But . . .
“Seth?” she asked, stopping him as he started to lean down, clearly about to devour her.
“What?” he asked.
“Is that . . . is that the only reason you’re here? Because of the news story? Because you realized I’d be worried and that it might affect my testimony?”
Her shaky questions echoed in her ears. She saw his face go hard. Shit. Why hadn’t she waited until later to ask him those volatile questions?
“I was on my way to see you even before the story hit. I needed to talk to you. In person.”
Her skin roughened. “You were coming to see me?” she whispered.
He nodded. He pulled her closer against him ever so slightly. His body stirred, and hers flickered with pleasure in answer.
“What . . . what were you going to say?”
“I hadn’t really decided exactly,” he said. “I was supposed to have the drive across the country to come up with something.”
She placed both her hands palm down on his powerful chest.
“I never got a chance to tell you I’m sorry for leaving the way I did, aside from the fact that I ended up breaching security by calling Jim.” She swallowed thickly to clear her congested throat. “I couldn’t face the idea of telling you good-bye in an airport. It sounded cliché and just . . . too painful.”
He opened his hand along her cheek and jaw. She leaned into him instinctively.
“After you left, it gave me time to think,” he said gruffly. “Then my niece, Joy, and Everett Hughes showed up.” He saw her surprised glance. “Katie told them I was in dire straits, apparently. Long story. Point is, once Joy got there, she made me realize something. You were right. It’s not enough just to fall in love with someone in order for you to reevaluate your beliefs.”
Tears flooded her eyes.
“No, Gia, you don’t understand,” he said, touching his forehead to hers. “Sometimes, in extremely rare cases, you compromise and you take risks and you make it work all because of one person.”
“What?” she asked tremulously.
“You’re the exception to my rule,” he said quietly. “Once you were gone from that house in the woods, I realized I was willing to bend any number of rules to be with you. Every single one, if need be.”
She stared up at him, amazed. It was surreal. She couldn’t believe this was happening.
“I’ll bend, when necessary. I want to accommodate you into my life. I want to fit into your world. I want to do that for you. I’m willing to try, if you are.”
“Oh God, I am,” she said fervently. “When we were in Illinois, I made it sound like I wouldn’t budge about anything in my career or my ambitions, but I get now that it’s not a black-or-white situation. I can bend too. I can make exceptions and everyday choices that take into account what’s important to me. If I sacrifice some things in my career, it’ll be because I want to, not because I feel like I have to because you want it. I want to be who I am . . . not just be some opposite caricature of my mother.”
“I don’t have all the answers right this second,” Seth said. “But I love you. And I’m willing to work things out one day at a time. One hour at a time, if need be. One minute.”
A smile flickered across his
hard, handsome mouth. His hands moved to her bent arms. His smile faded. “Jesus. You’re shaking,” he said, eyebrows slanting. “Are you okay?”
She nodded, laughing. “I’ve never been better. Trust me. I’m shaking in relief. And happiness. I didn’t want to lose you,” she said desperately.
“You’re not going to lose me.” She squeaked in surprise when he put his hands on her waist and pulled her higher against him, her feet leaving the floor. He lifted her until their faces aligned, and then he pressed her to him even tighter. “You’re not going to be able to get rid of me,” he growled before his mouth covered hers.
His kiss was everything she remembered. More. It was fierce, possessive, demanding. Sweet.
So sweet.
She was drowning in the feeling of his penetrating heat. It took her a moment to realize he’d set her feet down on the floor again and was undressing her. His actions were forceful and hasty. He unbuttoned the sheer blouse she wore and peeled it off her shoulders without breaking their kiss. Gia lifted his T-shirt, running her hands over his taut, rigid belly, absorbing the heat from his skin. She ran a nail over one of his ribs and he groaned deep in her mouth, breaking their kiss roughly.
“This is going to have to be a fast and furious one,” he said through a clenched jaw as he whipped her tank top over her head. “I’ll make it up to you later.”