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Her breath hitched, but she shook her head. “I can’t make this decision right now. I need time.”

Time. The one thing we never had enough of. The one thing that had always been running out.

“Please,” I whispered, my voice unsteady. “Don’t leave me, Sunshine.”

That broke the last tether she had to all restraint.

The tears weren’t just falling; they were an endless cascade running down her pink cheeks. She was crumbling, her hands sliding from my hair to my face, pulling me up, silently asking me to stand.

I obeyed—because I would never deny Eleanor anything.

When I reached my full height, she rose on her toes, pressed her lips to mine, and kissed me. Soft. Slow. Like a promise.

I sank into it, into her, into this feeling I could never escape. And I didn’t want to.

Because loving Eleanor was the one thing I’d always do.

Chapter 42

Eleanor

I HELD ONTO Colton like he might slip through my fingers, like he could fade at any moment. In a way, he would because when this night was over, he’d be gone forever.

My fingers tangled in his hair, gripping the strands as I crashed my lips against his, desperate to take as much of him as I could. His mouth met mine with the same hunger, his tongue exploring, creating a taste that was uniquely ours and one I already knew I’d crave long after we were over.

We moved together, heat blending, bodies molding into a blur of us. It wasn’t just my body that ached for him, it was deeper than that. My heart, my mind, my very soul wanted to memorize every inch of him. I needed to capture this moment, to tuck it away for the nights when loneliness would settle in like a shadow, and nothing or no one could fill the void like he did.

Colton lifted me with ease, his hands gripping my ass as he brought me against him. My legs wrapped around his waist, and he carried me a few steps before tossing me onto the bed. The mattress dipped beneath me, the bedding cocooning my body as I landed with a soft thud. A breath of air rushed from my lips, and before I could recover, he was watching me—his gaze dark, intense, unreadable—which made gathering my composure impossible.

For a single beat, we were still.

My chest rose and fell with uneven breaths, my hair fanned out around me.

Colton exhaled slowly, his eyes trailing over me as if he were committing me to memory.

“You are so fucking beautiful,” he muttered, voice rough, reverent.

A shiver rippled through me as he crawled onto the bed, his movements deliberate, purposeful. I shifted back to make space.

I already knew this time was different. It wasn’t just heat, just lust. It was something softer and deeper. A slow burn that came with knowing this was the last time we’d ever touch, ever breathe the same air.

I was in love with Colton Stone…and tonight was my last chance to show him.

He hovered over me, one hand planted on either side of my head, his body warm and solid above mine. I reached for him, tracing the sharp lines of his jaw, the silver streaks in his dark hair, the sun-kissed marks on his skin, and then there were his eyes—blue and endless, staring at me like I was something worth remembering.

“I’ll never forget you,” I whispered. The confession was an homage to the day in his office when he’d told me not to. I couldn’t answer him then, but I could now.

His lips twitched, the faintest ghost of a smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes.

He leaned down, brushing his mouth against mine in a kiss that was slow, aching with unspoken words woven between each breath. One of his hands skimmed down my side, tracing the curve of my waist as his touch lingered.

I arched into him, my body reacting in a silent plea for more. He answered with a touch so gentle, so careful, it set me on fire. Colton’s rough hands slipped beneath my shirt, gliding over my heated skin, igniting every nerve in their wake.

I reached for him, fingers curling around the back of his neck as I pulled him closer, wanting all of him.

In one swift motion, I rolled us over, shifting until I was straddling his waist. His breath hitched, his hands instinctively finding my hips as I pressed my palms to his chest, feeling the steady rhythm of his heartbeat beneath my fingertips.

With each glance at him, I noticed more.