“Yes. It’s this massive golden mane. Like a lion, but it’s so soft. I love running my fingers through it. Tangling my hands in it...”Okay, Sunday, rein it in.“If you ever cut it, I think I’d cry.”
He reached up and pulled the end of the leather cord holding his hair back. Then he held my gaze, and he shook all that glorious hair free, looking like he belonged in a sexy shampoo commercial.
“Better?”
“Much,” I agreed, leaning forward to take a section in my hand and brush my fingers through it.
“Is it as good as you remember?” His voice was a husky whisper, and I was surprised to find how close our faces were.
I had to swallow before I could speak. “Yes.”
He caught my hand in his and got to his feet, pulling me with him until I was against his chest, looking up at the face I loved with all my soul.
“I’m going to kiss you now.”
My heart flipped over as he trailed the tips of his fingers along my jaw.
“Yes, please.”
My breath caught as he lowered his mouth to mine, the hesitance between us lasting for one fraction of a second before it disappeared and he finally claimed my lips.
It was sweet, sexy, and filled with a passion I knew he was keeping on a tight leash. I could feel it in the way he held me. Like I was something precious, and he didn’t want to scare me off. It was a perfect first kiss, and it promised many others.
“Sunday,” he whispered against my lips.
Everything stopped as he said it. My name sounded wrong coming from him like that, in a sweet, intimate moment. I was his Sunny. Never Sunday.
“What’s wrong?” he asked as I stepped out of his embrace.
I cleared my throat, not meeting his gaze. “Nothing’s wrong.”
“You’re lying to me.” His voice was flat, just a hint of temper giving it a sharp edge.
“No, I’m not.”
He took my chin between his thumb and forefinger and tilted my head up so I was forced to look into his eyes. “Yes, you are. One second you’re melting against me like you can’t bear to be apart. The next, you can’t get far enough away. What did I do?”
“You didn’t do anything.”
The words sounded false even to my ears. Even though they were technically true. But somehow it just didn’t feel right or fair to tell him the thoughts whispering around the back of my mind.
You don’t remember me.
It wasn’t his fault, so how could I hold it against him?
“Why do you want me?” I asked, avoiding the question and turning it back around on him.
His brow furrowed. “What?”
“Why me when you could have anybody?”
“You’re my mate. Destined to be mine.”
“And that’s why I pulled away.”
“I don’t understand.”
I rested my palm on his broad chest, loving the warmth radiating there. “I don’t want you to want me just because you’re supposed to.”
“But I don’t. That’s not how mate bonds work. How could I possibly be interested in anybody else when I’ve just rediscovered the missing part of my soul? I can guarantee you this was how it started the first time too. When you find the one you are meant for, no one else exists. They couldn’t hold a candle to the things I feel when I look at you.”
Alek pressed his hand over mine, where his heart thumped steady and true beneath my palm. If I wasn’t already head over heels in love with this man, his impassioned speech would have done it, but then he went and sealed the deal, ensuring I was an absolute goner.
“I may not remember you, Sunny, but I want to. More than anything. And if that’s not possible, then I want to learn you now.”
With that one utterance of my nickname, he’d just given me everything I wanted without even knowing it. I should have trusted him. He promised me we would find our way back to each other, and I knew he was right.
One way or another, Alek would keep his promise.