Two of Hearts Read online

  I blinked up at him as it all connected. “That’s . . . that’s perfect.”

  “I thought so,” he said, a smile in his eyes.

  “So you’re not leaving?” I said, trying to get used to the foreign idea.

  “Not a chance, angel. I’m staying right here with you.”

  Tears sprang to my eyes and I buried my head in his chest. He gathered up my hair and brushed it away from my shoulders.

  “Baby.” He lifted my chin with his thumb. “Those are happy tears, yeah?”

  My eyes were blurred with emotion and he swiped at the fat drops rolling down my cheeks. “Yes, God yes. I want us to be together. For always.”

  His lips crashed over mine in a bruising and greedy kiss. His tongue probed deep as it rubbed possessively against mine. I whimpered and pulled him flush against me, trying to get as close as humanly possible.

  When he broke the kiss, he said, “I can even sign a six-month lease on an apartment, if we need the time to figure things out between us.”

  I reached up on my tiptoes to give him a peck on the lips. “No.”

  His hands grasped hold of my neck. “No?”

  “I don’t like sleeping without you. I need you here.” I motioned around my condo. “With me.”

  “Then you’ve got me, angel,” he said, grabbing my thighs and lifting me up. “I don’t ever want to leave you again.”

  I wrapped my legs around his waist as he moved to the door. “Where are we going?”

  “I need to be inside you right now,” he said, heading toward the bedroom. “But first I need to taste you and make you whisper my name. Over and over again.”

  “Shane—”

  “I want you to remember exactly who you’ve just asked to stay.”

  Acknowledgments

  To my agent, Sara Megibow—for believing that I could switch genres and/or age categories in my last couple of books and totally rock it. Thank you for everything.

  To my Penguin team—the art department for my amazing covers and the publicity team for your keen ideas and professionalism. To my copy editors, who are like unsung heroes, and my editor, Laura Fazio, whose edits on this book were like a magic elixir. Thanks for all that you do to push me to be a better writer.

  To my family and friends for your constant, unwavering support. I love you.

  To Greg and Evan, for not complaining when I have to disappear to work through a scene or talk to the voices in my head. I don’t want to be in any other place in the world except right next to you, every single night.

  To my beta readers: Thank you for dropping everything to read for me and then giving me crucial feedback.

  To Stina and Kate: I know our writer lives have become much more hectic, but you continue to be my sounding board. Thank you.

  To the book bloggers and reviewers out there—there are too many of you to list here. Please just know I appreciate all that you do for the simple love of books. Because when it comes down to it, all of us are readers first and foremost.

  Last, to the readers: Thank you for taking a chance on my books and reaching out to talk to me about them. For an author, there may be no better feeling.

  Photo by Elaine M. Johnson

  Christina Lee lives in the Midwest with her husband and son—her two favorite guys. She’s addicted to lip gloss and salted caramel everything. She believes in true love and kissing, so writing romance novels has become a dream job. She also owns her own jewelry business, where she hand-stamps meaningful words or letters onto silver for her customers. She loves to hear from her readers.

  CONNECT ONLINE

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