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And nothing had changed in all these years. I still wanted him desperately.

But I couldn’t let him see how much I wanted him. He thought he could tell me he wanted me back in high school, and it wouldn’t rock me to my core? Oh no, it would not be that easy. I took all the hurt I’d been holding onto and rebelled. Gritting my teeth, I let him have it. “What, you think you can just storm back into town, storm back into my life and make my decisions for me? Or...or declare that you’ve always had feelings for me. That I’m what...your freaking person? I’ll make my own choices, thank you very much.”

Addy snorted, and Ross...well, I noticed that a flicker of surprise, quickly followed by amusement, now filled his gorgeous dark brown eyes as he fought to keep a straight face and failed. Yeah, maybe I was being a tad dramatic, so sue me. I wasn’t going to just fall in line with his every order.

“What are you grinning at?” I demanded.

“Whether you believe me or not is up to you, but the way you’re acting right now is exactly why I know you’re the woman for me. Always have been, always will be. Everyone else has paled in comparison.”

My jaw hit the floor. He’d just said that in front of his cousin.

“You think I’ve just been sitting here waiting for your ass to come sweep me away. You have some ego, Ross London.”

“You’re right. I’m sorry. I don’t think we should do this right now, but I’ll be back after I get Addy safely home. If you’re still here, you can let me have it.”

“Oh, don’t mind me. I’m fine and not looking forward to going out in the cold just now.” Addy’s word barely registered.

A warm flush crept up my neck as my words sank in. And the fact that I wasn’t facing off with the boy who I once let affect my confidence, but the full-grown man who’d promised me things I’d always wanted.

I hated it.

Hated him.

No, that wasn’t right.

I’d stopped hating him a long time ago. Conflicted was a better way to describe my feelings about Ross. Somehow, I needed to get through this with my dignity intact.

“I’d like to talk things through, okay?” Ross guided Addy outside and closed the door with a soft click.

Now alone in the quiet kitchen, I was forced to deal with my outburst. The storm continued to rage outside, but it was no match for what I was dealing with on the inside. In less than four, or was it five days, my life had gone from a well-planned, if boring, future to the chaotic hope of having Ross back in my life in the way I’d dreamed of for years.

And I had no idea what to do with the possibility of becoming what I’d always wanted to be: his.

CHAPTER 9

ROSS

“You haven’t changed, have you?” I’d caught her mid-bend, her curvy ass on full display.

Hannah stood up and turned to face me. The Christmas tree she’d dragged out on her own was forgotten. “Not really. More wrinkles and a few more pounds since you last saw me. But I’m still pretty much the same.”

She cleared her throat and then crossed her arms around herself. “I’m sorry. I overreacted earlier.”

“No need to apologize. That’s my thing, remember?”

Nodding, she released a sigh, and thankfully let her arms and her shoulders drop. My gaze landed on her full breasts, her nipples pressed against the thin blouse she wore. My mouth watered at the thought of tasting her flesh, of just forgetting all my promises to myself not to grab her and never let her go.

“Your return really threw me off. I never thought you’d be back. Never thought I’d have to...you know...deal with all these feelings.” Raw need filled her gaze, filling me with triumph. But taking her on the floor of the great room where we could be interrupted was not on my agenda.

How could I prove to her that everything I felt was real, more than simply sexual? I knew how I wanted to show her. Being balls-deep inside her, making her come until she screamed my name, proving to us both that our connection was real. But she needed the words first.

“Yeah. Same. But it’s not like we’re strangers. We just happen to have some history to work out and some years apart to get reacquainted. But not here. Let’s get you bundled up, and we’ll trek over to Kane’s place. He and Chassie are gone till the day before Christmas. You’re staying with me tonight. I mean...sorry. I’m not ordering. I’m asking you. Stay with me? I’ll make us dinner. And we can...talk.” Fearing that if I moved, she’d say no. It took everything within me not to go caveman and do what I really wanted to do: pick her up and carry her through the snow, inside the cabin, and right to my bed.

“Before I agree, I need to know something. How did you decide now was the time to come back? I mean, I could have turned into some swamp hag married with seven kids, or maybe I’d taken off years ago for Paris to pursue my art?”

“Swamp hag?” I barked out a laugh. “Oh, Hannah, that imagination of yours! It’s always been one of the things that I admired about you.”

“Why now?” Her whispered plea, the uncertainty in her tone, made my heart jump. And it almost did me in. Hannah’s raw emotion did what no words could do. It reassured me like nothing else could: she wanted me just as much as I wanted her.