Page 206 of The Re-Proposal

Ten years.

Oh, ten years and it’s different.

So different.

And yet the same.

My fingers lift up to his cheek, seeking out more than just his body this time. Seeking his smile. Seeking answers.

He meets me. Holds me. Cradles me like I’m precious glass.

I don’t understand any of it.

My heart pounds painfully. The tears I cried pool on the desk and gather at the base where my spine meets my head.

His eyes collide with mine. Barely human. Brimming with desire.

And yet so afflicted.

He’s a paradox. A swirling tornado of contradictions.

Dragging me to ecstasy while locked in his own personal hell.

He holds me captive.

I do the same.

My legs lock behind him and I pin him to me because, deep down, it feels like he’ll disappear.

“I love you,” he whispers, his forehead against mine.

I’m on the verge of crying. His emotions tear me apart. I feel it like his heart left his chest and climbed behind my ribs, nestling beside mine. I feel it like we’re one freaking person.

He grabs my wrist and rubs the tender skin on the inside before pinning my arms above my head.

“I love you, Ris,” Cody whispers, his voice heated. Angry. Determined. A broody king dragging me to ecstasy, ruining me with every tender sweep of his lips.

“I will always love you. You are everything to me. I breathe for you. I’d die for you. There is no one else on this planet for me.”

He begins to move.

“You’re mine, princess.”

The urgency of his pace quickens.

I groan to the tune of sweet ruin. “Yours.”

His teeth bares as if he needs to hear it as much as he needs this.

“Mine. Never forget that. Even if you don’t understand.”

I hear the possessive note in his voice. Hear the determination. The agony. The pain.

“I won’t.”

“Then hold on, princess.”

I reach up and kiss him as the desk rattles with the passion that explodes between us.

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