In the Likely Event(99)

I was still wholeheartedly in love with him, and this was worth the fight.

“Nate?” I said gently, standing between his bed and the desk.

“Izzy?” I heard the sound of fabric rustling, and he walked out of the bathroom in a towel.

A towel.

A singular, lonely towel wrapped around his lean waist. He hadn’t even dried off. Nope, there were still water droplets sliding down the same lines of his body that I had traced with my tongue. Like that one, right there . . . the one that slipped down his pec, gathering other drops, and then falling into the canyons of his abs before finding its way to the fuck-me lines that carved the deep V—

“Izzy.”

My gaze snapped upward to Nate’s face, and damn if my entire body didn’t flush. “Hi.”

His brows rose. “Hi? It’s—” He glanced at his clock. “Four in the morning and you just popped by to say hi? The girl who sleeps until ten if she can?”

“You’re in a towel.” Was that really the best I could come up with?

“I was in the shower. That’s a natural progression of events. Shower. Towel. Clothes. And how the hell did you even get—” He sighed. “Never mind, I already know who let you in.”

“Don’t be mad.” The ring bit into my palm, but I kept my fist closed.

“I’m not mad. Confused, but not mad.”

“I couldn’t sleep. Not when I know I only have a few hours left with you.” The last bit tumbled out.

His expression went blank. He was retreating behind those mile-high walls where I wouldn’t be able to reach him, and I couldn’t let that happen. Not tonight.

“I thought you were proposing out of shock,” I blurted with as much grace as I’d had the day we met. Good to see we’re growing over here.

“We don’t have to do this.”

“We do.” I closed the distance between us but didn’t reach for him. “I was still reeling from you no-showing Palau, and my parents were there, being all . . . parental for once, and then you showed up, clearly distraught over losing your friend, asking me to choose if you were going to stay in the military or not, and you weren’t . . . you. Your words ran together, your eyes were wild, and you just kept telling me that you needed me to choose what you were supposed to do, despite every argument I threw at you to show that you weren’t acting like yourself. And looking back, I didn’t have my head on straight, either, but Nate, I didn’t think it was real.”

“I got down on one knee,” he whispered.

“Trust me, I remember.” I took that last step and cupped his bearded cheek with my free hand. “All I could think was that this was everything I’d ever wanted, and yet, if I’d said yes, I would have been taking advantage of you at your worst moment. You would have woken up and regretted asking.”

“You chose your parents.”

“I didn’t.” I shook my head. “Sure, I used Dad’s connections to get into Lauren’s office, but it was only to help that legislation that never passed anyway. Serena told you the truth. I didn’t go to DC for my parents. I went for you.”

His brow furrowed slightly, just enough to tell me I was getting through.

I swallowed the fear and forged ahead. “You asked me why I told Jeremy yes.”

He closed his eyes. “I can’t, Izzy. You have me so close to breaking that I can barely look at myself in the mirror, so if you’re about to list my faults—”

“I said yes to him because he was familiar, and comfortable, and I’d already made the biggest mistake of my life by saying no to the right man.”

His eyes flew open.

“And I’ve lived every single day with that regret.” I opened my other palm, revealing the ring. “You may have carried this with you, but I carried you here.” I slid my hand over my heart. “I should have said yes and then held on to you for dear life, damn the consequences, and if I’d known that you were going to disappear minutes later, I would have. I should have said yes. I never stopped loving you, Nate. Not for one second.”

His eyes flared for a second before he grasped the nape of my neck and pulled my mouth to his.

Finally.

The kiss felt like coming home.

His tongue swept past my lips and I melted against him as desire flared to life, spreading through my veins in a rush of fire, waking up every shiver of need that had lain dormant since the last time he’d touched me. How had I lived for nearly four years without his kiss? His arms?

He tasted the same, like spearmint and Nate, and I couldn’t get close enough. When he retreated, I followed, flicking my tongue along the sensitive ridge behind his teeth and reveling in the catch of his breath, the way his grip tightened as he moved us sideways.

I dropped the ring on the nightstand as he sat on the side of his bed, tugging me between his thighs, and then I kissed him like it might be the last time I’d ever feel his mouth on mine. If this was all I had, one more priceless moment where he was mine to kiss, to touch, then I wanted everything.

His hand slid to my ass, and he grabbed hold, pulling me tight against him. Water soaked into the thin material of my tank top as our mouths moved in a rhythm I’d all but forgotten. It was hunger and need and still achingly sweet.

“Say it again,” he demanded against my mouth, his hands sliding beneath the fabric of my pajama pants to cup my bare ass.