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I follow her quickly, unable to hold back, the groan that releases from me coming from somewhere primal, that place deep within that asserts this is the woman I’m destined to be with. The one I’ve been waiting for without ever realizing it.

I pour myself into her, limbs shaking, kissing her with abandon, unable to stop. She wraps her arms around my shoulders in a tight embrace, her actions speaking louder than words could right now.

I drop next to her on the bed after a moment, smoothing her hair back from her face, her temples damp as I place a gentle kiss there, and breathe in her sweet scent. Everything is finally coming together, everything right in my world.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow,” she whispers, almost reluctantly.

“I don’t either.”

“There might be backlash, especially from your dad.”

“There might,” I agree.

She leans back to look at me. “Aren’t you concerned?”

I gather her close again, not ready to give up the feel of her just yet. “I’ll deal with it when the time comes, but right now I’m too happy to care.”

She bites at her bottom lip, looking pleased. “You’re happy?”

“Fucking ecstatic.”

“Because you don’t have to marry Serena?”

“Because I have you,” I clarify.

Her face breaks out into a wide grin, snuggling further into me, her presence a balm to my soul.

As long as I have her, I can handle all the rest.

I wake slowly,a soft body draped over my left side. I instinctively pull it closer, running my hand down a bare back, the feel of it tempting, inviting.

A distinctly feminine noise of displeasure sounds directly in my ear and my eyes pop open, the events of last night rushing back to me.

Mackenzie showing up at my apartment, finally coming together in an overdue frenzy. Later in the night taking her again, the two of us desperate for one another, though we have all the time in the world now.

She shifts next to me, burrowing further under the covers, and I watch her unobserved for a few moments before her eyes flutter open, hazy with sleep.

“Was it a dream?” she asks, her voice scratchy before she clears her throat.

“No.” I lean over and kiss her softly, running my hands over her nude body, unable to help myself. “What do you have planned for today?”

“Um, work,” she says, rolling over and pulling the sheet up to cover her breasts.

“Can I persuade you to play hooky and stay here in bed all day with me?” I pull down the covers, reaching up to fondle her chest.

She lets out a soft groan as I caress her, her toes curling against my lower leg underneath the sheets. “Haven’t you had enough of me?”

“I’ll never have enough,” I whisper, nibbling now at her neck.

Her breath catches, tone more serious as she says, “I was half afraid you wouldn’t be interested today.”

I stop what I’m doing, taken aback. “What?”

“You know,” she shrugs, glancing away a little too nonchalantly. “The thrill of the chase is over. You got what you want.”

She won’t meet my gaze, so I tip her chin up till she’s forced to look me in the eye. “I want so much more with you. Anything you’ll give me. And you’ll forever be worth the wait.”

The last of the sleepiness clears from her eyes, unabashed pleasure on her face as she leans in to kiss me.