-

green of the jungle. I was on the balcony of my bedroom, looking out over the broad sight of the ocean. The sky was

uld do was t

m H

vowed never to t

second chance in the only way he knew how-with that cocky con

beat. It wasn't that I hadn't expected him-no, I'd spent years rehearsing this moment, fantasizing about it ev

ot what I'

n the

had envisioned him begging me to take him back-if not as a lover, then as

ning way that made my blood boil. He wasn't begging for anything. He was insisting to b

n't let

oul

led me out of my trance

as t

embered: tall, threatening, and still agonizingly gorgeous, like something carved from marble. He w

mth run through me. I did not

ront of him, his jaw locked. I knew he did not come to play games. He had an issue

, his deep voice flat, as

en with quiet, heavy with unspoken words and unre

an I had intended. I wasn't sure I even cared to he

room. His expression was unyielding, but there was something in his eyes-someth

g almost in a whisper. "You challenged me t

around this-no turning back. As much as I wanted to toss him out, I knew better tha

h ivy suffocating the rose bushes, and it's becoming a nuisance. Mateo will familiarize

his mouth. He was trying not to smile. I couldn't identify

ile on his lips. "Guess I'm going

"That's precisely what I want to hear. Humility i

but I could see a flash of amusement in

he could come and go as he pleased, breaking hearts with a mere glance. But something stopped me. I didn't know whether

d him with a small click. For an instant, I was frozen in pla

s a

minor, inconsequential way, would place me right back where I had b

uldn't.

*

uld not resist-it was going outside, having to feel the sun against my skin, needing

ed out into the ya

i

had engulfed the garden. Sweat dripped from his forehead, and the ridges

n't loo

ated how easy it was to imagine having his hands on me again, how clearly I re

aside. It wasn't

s brow and offering me a small, almost she

or a s

he said, his voice surprisingl

omething tight and burning, a combi

k about *him*. "Don't get too cocky," I snapped, even as my heart p

d by something harder, something more intense. "And what do I do when

d, not trusting

ed him. Desired to feel him again. Desired to fee

't. Not afte

the way

g back toward the house in silence. I felt his eye

uld not

this