Page 51 of Dirty Desires

His crooked smile had me smiling right back. “I love you too.” His lips pressed against the top of my head. “More than I knew was possible.”

My heart skipped a beat.Does that mean he loves me more than he loved Natalia?

I didn’t dare ask. But I did wonder if that’s what he meant.

Cuddling up to his side, I whispered, “I feel more for you than I’ve ever felt for anyone.”

His hand cupped my chin as he placed his lips on mine. The touch was so gentle that it made my body all fluttery. My stomach filled with butterflies. My head went light.

He made a long, deep sigh as he pulled back. “This is going to be a piece of cake.”

I wasn’t sure what he meant. “What is?”

“Loving you.” His eyes sparkled as he looked into mine. “I’ve fought this for what seems like forever. I was so afraid that transitioning from friends to lovers would be awkward at best. But nothing we do feels awkward. It all feels so natural. Like we’ve been doing this for a very long time.”

The way he was looking into my eyes had me thinking he wanted to tell me more, but he wasn’t sure how to word it. So I took a guess, hoping he’d be more willing to share if he wasn’t the one to bring it up. “It feels different with me, doesn’t it?”

He nodded. “It does.”

Since he hadn’t balked at that, I went a bit further. “It feels more natural, huh?”

“It does.” His hand moved up my arm then his fingertips grazed my jawline. “I have no doubts about you, Nina. Now that I’ve let go, I’m all in. I’ve never been all in before. Not the way I am with you.”

My heart raced with the knowledge that I wouldn’t be living in a dead girl’s shadow. I had his heart, and that was all that mattered to me, because he had my heart too.