Page 378 of The Black Trilogy

“Yes,” I replied quietly, so quietly I wasn’t sure at first if he’d even heard.

But he must have because before I could repeat it, he hauled me up and slammed his mouth onto mine.

Holy hotness. I’d barely had time to process the fact that he was kissing me when he licked along the seam of my lips, softly at first then harder until I yielded. He tangled his hands in my hair, holding me against him as the kiss turned serious.

I’d been dreaming about that mouth for years, and it didn’t disappoint.

“Told you I needed you, Diamond. I wasn’t kidding.”

And I needed him.

Make my dreams come true, Mr. Black.

Hours later, Black lay in bed beside me, peppering gentle kisses across my cheeks.

“Diamond, you have no idea how long I’ve been waiting to do that.”

“Enlighten me.”

His lips flickered, and he hesitated. Why did he suddenly look nervous?

“Remember the day when a crowd of Jimmy’s finest wanted to lynch me? And you stepped between us?”

I closed my eyes and groaned. “How could I forget?”

“Well, since then.”

My eyes sprang open again. “That was the day after we met!”

“Yeah, I know. I didn’t like you so much on day one.” He rubbed his nose, reminding me once more how I’d broken it.

Oops.

Black rolled to the side, propping himself up on one elbow, and ran one finger from my collarbone to my belly button. Once my shudder had subsided, I properly took in what he’d just said.

“Hang on, you mean…that long… What?”

“There were two reasons I wanted you to come back to Virginia with me. One because you were perfect for Blackwood. The other was because I just…wanted you.”

All that time? I was speechless, and that took some doing.

He dipped his head and kissed me, and a glow spread through my insides, warming me from my fingertips to my toes.

“But why didn’t you say something?”

“Jimmy was right. At first, you were too young, even when I thought you were eighteen. Then, as we got older, and I got to understand you better, I knew you weren’t ready.”

“But when you kissed me, when we danced in that bar, the next morning you said it was a mistake.”

“I lied.”

“But why? I came back to tell you I wanted to make a go of things. Why did you tell me you were drunk and you hadn’t meant it?”

“You still weren’t ready.”

“But...”

Black silenced me with another kiss, sweeter this time, and I melted into him. Time went all screwy, and my lips tingled when he pulled back.

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