She stared up at him. “I knew the minute you showed up at Rory’s place that night, that you were ‘the guy’.”
Stroking strands of tickly hair away from her face, he asked, “The guy for what?”
She rocked into him. “The guy I’m meant to be with. The guy I would fall in love with.”
Sliding his fingers along her scalp, he pressed his brow down to hers. “And are you truly in love with me?”
She hesitated, holding a mischievous silence. “Like you didn’t know. I’ve already told you once and I’ll not make a habit of repeating it.” Her eyes glittered. “I’m in love with you, Marcus McGrath. Tread carefully because you own my heart. All of it.”
He gifted her with a devastatingly sexy grin. Blistering heat simmered behind his eyes. “I wasn’t ready to say it, back then, Lana.” A low chuckle rolled in his chest. “I told Tash that I was in love with you, and I told her to stop showing up.”
Lana grinned like a love drunk fool. Her hands came up to his neck and she fondled the short hair at the back of his head. “I didn’t quite hear you.” She giggled sweetly. “You’re in love with who?”
He kissed the tip of her nose and forcefully jerked her into his body. Feathering kisses down her face, he landed the best one of all on her needy lips.
“I’m crazy in love with you, Lana. Fancy sharing the rest of your life with me?” he mumbled into her mouth. “Move your stuff into my place, in Fermanagh. It’s filled with memories of you already, so there’s no going back there without you.”
Was she ready to move in?
She blinked quickly, running it over and over in her mind. “Marcus, I signed a lease for an apartment in Belfast before I flew out here. I committed to my own place.”
He grinned. There was something lurking behind his playful smile that made her lips curve. “I know you did. Don’t worry about it, I’ll get someone else to rent it.” He shrugged. “Or you can keep it.”
Her heart beat wildly against his chest. “You’re the landlord?” She gulped. “I knew there was something odd about that set up.”
He tilted her head and took her mouth in a long deep kiss. “Yeah, sorry.” His lips lingered unapologetically. “I couldn’t let you shack up in some dirty hovel, even if we weren’t together. I was trying to look after you from a distance.”
She buried her brow in the curve of his shoulder, her grip tightened. She was speechless. He had wanted her all this time.
“Just say yes. Move in with me?” He slid his hands down the slope of her buttocks and cupped them firmly. “I’ll even seal the deal with your very own puppy. I’ve picked one out for you already. She’s called Violet.”
Lana’s heart exploded. Her head lifted and her lips smashed to his. He responded to the scorching kiss, sparking her fearful soul with honesty and truth.
Her body trembled, enjoying the exploration of his greedy hands. She was resigned to the fact that Marcus made her whole again.
Taking a breath, she peeked up under her lashes. “I’ve always wanted a puppy.” Excitement bubbled out with each word.
His emerald green eyes were brighter than she recalled, shaded with a sexy wickedness. “Which are you more excited about - the puppy or moving in with me?” His teeth skimmed the ridge of her jaw and he suckled her earlobe, nipping it as he drew away.
Her head fell into the hollow of his throat, hiding from his seductive spell. “Are you jealous of my new puppy?” A soft giggle bubbled in her throat.
Grasping a clump of hair at her nape, he drew her head back bringing her gaze in line with his serious eyes. Releasing his fingers, he cupped her cheeks.
“I’m jealous of the sunlight that dances in your eyes. I’m jealous of the rain that rolls down your skin. I’m jealous of the clothes that nestle into your sexy fucking body.” He winked, covering her lips in a demanding, deep kiss.
Dizzy and shaky, she broke their heated kiss to contemplate her decision. Her lips parted and her teeth sank down on his lower lip, sucking it into her mouth and releasing it with pop. “I’m nervous about…”
He placed the pad of his forefinger over her mouth, dragging her lip out from under her teeth. “I’m not nervous about this, Lana.” He licked the soft red skin of her jutted lip, sparking a shiver of heat over every inch of her skin.
“I’ve only got a small cardboard box of belongings. It shouldn’t take long to move it.” Her voice wavered.
“That’s it?”
“Yup. My childhood things are in storage with my parent’s furniture. It was a fresh start for them moving to France.”
He hummed into her hair. “The best things come in small packages.”
Rocking into her hip, his hardness nudged the angular bone. “I like big packages,” she purred.
