Page 67 of Worth the Wait

“I don’t...how did—what? You love your job with SWAT.”

“Yeah, but it’s time I have a job where I can have someone I go home to every night without worrying about what might happen. Sure, the police department is still dangerous, but it’s not SWAT.”

“You’re serious,” I say almost as if to make sure I’m hearing him right.

“As a heart attack.” Reznor leans in and kisses me. It’s soft and tender and resonates through every part of me. “Tell me you’re okay with me wanting to come back here. Tell me you want this,” he murmurs against my lips.

“I’ll do even better than that.” I lean forward and kiss him back. “I’ve fallen head over heels for you too, Reznor Mayne. It took you leaving for me to realize it, but there hasn’t been a day since that I haven’t thought about it. About you. About us.”

“Then why didn’t you call me?” He chuckles, and the sound feels so good as it vibrates against my chest.

“I warned you. I’m stubborn.”

He leans back and looks at me, his smile reaching his eyes. “I think I can handle you.”

“You think you can?”

“Sweetheart, I know I can.” His lips slant over mine again and something inside my heart and body clicks back into place.

For the first time they are on the same page.

I want this. I want us.

Our story will not be the typical happily ever after, because that’s for the movies. We will fight. We will fuck. We will laugh and give each other hell. And then we’ll have a helluva time making up. But I doubt our hunger will ever abate, because this easy-going, hard-fighting, good-looking man wants me.

He wants us.

I look at him, and I just know. This is going to work. Because Reznor has made me see that love isn’t about maintaining control. It’s about ceding control because you know that love offers strength. It’s about one being strong when the other needs to be weak. It’s about balancing the other out.

It’s about making it work on our terms.