Page 108 of Yearning For Her

He wished he could have spoken those words somewhere private, away from prying eyes. Wished that his confession had been preceded by happiness rather than pain and anxiety. But he would never regret telling her that he loved her.

And now that it was out, he would say it again and again, no matter the time, the place, the audience.

“I’m sorry,” she said, voice thick with emotion. “I’m not trying to change you. I don’t want to change you.”

“Ah, my Violet.” Kian smoothed a hand over her hair, holding her a little tighter. “I’ll always be an incubus. That will never change. The only difference is that now, I’m your incubus. I chose this. I chose you.”

She sniffled and gripped fistfuls his shirt. “When I saw you, when I saw her kissing you… All I could think was the worst. That’s all it’s ever been for me, one hurt after another. I couldn’t breathe, Kian. I didn’t want it to be you too. But you were there with her and…and… It hurt so much.”

Her words wrapped around his heart and squeezed, and Kian felt every bit of her anguish, every bit of her pain. He pressed a kiss to her hair. “I will never betray you, Willow.”

Willow drew in a shaky breath. “I love you.”

Kian forced himself to hold still lest he crush her in his embrace, lest he cast off his glamour right here, in front of all these mortals, and take flight with his mate in his arms, lest he kiss her with passion enough to melt them both where they stood. The sound of those three words from her lips eclipsed all the pleasure he’d experienced throughout his entire life.

“I realized it in the club,” she continued, “while we were dancing. And it… God, it scared me, Kian. I fought it all this time, tried to convince myself it wasn’t love. I…I didn’t want to fall for you because I knew if I ever lost you…it’d shatter me.” She shook her head and pulled back to look up at him, her eyes bright. “But it didn’t matter how much I fought it, because I knew I was already in love with you long before tonight.”

He let her emotion flow into him, let it fill him, and even when it overflowed, he took in more. Nothing had ever felt so good. Good and…familiar. He’d felt it from her before, and though he’d not understood what it was at the time, some part of him had been aware.

Astonishingly, despite the power of her love, despite its fullness, Kian’s love for her remained just as strong. His own elation endured, bright as ever. He didn’t know how there was room for him to feel so much, but he would not question it. He would cherish it forever.

“Willow…” Kian withdrew his arms from around her and smoothed her hair back, clearing loose strands from her face. His thumbs wiped away the last of her tears. “There’s a place I want to bring you. A place I’ve never brought anyone else.”

Twenty-Nine

Though the car ride was quiet, Willow found comfort in it. She welcomed the respite from the noise and crowds of the nightclub and the bustling boulevard. She was tired, both physically and emotionally, and it was nice to be away from all that, to sit and rest while being able to hear her own thoughts.

But it was so much more than that.

The silence between her and Kian as he drove was warm, natural, and anything but empty. All the words they’d spoken, all the emotions they’d shared, echoed in the air without being voiced. For this little while, their language was one of touch and sight—his hand on her thigh, firm and possessive yet gentle; glances as meaningful as they were brief; the slight upturn of lips in easy contentment.

Those small gestures communicated everything she and Kian might’ve said to each other.

A soft smile settled on her lips. Willow was in love with a man who loved her back with the same depth and intensity, if not more so.

Her eyes wandered as they drove deeper into Memoree’s heart, drawn by all the lights and increasingly tall buildings. She didn’t come downtown often, especially at night, and couldn’t begin to guess where they were going.

Finally, Kian turned into a parking garage at the base of a towering building. He followed the arrows up, level by level, until they reached an area with larger, reserved parking spaces. He pulled into one directly in front of a bank of elevators.

They exited the car, and he wrapped an arm around Willow’s shoulder, leading her to the lone elevator at the end of the short hall. It was marked Private. He inserted a key beneath the keypad on the wall, turned it, and then punched in a pin. The elevator doors slid open silently, and he and Willow stepped through.

There were only two choices on the interior control panel—Garage and Penthouse. Kian pressed the latter.

The fluttering in Willow’s belly wasn’t just because of the elevator’s upward motion. Was he…was he taking her to his home? Was this really happening?

Her restless fingers toyed with the fabric of her skirt. She pressed her lips together, barely stopping herself from bouncing on her feet.

Kian chuckled. The rich, sultry sound flowed straight to her center. “Excited?”

She looked up at him. “Nervous.”

His expression softened, and the tiniest, most tantalizing frown tugged down his lips. “Why are you nervous?”

“This is your home.”

He hummed thoughtfully. “My residence. A place I spend time. But home…that doesn’t quite fit.”

Willow’s brow furrowed. “Why’s that?”

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