My eyes snapped open. “What?”

“I love you, Briana,” he said, his eyes so soft and expressive they tore at my heart. “I didn't realize just how much until I thought I'd lost you forever.”

He'd been carefully chipping away at my defenses since he started explaining why he acted like such an ass. I wanted to forgive him. Truthfully, I wanted to throw my arms around him and beg him never to leave me again. But it had been a long damn night, and things were taking a little longer than usual to sink in.

“You love me.” I repeated the words not as a question, but as a statement. More to myself than to him.

“I do,” he said. “Past, present, and future.”

It was that statement that finally managed to break through. He knew about my past, and he loved me anyway.

“I love you too.” I leaned into him and brushed my lips across his. “I love you too.”

A deep growl rumbled in his chest, and he pulled me to him. I kissed him eagerly, each touch of his lips against mine chasing away the darkness, the pain, replacing it with the certain knowledge that I was loved.

He loved me.

Dorian loved me.

And I was free to love him back. He knew all my secrets, all the deep, dark monsters lurking in my basement. It had all been exposed to him without a single measure of finesse, and he accepted me anyway. He wanted me, just as I was.

The realization warmed me to the core, and I climbed onto his lap, needing him inside me, claiming me. My mouth devoured his as his hands roamed over every inch of me. I was basically in my pajamas and wasn't wearing a bra, but the sound he made as his hands moved over my breasts told me he approved.

“Can we go to your room?” he asked, breathing heavily. “I don't want the first time I meet Mikala to be when I'm inside of you.”

I laughed quietly. I'd forgotten how exposed we were out here. In the wake of his proclamation, I'd forgotten nearly everything else. I nodded and climbed off him, stretching out a hand, which he took.

“I should actually go check to make sure she’s okay,” I whispered. “If she heard what happened with Elroy tonight, she might be upset.”

Dorian nodded in understanding. “Do you want me to come with you?”

I shook my head. “Not tonight.” I smiled and squeezed his hand. “You can meet her in the morning, if you’d like.”

A wide smile broke out on Dorian’s face, and he pulled me against his chest, pressing a kiss to the top of my head.

“I’d like that,” he said into my hair. “I’d like that a lot.”

After a moment, I excused myself and headed down the hall to my daughter’s closed door. The light was off, and when I put my ear against it, I couldn’t hear any movement, but I cracked open the door to make sure.

“Mommy?” she whispered in the darkness.

I slipped into the room and closed the door behind me, navigating through the minefield of toys in the dark. “Hey, sweetie.”

She shifted in bed, and as my eyes adjusted, I could see she’d sat up. “Is Daddy gone?”

I sat down next to her and pulled her into my lap, enjoying being able to cradle her still. She’d be too big one day and wouldn’t have time to cuddle with her mommy anymore. But for now, she folded herself against me and rested her head on my chest.

“Daddy's gone, honey. I'm sorry if we scared you.”

Her little hand wrapped around my arm and squeezed. “Why was he here? Didn't he want to see me? And why was he so angry?”

I winced, choosing my words carefully. “He's going through some stuff right now. All that matters is that we're okay, baby. And things are going to get better from here.”

“I don't want to see him anymore if he's going to yell at you. Do I have to?”

If a string was attached to my heart, then Mikala was pulling on it. I didn't want her to see him anymore either. I'd never wanted him to have visitation rights, but he always had my past to hang over my head. Now, though, with Dorian's help, I could finally cut ties with Elroy once and for all.

“I'm going to see what I can do,” I promised. “But remember that he'd never hurt you. He loves you.”

She shook her head. “I don't think he does. But that's okay.” She snuggled in closer. “I've got you and Tiffany. You're all I need.”

“You're too wise for a six-year-old,” I said.

“So they tell me.”

I laughed and squeezed her tighter, my eyes stinging with tears. It broke my heart to hear her talk like this. No girl Mikala's age should have to deal with this kind of thing. She didn't understand her role as Elroy's bargaining chip against me, but she knew enough to have an awareness of his lack of affection toward her.

