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She pulled back, lifted her face to his, and then before she could think about it, she slid her hands behind his head, pulled him down toward her, and kissed him.

FIFTEEN

Kissing Falcon was moreamazing than Bella had ever dreamed, and at one time, she’d dreamed about it a lot.

His mouth was intoxicating, his lips softer than she would have imagined. He responded to the kiss instantly, sliding his hand to the nape of her neck, his touch so gentle and tender that she knew she could slide out of his grasp with barely a whisper of movement.

The realization of how free she was to walk away made her lean in closer to him.

He looped his other arm around her back, drawing her against him, so their torsos were touching. Pure heat from his skin melted through her clothes, and energy rippled through her, sparking down her spine to her belly.

God, she wanted more. He was intoxicating, delicious, and everything she’d ever wanted. This man, this amazing man holding onto her as if she was a delicate flower he was protecting, had always been the one she’d wanted.

Falcon.

Falcon.

Falcon.

She didn’t even know his last name. Why didn’t she know his last name? She pulled back. “How do I not know your last name? After all these years?”

He blinked, clearly trying to recalibrate himself after the sudden question. “I don’t have a last name. Just Falcon.”

“You don’t have a last name? Really?”

He nodded. “You took the name Hart. I didn’t want to belong to anyone. So I just dropped my birth name, chose a name for myself, and that was it.”

I didn’t want to belong to anyone.The words hit deep in her soul. She knew the gut-wrenching loneliness of having absolutely no one, before she’d found Brody and the others. And Falcon had kept them all at a distance over the years. Alone on his quest for vengeance, born when he was just a little boy.

She touched his face. “Falcon,” she said softly. “I’m sorry.”

He pressed a kiss to her palm. “For what?”

“For all your nights of loneliness.”

He stared at her for a long moment, then inclined his head. “I never slowed down long enough to feel lonely. My quest kept me company every minute of every day.” He shrugged.

“And now that it’s over?”

He inclined his head. “It’s fine.”

It wasn’t fine. She could feel it. “How about we go grab lunch? My treat.”

He looked like he was going to say something, but then he simply nodded. “All right.” He slung his arm over her shoulder and tucked her against his side in a move that was utterly casual, and at the same time, so protective that it sent heat roaring through her body.

For so long, Falcon had been a fantasy.

Then he’d been a familiar figure who drifted into sight from time to time.

But she realized he’d never been a real human being to her. She’d never seen him as a complex man with a past, a present, and a future that he was trying to unravel.

For the first time in her life, Falcon was real, truly real.

And that made everything so much more complicated, in so many ways.

SIXTEEN

Falcon leaned back,his arm over the deck railing, watching everyone in the restaurant, on the beach, and milling around on the sidewalk and parking lot.