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“Here.” I pulled back just enough to meet her eyes. “With me.”

The words hung between us—too honest, too raw. Something shifted in her expression—surprise melting into something softer, more dangerous.

“Three days ago, you kissed me and ran,” she said quietly. “You can't do this now. Can't act like you want me.”

“I do want you.” The admission escaped before I could stop it. “That's the problem.”

Her breath caught. Then the music swelled, and I swept her back into the dance. Her resistance melted degree by degree until she was following my lead without thinking. Her body responding to mine in ways that had nothing to do with the waltz.

“You're infuriating,” she whispered.

“So are you.”

“And you're going to make this so much harder than it needs to be, aren't you?”

“Probably.”

I let myself smile—a real smile, not the calculated mask I usually wore.

“But then, you've never made anything easy for me.”

“Good.” Her lips curved slightly. “I wouldn't want you getting bored.”

“With you, Lily?” I pulled her closer as the music began its final crescendo. “Never.”

The waltz ended, but I didn't release her. Couldn't quite make myself let go.

“August. What are we doing?”

“I don't know.” The admission left me exposed. “But I know I'm not letting anyone else dance with you tonight.”

“Possessive.”

“Absolutely.”

Something flickered in her eyes that looked almost like satisfaction.

“Then I suppose,” she said slowly, “you'd better not let me go.”

So I didn't.

CHAPTER 32

LILY

Iswallowed, suddenly hyper-aware of every place we touched—the heat of his palm against my back, the way my hand rested against the solid breadth of his shoulder, the tension coiling between us like a thread pulled too tight.

He leaned in slightly, close enough that I could feel the whisper of his breath against my temple. “Tell me, did you enjoy making me watch?”

Heat crept up my neck. “I don't know what you mean.”

“Don't you?” His thumb traced a slow circle against my back.

“Dancing with him. Smiling at him. All while knowing exactly where my attention was.”

Damn him for being right.

“Maybe I was simply enjoying a pleasant dance with a polite partner.”