“Who else is here?” Mikala asked, pulling my attention away from Elroy.

“My friend Dorian. You'll get to meet him in the morning.”

“Good.” She smiled sleepily up at me and yawned. “I'm gonna go to sleep now.”

I chuckled. “Okay, honey. I love you.” I kissed her forehead and settled her back in the bed.

“I love you too.”

Once I was out of her room, I leaned against the door and closed my eyes. The emotional weight of the day was starting to pull on my shoulders.

The air shifted in front of me, and a pair of warm hands wrapped around my upper arms, smoothed down them and then back up to my shoulders.

“How is she?” Dorian asked softly.

I opened my eyes and was nearly blown over by the tenderness in his gaze. He loved me.

“She's okay. Though sometimes I wonder if she's a little girl at all or just a wise wizard masquerading as one.”

He smiled and leaned down to peck my lips. “She's her mother's daughter.”

It hit me suddenly. Until this very moment, I'd always shied away from the idea of Mikala growing up to be like me. I'd made so many mistakes in my life that I was terrified she'd end up repeating them through some sort of genetic twist of fate.

But now I was starting to think that things were turning around in my life. That I'd started doing the right thing, making the right choices. And maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to have her grow up like her mom.

“Let's go to bed,” I said to Dorian.

He grabbed my hand and smiled.

If I'd known that Dorian would be showing up at my door with heartfelt apologies and a declaration of love, I probably would have tidied my room. I tried to discreetly kick away the little piles of laundry on my floor as we stepped inside, but he didn't even notice. His eyes were on me and only me.

“Sorry about the mess,” I said lamely, looking away.

He reached out and pulled my chin back around to face him. “I wouldn't care if we were in a cave in the middle of Siberia, as long as we were together.”

I laughed nervously. “I think you were supposed to say ‘It's not even that bad,’ or something along those lines.”

He made a show of taking a look around and shrugged when he returned his gaze to me. “I don't think it would be good to start our relationship with a lie.”

My mouth dropped open, and I smacked his arm. “Jerk.”

“Yet you fell in love with me,” he said with an impish smile. “What does that say about you?”

I laughed and pushed him back on the bed, shaking my head with a bemused smile. “What am I getting myself into?”

“Darling, you have no idea.”

In an instant, he rose up and spun us, pushing me back on the mattress where he'd been only seconds before. I squealed in delight. He crushed his lips against mine and silenced me.

Our kiss was a tantalizing mix of slow and deep. His tongue stroked mine and dipped into my mouth, exploring me. Claiming me for good. He wedged his knee between my legs and ground it against me, making me moan. The heat of our teasing turned into something more sensual, filling my core with molten lava. I fumbled with the buttons of his shirt, aching to feel his bare skin against mine. He leaned back just enough to allow me to strip him.

I’d nearly forgotten how good his taut, muscular chest felt under my fingers. I explored freely, arching up against his leg as he continued to rub me through my thin pants. His hands pulled at the bottom of my t-shirt, and as soon as the air tickled my bare skin, his palms covered my breasts.

“I’ve missed you,” he whispered hoarsely.

“I missed you too.” I arched as he pinched one of my nipples, the latter half of my sentence coming out as a moan.

He inched back from the bed just long enough to strip off his pants and underwear. My mouth watered at the sight of his hard, jutting length. I would have clenched my thighs together to help ease the ache, but his leg was already there.

“You’re so goddamn beautiful.” He leaned over me, nipping my lip before trailing his mouth down to my breasts. One of his hands supported him on the bed, the other started tugging on my pajama bottoms. He pulled them to my ankles, where I kicked them off clumsily.

Just as Dorian’s teeth clamped down on one of my nipples, he slid two fingers into my throbbing pussy. I moaned, then pulled a pillow to my face and bit it. I didn’t want to wake Mikala. This would be a little harder to explain than Elroy’s visit.

