Page 123 of Shallow

“Does this mean you’re not going through with thesurgery?”

She inches closer, a ghost of a smile on her lips. “No. I kind of like me the way Iam.”

“And the agency is okay withthis?”

“Nope. They ripped up mycontract.”

Something doesn’t make sense. If the agency ripped up her contract, she should be upset. Why the hell is she acting like she didn’t get a call back for a cashier job atWalmart?

“What’s going on, Shiloh? What are yousaying?”

I watch her hand as she lays her palm flat against my heart. I have to fight to control my body’s response, because even though the scalding water burned my skin, it’s nothing compared to the heat from hertouch.

“Before I left, you told me that I had it all wrong. About who I was, and where I belonged, and that someday I’d realizethat.”

My mother’s words come back tome.

If you love something let it go. If it comes back to you, it’s yours. If it doesn’t, it never was, and it’s not meant tobe.

My heart pounds. “Yeah.”

“I didn’t need to wait for someday. Cary, I realized it the minute I stepped off that airplane. We all fuck up. We all hurt the ones we love. Big deal. The thing is, not everyone is given a second chance, but if we are, then we’ve got to be some kind of assholes to just throw it all away, right?” She blinks up at me, her face completely serious as if she hasn’t just spouted the most amazing shit I’ve ever heard in mylife.

“Shiloh West, did you just admit that you loveme?”

She smirks, her eyes roaming down my body. “Well, considering I just flew cross country on very little sleep, caught a cab straight here, and am now standing next to a naked man with a semi-hard cock inside a locker room that’s hotter than Satan’s ball sack, then yeah. I guess Idid.”

I glance down and raise an eyebrow. “You call that semi-hard?”

“Seriously? That’s what you pick out of this wholething?”

She squeals as I grab her around the waist and pull her under the spray. The water drenches her hair and dress, causing it to suction against her body even more. Reaching for the knob, a thought enters my mind as I turn it to a normal temperaturesetting.

“What about the transfer?” I ask, brushing her wet hair away from her face. “Didn’t you already arrange to have your community service redirected to Los AngelesCounty?”

Shiloh lifts onto her toes and wraps her arms around my neck. “I was on a two-week furlough, remember? I spent the time wrapping up loose ends in California. There’s nothing tying me to the West Coast anymore, Cary. I’m all yours.” Her voice catches. “If you still wantme.”

“Are you kidding me?” I growl, jerking her against me so tight she groans. “This is where you belong.Mine.” Running my hand through her hair, I repeat the words I haven’t said to her in seven years. “I love you,Shy.”

She brushes her hand across my cheek. “I love youtoo.”

After she says the words I’ve waited ten years to hear, I can’t wait any longer. Two weeks without the taste of her lips has driven me insane. Pulling her to me, I crash my mouth against hers. Our tongues tangle in kisses that get harder and more forceful. I want her so fucking bad, but I won’t push her. Not thistime.

Groaning, I trail my lips down her throat and kiss the indention at the base of her neck. I can feel the vibration of her chuckle against my mouth as she slides her hands down myribcage.

“You realize where we are, don’tyou?”

“Hmmm?”

“Look around you,” she says, dipping her hand inward toward my hip. “Come on…sayit.”

Once I stop licking her neck, and take in our surroundings, I immediately know what she means. I can feel a devious smile spread across my face as I say thewords.

“If you’re gonna be in here, Starshine, you’re gonna benaked.”

Gathering the bottom of her dress in her hands, she pulls it up and over her head, tossing it across the room. “I thought you’d neverask.”

Epilogue