Page 110 of Lush

Reese chuckled, completely blocking my view of the club. “Laurie, you’ve never behaved a day in your life.”

I stiffened at the sound of my old nickname.

“You called me Laurie,” I whispered, almost unsure if I had heard him right.

Reese blushed slightly. He quickly rolled his eyes, dismissing it. “Habit.”

“You’re not the type to slip into old habits after a month.”

He smirked, but his eyes held something real. “You’re special, princess.”

“So, you’re babysitting me?”

“Keeping you safe.” His tone had shifted. “You deserved a night off, a real one. But I wasn’t gonna sit back and hope nothing happened.”

“Dance with me,” I heard myself say.

Reese’s brows furrowed, like he wasn’t sure he’d heard me right.

“Remember when we used to sneak into those clubs in LA?” Those nights had been ours—reckless, intoxicating, free. I wanted that again. “Dance with me, Reese.”

His jaw tightened. I thought he might turn away, leave me standing there, wanting.

His hand, warm and strong, slipped into mine. He silently pulled me onto the dance floor. When he turned to face me, his other hand brushed the small of my back, pulling me toward him.

“Laurie,” he murmured, his voice rough, the words like a caress against my ear, barely audible over the pulsing beat of the music.

I shivered, tilting my head back, letting the feel of him consume me. “Don’t,” I whispered, my lips barely brushing his. “Don’t say anything. Just…dance.”

His hand slid from my back to the base of my neck, histhumb grazing my skin, sending a shiver down my spine. My hips rolled with the beat, slow and deliberate, and I saw his eyes drop, the heat in his gaze making my insides tighten.

I arched my back slightly, letting the rhythm take over, turning, so he was flush against my back. His breath was warm and unsteady against the back of my neck, his hands settling on my hips, steadying me. I let my hips wind, my body undulating to the music, and my head fell back, hair brushing against his jaw. His fingers dug into my hips, syncing with every movement, pulling me closer, tighter.

“Why do you do this to me?” he finally said, his voice a ragged whisper against my ear.

I swallowed hard, my fingers tightening on his shoulders. “Do what?”

“Make me want something I can’t have.”

I took a shaky breath, eyes closed. I had been running from this—him—for so long. From the promise he made, our plan, our families, from the fear of what it meant to give myself fully only to lose him, to surrender completely. But here, with his arms around me and his heart on the line, I realized I decided.

“You already have me, Reese. You always have.”

I gently detangled myself from him and turned to him.

“I love you too,” I finally said, the words trembling on my lips.

In saying them, something shifted. Something inside me broke open, and I was both terrified andalive.

For a moment, he was still, his hands frozen on my back, his breath hitching in his throat as if the words had stolen the air from his lungs. I felt his heart pounding like crazy against my own. His voice, when it came, was hoarse, almost unrecognizable. “Laurene…”

“I love you.”

Everything inside me shifted, unraveling the tightly wound knot of fear and regret. My heart hammered in my chest, but thistime, it wasn’t fear. It was the pure, exhilarating freedom of finally letting go.

There was nothing but this raw, aching connection between us, and I knew I couldn’t walk away from this. Not anymore. Not ever again.

“I thought you’d never say it again,” he murmured, his lips brushing against mine as if he needed to taste the words, to make sure they were real. And then, without a word, he reached for me, pulling me into his chest, crushing me against him like he never wanted to let go. His lips, fierce and desperate, crashed against mine.

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