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I work my wrist faster, I sling my hipsharder—moving inside her like nothing else matters, because at this moment, I’m not sure that it does. Right now, nothing could be more important than the way she looks beneath me, the way she feels around me,the way she’s woven herself into every part of my head and my heart. Right now…she’s everything. I think she always will be.

She lets out a quiet sound when she comes, and I feel every tremor of it pass through her, her tight heat cinching around me, practically forcing me to follow. Every pulse inside only prolongs the pleasure, and by the time we’re both still, I feel boneless, hardly able to keep from collapsing on top of her.

I give in to the urge eventually, and Dani lets out a softoomph.

“You’re smothering me,” she says breathlessly.

“Mm. It’s way too soon in our relationship for you to start making those sorts of accusations.”

“Are you always going to be this impossible?”

I roll, stretching out beside her and flashing her a grin as I pull her into my side. “Absolutely.”

“That checks out.”

“You love it.”

I feel her lips curving against my skin. “I guess I do.”

“Fuck, I love you too. I’m going to say that a million times before I’m done. You realize that, right?”

“It’s better than ‘baby.’ ”

“You love it when I call you that. Admit it, Sour Patch.”

“God,” she groans. “That one’s even worse.”

I kiss her hair, feeling lighter and happier than I’ve ever been. Like every moment in my life has been leading to this exact one.

“I’m going to have to confront Alexander,” I tell her after a stretch of contented silence.

She nods against my side. “I know.”

“Will you come with me?”

She tilts her face up, wriggling higher until she can brush her lips against my cheek. “Of course I will.”

And strangely, knowing that means I don’t feel any uncertainty about whatever the outcome may be. I know that as long as she’s with me, everything will work out. I bring my fingers to her chin, tilting it up higher so I can claim her mouth. It’s soft and sweet and unlike anything about the wild ride we took to get here, but I wouldn’t change a single minute of it. I wouldn’t trade this prickly, obstinate woman whose hard-earned smiles light up my life for anything.

And the best part is…I’ll never have to.

Thirty-Two

Ezra

I really hadhoped I would never have to come back here again, but strangely, this is the first time that walking through the front doors of Alexander’s house—because it’s his, I realize, it’s never been a home to me—doesn’t fill me with dread. No, this time, that same peace that I’ve felt since Dani came back to me and handed me all the missing pieces sticks to my bones, leaving me feeling calmer than I’ve ever been inside these walls.

I know he’s here; I never thought that I would ever in my life be calling Eli for help, but our conversation this morning about Alexander’s whereabouts, while stilted, left me feeling oddly…hopeful. Like maybe one day we might actually be something to each other.

I catalog the sparkling interior and the fine furniture as I move through the house, adamant that this will be the last time I ever have to look at any of it. That if today goes as planned—which I have full faith it will—I can walk back out those front doors and never think about this place ever again. The thought is freeing.

There’s a light shining under Alexander’s office door, tellingme he’s inside, and I hesitate outside it for a few seconds, collecting my thoughts and preparing myself for the inevitable onslaught that I’ll be facing when I step inside. I remind myself that I have the power now. That he’s just a man. That he can never hurt me or anyone I love ever again.

I don’t bother knocking, partly because I know that annoys him, turning the handle and pushing the door open without any warning and stepping inside the massive room to find Alexander sitting behind his desk, shooting me a glare when I enter. His nose is bandaged, his eyes black with bruises from the punch I landed, and it takes all I have not to smile at the sight, feeling an immense satisfaction at seeing him look so weakened.

“You’ve got a lot of nerve showing up here,” he says darkly.

I do smile then, closing the door behind me. I clasp my hands behind my back casually, strolling over to the massive built-ins and studying the rows upon rows of law books and ledgers lining the shelves as if I can’t even be bothered to give him my full attention. I pluck a random volume from the shelf, eyeing it, turning it over in my hands just to fill him with even more anger by not immediately responding.