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I love him.
For all her big talk earlier about how they needed to be better at talking to one another, Sienna found that she wasn’t ready to say those words yet.
Wasn’t sure she was brave enough to say them first.
Looking at him, she saw the same level of joy and happiness she knew he could read on her face and she loved the fact that they’d not only found one another again, but that they were exactly what each of them seemed to need.
In her heart, she always knew he was the one for her. Thinking back on some of the things he’d said to her over the last week, she had a feeling it was the same for him.
“Now that we’ve thoroughly made a mess in here, how about we move this to the bedroom? I think I’d like to use the strawberries and chocolate on some very specific parts of you,” he said as he stood, water cascading down his magnificent body.
Sienna could only stare up in awe. He looked like one of those Roman Gods—all hard, chiseled muscles. Swallowing hard, she got on her knees and slowly kissed her way up his body. The sound of his ragged breathing spurring her on. By the time she was standing and pressed up against him, he was incredibly hard and she knew if they weren’t standing in this slippery tub, he’d be taking her right now.
“I feel like we’re going to have to hit pause on this moment just to get out of the tub,” she whispered. “But I promise it will be worth it.”
Taking her hand, Mick stepped out of the tub and reached for a heated towel, wrapping it around her before lifting her out of the tub. He grabbed another for himself and quickly dried off before picking up the champagne and carrying it to the bedroom. Then he came back for the strawberries and dips.
Then he came back for her, lifting her into his arms and carrying her to bed as if she was the most precious thing in the world to him.
And by the look in his eyes, she kind of felt like she was.
They were riding the ferry back from Alcatraz when Sienna asked, “Have you ever had to bail one of your clients out of jail?”
That made him laugh. “Definitely, but fortunately that sort of thing didn’t happen very often. Still...it’s part of the job.”
“What was the worst offense?”
“Mostly drunk and disorderly, but Dylan was involved in a massive accident in Vegas years ago. It was a miracle he got out of it alive. He was drunk and driving recklessly. Hit a car with four guys in it.”
“Oh, my goodness! Did everyone survive?”
He nodded grimly. “Again, it was a miracle. He went into rehab after that and it saved his life.” Looking back, he still remembered how he warred with rage and relief at the time. Dylan was lucky that things went the way they did, but part of Mick still felt a wave of guilt that he hadn’t stepped in and done something sooner.
“It must be hard,” she commented, staring out at the water.
“What?”
“All the responsibility you take on. Most people have a hard time just dealing with their own lives and keeping themselves in check. You do it for a whole list of people.” Turning her head, she looked at him. “It’s got to be emotionally draining.”
They moved to lean on the railings. “You know, while it’s going on, I barely notice it. I just sort of accept that it’s my responsibility. It wasn’t until lately that I realized just how tired I was. Burned out. For so many years, I was just focused on moving forward and keeping things in motion that I didn’t have time to think about myself.”
“You’re lucky. I spent a lot of years with nothing but myself to focus on. Going to college at sixteen wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. I was too young and too hyper-focused on my studies to really relate to any of my roommates or any of the students. I spent a lot of time by myself and I was miserable.”
Damn. Just thinking about it ate him up inside.
“So many times I wanted to beg my parents to come and take me home, but then I realized there was nothing there for me either.” She shrugged. “It just made me study harder and why I ended up getting my degree early.”
Reaching over, he took one of her hands in his. “I’m sorry.”
With a sad smile, she asked, “For what?”
“I feel responsible. You even said that to me not that long ago. You said...”
“Mick, please,” she interrupted. “I know what I said, but that’s on me. Not you. Back then, you never made any promises, so anything I was feeling was completely my own doing. I never meant for you to take any responsibility for it.”
“Still, I can’t help but wonder...”
“Don’t. Please. What good will thinking like that do? We can’t go back and we can’t keep focusing on what might have been.” Pausing, she stared out at the water again. “I think we’ve both done some great things with our lives and we shouldn’t minimize our accomplishments because it meant we missed out on some other things.”
