her legs around the backs of his knees. ‘Tell me about last night.’
‘I couldn’t take the shot.’
‘Because you’re not a murderer,’ she said firmly.
‘I wasn’t sure any more. Was starting to forget who I was until I met you...’ A corner of his mouth lifted to form another wry smile. ‘It was part of the reason I told myself I couldn’t sleep with you. Believe me when I say it had squat to do with not wanting you.’ As if to prove the point his hand moved, the tip of his thumb grazing the lace on the underside of her breast while his eyes darkened. ‘I got hooked with dance moves—wanted to take you hard and fast in the hall that night. There isn’t a single inch of your body I don’t want to kiss.’ When his smile changed the returning hint of predator sent a sizzle of heat through her veins. ‘You’re gonna be spending a lot of time naked.’
Miranda blinked, consumed by the hunger in his eyes. ‘You’re wounded...’
The protest sounded unconvincing, even to her.
‘I’m not that wounded,’ he replied with conviction. ‘Where you are right now works for me—or you on top, that would work, too... I’ve had a mental image of that one for a while now.’
Not that it had ever taken much but in a heartbeat her body was ready for him, the squirming movement she made on the counter creating a knowing gleam in his eyes.
‘And now you’re picturing it, aren’t you?’
‘I have a lot of those mental images,’ she confessed. ‘But before we start swapping them, I should warn you being the husband of a politician’s daughter won’t be easy.’
‘If we get married?’ he repeated in a lower, rougher, unbelievably seductive voice.
‘You haven’t proposed yet,’ she pointed out as she ran her fingertips over the short hair at the back of his neck. ‘What I’m saying is we’ve got time for you to ease into it. Knowing my father, he’ll run for governor in a few years and when he does we’ll be asked to stand onstage with him to show our support.’
‘You’ll still do that?’
‘Not full time.’
‘Gonna have to vote for him, aren’t I?’ Tyler asked as he focused his intense gaze on her mouth and leaned closer.
The tip of her tongue flicked over her lips. ‘I won’t tell if you don’t. I’m Team Tyler all the way.’
‘No, you’re not. We’re Team Us.’ He stilled and leaned back to look into her eyes. ‘At least we would be if you’d ever get around to saying you love me back.’
She fluttered her eyelashes in response. ‘You hadn’t figured it out already?’
When he raised his hand from her hip the grimace of pain was impossible to hide.
‘What are you doing?’
‘I’m moving into position to kiss it out of you. It’s just not gonna be with this hand.’
‘When’s the last time you took pain meds?’
Lowering his bad arm, he freed the hand beneath her sweater so he could push aside damp tendrils of hair and wrap long fingers around the nape of her neck. ‘Kissing you will take my mind off it.’
Before he turned her brain to mush Miranda framed his face in her hands and looked deep into his eyes so he could hear her loud and clear. ‘Of course I love you. How could I not? I believe in you more than I’ve ever believed in anyone. I may have questioned why but it never felt wrong. The only thing that did was fighting how I felt.’
Something endearingly close to relief crossed his eyes before they darkened to the colour of stormy seas. ‘That guy you talked about finding when you have your freedom—the one who’ll spend time with you because he wants to and not because he’s paid to do it? It’s me.’
The depth of emotion he projected with his eyes combined with the strength of conviction in his deep voice removed any lingering doubt she had left about being enough for him. He wouldn’t love her that much, want her that badly or bare his soul to someone he considered unworthy.
‘It feels like I belong here,’ she said in a voice thick with the same depth of emotion. ‘There’s something about you that makes me want to hold on and never let go. When I thought this was over—’
‘We’re just getting started,’ he argued. ‘You can make me angrier than any woman I’ve ever known but I’d still rather fight with you than make love with anyone else.’
‘Ooh...that was good...’ She