“Bullshit. But maybe first you want me to track down that fucker you’re sleeping with—the one who you’re fine to let ‘see other people’? I could throw my weight around a little. He’d probably leave you alone just so he doesn’t have to deal with me.” I drag my nose along her cheek until my mouth is at her ear. “Then you wouldn’t have to tell him that you don’t want him. You wouldn’t ever have to admit that even after all these years, even after all the shit fate threw at us and all the mistakes I made, you still want me more than you’ll ever want him.”

She swallows, and when she draws in a breath, I think she’s going to deny it. But she doesn’t say a word. Her only response is sliding a hand up to cup the back of my neck. Fuck yes.

“I’m not going to do that for you.” It takes every drop of my will to force myself to step back. “I want you to talk to me. I want you to scream at me for every shitty decision I ever made. Then I want you to kiss me and tell me I get another chance. I want you to break it off with that douchebag completely and be with me, but I’m not going to do it for you.” I take another step toward the door. “You’re going to have to make the choice yourself.”

My hand’s on the knob when she says, “East. Stop.”

I turn back to her, just like she knew I would, and she’s right there. She pushes me against the door with flat palms to my chest. Then she has a hand in my hair and is tugging my mouth down to hers. And the taste of her . . . Fuck. She’s better than I remembered, and as soon as those lips part under mine, I’m all in—kissing her with more intensity than I’ve ever kissed anyone.

Our mouths are eager, desperate, nipping and stroking. This isn’t making love with our mouths. If there’s a kissing equivalent to fucking, this is it. Her hands tangle and tug in my hair and she presses herself against me like she’s trying to mold us together permanently.

But I’m too damn tall and I need her closer. I grip her behind her thighs and hoist her up. I spin to press her against the door, and she hooks her feet behind my back, locking us into place, right where we match. She rocks into me, and Christ. So good. Her body. Her hands. Her mouth. Everything. All over.

I know what she’s saying. It didn’t end for her either. She feels something when I’m close. Despite my mistakes, she’s never stopped wanting me.