“I can start there.”

“Mmm. I’m going to get all . . . slippery and . . . slick and . . . That’s not my back.”

He slid his soapy hands over her butt. “It’s behind you, so it counts.” Bending his head, he skimmed his teeth over her shoulder. “You’ve got the most incredible body. Have I mentioned that before?”

“Maybe once or twice, but I don’t mind redundancy under certain circumstances.” She dipped her head back as his hands sleeked up her torso, slithered over her br**sts. “Such as that.”

“Then I’ll risk repeating myself.” He turned her around. “I love you.” He laid his lips on hers. “I’m so in love with you.”

With a sound of pleasure and joy, she hooked her arms around his neck, poured herself into him.

Water sluiced over them, and the steam billowed up. Flesh slid over flesh, and soapy hands glided to tease and arouse. Lips rubbed and nibbled, then began to hunger.

Her heart was so full she wondered it didn’t burst like light and rock the room. “It’s different.” She kissed his mouth, his throat, his mouth. “It’s different now, knowing you love me.” She fisted her hands in his hair to draw him back an inch. “It’s different now, when I can tell you I love you.”

“Then it’s always going to be different, because I’m never going to stop.”

Their mouths met again.

It was different. Every touch, every taste, every need was gilded with a sense of belonging. Water showered over them as he anchored her, as he slipped inside her. The beauty of it brought her a thousand sweet aches.

Hers now, he was hers now. And she was his.

She held tight, and matched him beat for beat.

Emotions swamped him, sensations drowned him, and all he could see was her. The dark eyes, the sleek hair, the strong mouth, and water streaming down her face like tears. She held him, body and heart. And, he realized, she always had.

He felt her tremble, heard her breath shudder and catch, then her eyes went beautiful and opaque as she came.

As she tightened around him, he pressed his mouth to hers again, and gave himself to her.

After, a long time after, they simply stood holding each other.

“This is good, Jordan. This is really good.”

“Yeah.”

“Even though the water’s getting cold. I feel all lazy and sleepy. I wish we could slide into bed instead of getting dressed and going over to Flynn’s.”

“If you’re too tired to go—”

“That’s not it. I just want to lie around in bed with you.”

He drew her back. “I can’t argue with that either.

“But we’re going to get dressed and go over to Flynn’s because lying around in bed would be wrong.” She kissed him lightly. “Jesus, the water is getting cold.”

He reached behind her and switched it off. “We can go over, then leave early and come back and lie around in bed.”

“Good plan.” She stepped out of the shower, grabbed a towel. “So, what’s this mysterious mission you went on today?” She wrapped her hair in the towel, grabbed a second one.

He held out a hand, thinking it was for him, but she started drying her legs with it. He shook his head, got yet another towel for himself.

“We’ll talk about it later.”

“What’s wrong with now?”

“Because we’re in the bathroom, naked. It’s just not the right place for it.”

“That’s silly. We’ve had naked conversations before. In fact, we’ve had some very interesting naked conversations. Where did you go, and why did you need Brad and Flynn along? Because I know they went with you. I have ways of getting that sort of information.”

She grabbed a bottle of body cream and poured some into her hand.

“I’ll tell you later. You’ll appreciate the fact that we get into this in a more appropriate setting.”

“See, now you’re making me crazy.” She slathered on cream. “Which forces me to grill you. You were gone for hours. Where did you go? What did you do?”

“We went to a titty bar and drank cheap booze while women with fascinating man-made br**sts slid around on long, shiny poles.”

“You think that’ll irritate me and I’ll leave you alone, but you’re wrong.” She took the towel off her head and finger-combed her hair. “Personally, I don’t have a problem with guys going to strip clubs and making jackasses of themselves. So you might as well tell me the truth.”

“Fine. Here and now, then.” He picked up his pants, dug the jeweler’s box out of the pocket. He held it out to her, flipped up the lid with his thumb.

“Oh, my Jesus Christ,” she said and sat down heavily on the lid of the toilet.

“Yeah, that’s romance. You like it or what?”

She had to swallow. “Depends.”

“On what?” He scowled, turned the box around to study the ring. It looked great, he decided, but there was never any certainty with women. “I figured you’d like this better than the standard diamond. But if you’d rather go that route, I can exchange it.”

She shivered, but she didn’t feel cold. Not in the least. “Then that would be an engagement ring you’ve got there.”

“What the hell do you think it is? Would you stand up? This is just a little too bizarre.”

“Sorry.” She got to her feet. “I wasn’t sure what it meant.”

“It means marry me, Dana.” He had to push his dripping hair back. “It means I love you, and I want to spend my life with you. I want to make children with you, and grow old with you.”

She’d thought her heart was full, but it hadn’t been. There was still room, so much room for him. “Oh, well, that clears things up nicely. It’s a beautiful ring. It’s the most beautiful ring I’ve ever seen. You were only wrong about one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“I don’t mind the time and place, Jordan.” She looked up at him now with a brilliant smile. “I don’t mind it at all. In fact, if you would put that on my finger, I’d like it to be the only thing I’m wearing for the next few minutes.” Holding out her hand, she took one quick, catchy breath. “I’d really love to wear that ring. I’d love to marry you, and all the rest of it, too.”