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I pressed my lips together. “I’ll have to think about it. What does all of this have to do with Sean?”

“It has to do with Sean, and all of the clan’s businesses,” Stephan said. “I’m trying to get our clan untangled from all our illegal dealings.”

That shocked me. The clan’s dealings were lucrative, and when we’d met, Stephan had made it clear that was the way his life was and would always be. “For us?”

“I started the transition before you returned to Lakeview,” he said. “As soon as I got out of prison, I decided to legitimize all of our businesses. It’s tough, and it’s slow-going, but it’s working. We’ve invested in a lot of businesses around Lakeview. The clan and our allies need us to succeed. A lot of people are counting on us. Onme. I can’t risk getting locked up again. And now that you and Dylan are here… It shows I’m making the right decisions. I won’t leave Dylan a legacy built on blood and lies. I want you to know that.”

My throat tightened suddenly, and I looked down at the floor. It was too hard to meet Stephan’s eyes when he was watching me so intently and speaking in that voice that sounded so much like a rumble of thunder.

“Thank you,” I said. “But it sounds like Sean won’t make things easy.”

“He hasn’t been.”

“I need you to know that Dylan’s safety comes first. Before everything else. If there’s any danger, I’m taking him back to Atlanta.” I couldn’t let myself be relieved that Stephan was leaving the criminal life behind. I didn’t want to have hope for something that wasn’t a sure thing—I didn’t want to set myself up for more heartbreaking disappointment. Especially not when the transition was so difficult that he had to have a safe room and panic buttons throughout his house.

“I understand.”

I cocked an eyebrow. “You do?”

“I don’t expect anything less,” Stephan said with a small smile. “Like I said, I never wanted you to be a part of my world. It’s why I wouldn’t claim you.”

The wordclaimsent a bolt of heat down my spine. I remembered that day by the lake, when he’d kissed my neck and told me it was where a mark would go. The same place I’d seen a bite on Blakely, when she’d ruined everything with her lies.

The gold flecks in Stephan’s eyes gleamed as his gaze lingered on my neck. I wondered if he was remembering the same thing.

“I know you’re here for Dylan,” he continued, “but you’re still my fated mate, Harley. The years haven’t changed that.”

Fatedmate. He’d told me that all those years ago, but I hadn’t realized what it meant. Now, I still wondered. What was it like on his end? Was it the source of the magnetic pull between us?

I picked up my glass and took another sip of the wine instead of responding.

Stephan slid closer to me on the couch. He gently took the glass from my hand, robbing me of my defense mechanism.

Fuck.

“Do you still feel it?” he asked in that low voice that made my insides knot together.

I did. I felt it at that moment—the heat down my spine, the tension crackling between us.

“We’re—we’re different people now,” I stammered. “I was young then. Naïve. I’m not that girl anymore.”

“I noticed.” He took a sip of the wine, and my heart thumped at the sight of his lips on the glass right where mine had been. He set it aside. His hand fell to my knee, and his fingertips danced on the bare skin of my thigh. “Somehow, you’ve only gotten more beautiful.”

“Stephan…” I couldn’t think. I could hardly breathe with him this close.

“I’m not in a hurry,” he growled. “I want to get to know this version of you, too. I want us to take our time.”

Slowly. He always did things slowly. My eyes fluttered closed as his hand flattened onto my thigh. The touch was so, so warm, and my whole body seemed to spark to life in a way it hadn’t in years.

He leaned closer. My lips parted. I could feel him surrounding me, heat and desire radiating off his body. All I’d have to do was lean forward, and then I’d finally taste those lips again…

“Dad!”

I jerked backward.

“Dad!” In the hallway, Dylan’s bedroom door slammed open.

Stephan leapt to his feet, nearly knocking the wine glass over. The gold melted from his eyes like a storm clearing. He smiled at me, half-teasing, and let his eyes roam briefly over my body before he hurried to the door and flung it open. “What is it, kiddo?”