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“I bet he is Genetics like yours don’t just pop up out of nowhere, and you’re definitely the type of e”

“Guess you’ll have to stick around to see if your theory proves true”

She licked her lips, detecting the faint aftertaste of mint but unable to recall when she’d brushed her teeth “I’ it”

“Anything I can do to help sway the decision in my favor?”

“That depends; is it in your favor to spend the rest of your life with or without me?”

His eyes darkened “Definitely inabout, Rachel? Forever?”

While she’d never found the Aine Harvard sounding any other way That ru she’d never grow tired of listening to

“Why don’t you have a pet na Dian Buffy And Joe calls Julia baby”

His smile was so potently sexy that she was sure she could beco at it “You want me to call you baby?”

“Do I look like a child?”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought” He turned serious “You don’t have a pet naiven name is a term of endearment Can’t you hear what I feel for you every ti you how much you mean to me every time your name passes my lips”

Her heart swelled at the words, and she stilled For the first ti as she could remember, her heart didn’t feel constrained The chains had been re her so intently He’d broken each and every link with his slow, systematic persistence

Rachel no longer wanted the distance between them, but when she threw back the covers, she was mildly surprised “I’m naked,” she said as the air hit her skin

“Mmm, so you are”

His eyes caressed her as she walked the short distance between them Once there, she cli her hands on his chest His skin was soft and smooth, his muscle firm and warm, his scent familiar—the ocean on a summer’s day