He moved to the other breast while he continued exploring my slick folds, using his thumb against my clit even as his fingers worked inside me. He continued inching his body downward, eventually latching his mouth onto my sensitive clit, and it was all I could do not to scream.

He worked his expert tongue with precision, swirling and licking until I shook with the need to release. My skin tingled everywhere, like he was somehow all around me and inside me, filling every cell in my body. I wrapped my thighs around his shoulders and arched up, seeking an end to the sweetest torture I’d ever known. He hummed and worked faster, giving me exactly what I needed to crest that rise. I fisted the sheets and bit down hard on the pillow as pleasure washed over me. I felt so weightless and limp that I thought I might drift away from the bed. I pictured Dorian having to pull me down from the ceiling and giggled as my climax began to ebb.

“What is it?” He was climbing up the bed, pressing tender kisses along my flesh.

“Oh nothing,” I said. “Just thinking about you.”

“Good.” He reached my mouth and kissed me softly. “I want to be the only one you ever think about again.”

“Keep giving me orgasms like that, and I’ll consider it.”

He chuckled. “I’ll do my best.”

His knees edged mine open, and the tip of his cock found my entrance, stretching me. I kissed him to smother my moan. He pressed in the rest of the way until there wasn’t even a breath of space between us. I was safe and full and happy. It was everything I ever wanted.

He was everything I ever wanted.

And then he lifted his hips and pushed in again, this time harder. I wrapped my legs around him and urged him deeper, already feeling the light tingle of another orgasm on the horizon. More. I needed more.

His thrusts were slow but powerful, building tension in my belly until I thought I would burst. The pleasure coiled tightly as our world became two writhing bodies, sloppy kisses, and rasping breath. We were on fire, but not a blazing inferno. No, we were simmering, smoldering embers – white-hot at the core and made to last.

The rest of the world ceased to exist. As my core burned with my approaching release, I rocked against him, riding his body as surely as he rode mine. He groaned as I began to spasm around his cock, cursing softly as he thrust harder. Faster. He drove into me with such intensity that I peaked again, this time moaning loudly enough that he clamped his hand down on my mouth.

He pressed his face against the crook of my neck, muffling his own cries as with a last, shuddering thrust, he came, heavy breaths hot against my skin. I turned my head and kissed him, clutching him to me as our breathing slowed. We stayed like that for a little while, holding each other in silence. Our sweat-slicked bodies fit together perfectly, the same way we fit together perfectly.

When Dorian rolled away, it was only to get us into a more comfortable position. He pulled me against his chest and kissed my forehead. I could feel the smile on his lips, and I knew he wasn't planning on going anywhere. At least not tonight.

“So what happens now?” I asked. I hated to ruin the mood, but now that the sexual tension between us had been satisfied, I needed at least one big question answered. “When do you have to go back to New York?”

His fingertips stroked my arm absentmindedly. “I don’t.”

I looked up at him in alarm. His mouth was still tilted in a contented smile.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“I don’t have to go back to New York. I’m going to move my part of the business here.” His smile widened. “Or you could move to New York with me. Or we could go anywhere in the world.” He wrapped his arms around me and squeezed. “It doesn’t matter. Just as long as I’m with you.”

I let the weight of his words sink in. “You would really rearrange your whole life for me?”

I’d never had anyone put me first. For anything. Ever. I could feel the tears pricking at my eyes.

“Silly, beautiful girl,” he murmured. “It’s not my life, it’s our life.” His breath whispered across my cheek as he brought his lips to my ear. “And it’s not for you.” A pleasurable shiver ran down my neck. “Although I would bring the moon down from the sky to make you smile, it still wouldn’t be for you. Everything I do, from now until forever, is for us, and that us includes your daughter.”

Us.

I liked that.

And when he met my precious little girl the next morning, Mikala liked it too.