you want this?”
With a quick intake of breath, she nodded.
“Do you want me?”
She blinked, nodding again.
“Say it, Marli and I’m yours. Only yours.” He swallowed, the muscles in his throat tense.
Her eyes widened at those last two words. She licked her lips, seeking to comprehend his unexpected words. “Only mine?”
He pulled her reaching hand over his chest, where his heart thumped. “Only yours. But you have to say it. And only if you mean it.”
She remained crushed against him. His desire hard against her heated core.
She searched his face for any underlying insincerity in his words, but detected none.
She swallowed. He means it.
“Unless you want this to be absolutely casual,” he said, but the tension in his voice indicated that he preferred the former option.
She swallowed as his words registered deep into her subconscious. Words that whispered of a heart once broken. Asking her not to break it again if he gave it to her.
‘Only yours. But you have to say it. And only if you mean it.’
She stared into his eyes, blinking as the words hit home.
So unexpected. So… honest.
His heart thumped under her palm.
I’ve had my heart broken too.
She thought he’d just want to get her into bed. Every male in the mountain probably did, just because she was one of the few females that was there and the only one that didn’t have a mate.
Her free hand slid along his jaw, her thumb caressed the ridge of his lower lip, holding his gaze as she answered him. “I do want you. Very much. I just… I just don’t know how long it will last…”
Because it never does…
