“Not at all.” Shaking her head, she shrugged. “I love Nashville. I love all four seasons, and this place is my home. I haven’t been back for any real length of time since I left, and being here made me realize how much I miss it.”

“Yeah, I’ve missed it too. I don’t like it down in Florida either.”

“Really? I thought you would.”

“No, I want to play for the Assassins, the team I grew up dreaming of playing for. I want to live here and have a house and make a life. If I were to get traded down the road, that would be fine, I guess. But first, I want to play for my dream team.”

“You’re doing that, Markus. All I hear when I’m around the team is how much you’ve impressed. You’re living your dreams.”

“Finally,” he laughed, shaking his head. “I hadn’t realized how fucked up I was from everything that happened until I saw you.”

“Me?”

“Yeah,” he said, looking down. “Seeing you made me realize why I hated my life so much. It wasn’t because I was playing for the Ninjas or living in Florida, it was because I hadn’t accepted that someone hurt me. That someone broke my heart and took away my happiness. I remember, at first, all I wanted was to apologize to you, get closure, and let you move on. I wanted you to be happy with someone who deserved you. I knew a good man would never fuck up the way I had. But the more I saw you, the more I looked into your eyes, the more I re-memorized everything about you, I wanted to be the good man who deserved you. And that’s when I knew I had to get closure from her, so I could be honest with you and tell you everything. And then maybe, just maybe, I could try to be happy again. With you.”

Reaching out, he laced his fingers with hers as his thumb moved along the back of her hand. His eyes searched hers as her heart pounded in her chest, and all she could do was draw in big breaths as she fought back the tears. She had wanted to hear those words from his mouth for so long. So much so that she almost asked him to say them again, just so she could keep them forever. He was a good man; she knew that. Hell, everyone knew that. But they were two good people who were put in a shitty situation because of someone who was hell-bent on having company in her misery-filled life.

Mekena would not be a part of that.

“I called Avery before I jumped in the shower,” she said, looking up at him, and he grinned.

“Of course you did. Can she stop hating me now?”

Mekena laughed as she nodded. “Yeah, but that’s not my point. I told her I slept with you, because she’s my best friend, and she asked me if this was it. If we never went any further, would I be okay with it? Would I be okay with losing my virginity to you? I said yes, but the thing is, Markus, I don’t want this to be it. I don’t want to walk away with this being our last hurrah or whatever you wanna call it. I don’t know what you want from this, but—”

Before she could finish, his mouth was on hers, his arms tightening around her as he held her close to him, their bodies molding together. Melting into his arms, she held on to him as he kissed her, his mouth, his tongue moving sensually with hers. There was a time when she’d lived for his kisses, when they were what she looked forward to. And what a thing to look forward to. As his hand came up her back, threading through her hair, she squeezed her eyes shut, knowing she would never love anyone the way she loved him.

Pulling back, way too soon, he held his mouth a breath away as he whispered, “My intentions are pretty straightforward.”

“They are?”

He nodded, his lips curving ever so slightly. “I want all of it. All of you. I have no clue how, and I sure as hell don’t know what the future holds, but I want to figure it out, Mekena. With you. Only you.”

Swallowing hard, she nodded her head, her nose moving against his as his beautiful caramel eyes bored into hers. As her hands came up, cupping his face, she loved the contrast of his dark skin against her pale. The way his face fit perfectly in her hands, how his eyes fell shut a tiny bit as she moved her thumbs along his thick bottom lip. Chills ran up her spine as he held her gaze, his eyes containing so much love and admiration for only her. He hadn’t said the words to her, but she knew he loved her. He always had, as she did him. She almost said the words—almost—but then she didn’t want to put it all out there for her assumptions to be completely wrong.

Call her a coward, but she wanted him to say it first. Because of her chicken ass, she leaned her nose into his, her fingers biting into his skin as she nodded.

“I want the same thing.”

“Good,” he said as an exhale, and she grinned as their gazes stayed locked. “Mekena.”

“Markus?” she asked, but then she was overtaken by one hell of a yawn. Her eyes closed and her mouth opened as she yawned loudly, before she crumpled in laughter. “Oh my goodness, I’m sorry. I’m worn out.”

He smiled, cuddling her tighter to his chest. “Let’s go to bed.”

She eyed him, fighting back another yawn. “Together?”

“Together.”

Moving as one, they shut off the lights and headed into Mekena’s room. She was on cloud nine, in pure bliss, but she still worried what the future held. But that fear went away as she pulled back the covers and looked around the room as he entered the bed. She was wearing a big tee, and she wasn’t sure if she should take it off. Did he want to have sex again? Should she offer? Would taking off her shirt be offering? Did she want to have sex again? In a way, yes. But she couldn’t help thinking about how sore she was. Also, she wasn’t sure if she could even handle him inside of her. It all seemed like an awesome idea in theory. Have sex all night, be wild and crazy, but he was hung like a horse and she was aching!

She didn’t know what to do.

As she reached for the bottom of her shirt, still unsure what to do, she was met with his laughter. His eyes were playful. “Babe, we can just go to bed.”

“So you don’t want sex?”

“Oh, I do, but I don’t want you hurting tomorrow.”

“True,” she said with a nod, getting into bed and pulling the covers up. “So tomorrow, I’m all about rounds two and three.”

He groaned. “You’re so mean.”

“What?” she asked, her eyes widening. What had she done?

“Now I have to go all day tomorrow, through all the pre-wedding crap, with one thing on my mind and probably a semi. I’ll have a hard-on for you, Mekena, all day, while you just flutter around taking pictures.”