“Good God, you’re beautiful,” he sighed. “You make me feel so alive, Lindsay, like my life up to this point was just waiting… waiting for you. You know what I want to say, don’t you.”
“I do, and I want to hear you say it,” she whispered, “but only if you truly mean it. I don’t want to hear empty words.”
He positioned himself above her, braced on his forearms, and lowered his head to nuzzle her neck. Then he kissed her with all the tenderness he could muster in the storm of raging need, and against her lips, he whispered, “I love you.”
She curled her arms around him and held him tightly, and a tiny whimper escaped her. He didn’t expect her to say it back, and he and claimed her mouth in a passionate kiss so she couldn’t. He had only his own heart to risk, and so it was easier for him, bu
