"Don't be ridiculous." He moved off the bed and stood in front of her before she could leave the room. "We're together. I want you in my bed, in my house, and with me when I'm not working."
She laughed because what he wanted could never happen. "I have to work. I have my own house. We are just getting to know each other."
"You'll go to the shelter during the day, but let your employees work at night. The rest of the time, you're here." He framed her face with his hands. "You agreed."
"No, you changed the rules," she whispered. "You said nothing about where I'd be staying or how I would fit in working while seeing you. I own a shelter that opens every night. I'm responsible for the lives of other people. You have no idea—"
"I do." His thumb covered her lips. "I'm being considerate. You're allowed to work. But you're in my bed tonight. I'm not done with you yet."
"Wh-what's that mean?" she said.
His gaze softened. "You have no clue, but you will."
His hand tugged at her hair, and she leaned into him. She could agree with the last part and spend a few nights with him. Greg and Vic had new employees helping them at the shelter.
"Tomorrow, I'll have someone move whatever you want from your house to my house, so you're more comfortable here," he said.
She jolted. "You can't—"
He captured her mouth, swallowing her refusal. Her push against him faded when he stuck his tongue in her mouth. She closed her eyes. God, he could kiss.
Tomorrow, after he finished with her tonight, she'd tell him what she wanted out of their new relationship. He wasn't the only one who could make demands.
Chapter Eleven
An hour after daybreak, Serge stood at the window looking out into his backyard. Instead of seeing Hangman creek rolling through the rear quarter section of his property, the birds singing in the trees dotting the bank, and the sunlight greeting the day, he kept thinking back to how Aubrey held on to him through the night.
He'd woken up three times and had sex with her. At first, he believed his insatiable need for her was because she slept half on top of him, but it was more than that. It was simply because she was there and holding him.
When he'd slipped out of bed earlier, she'd whimpered in her sleep and reached for him.
He liked seeing her need for him when she had her guard down. She contradicted herself when fully awake.
More than anything, he wanted to get inside her head. From the outside, she appeared calm, cool, and collected. Typically, he avoided professional women because they had lost the ability to rely on their emotions. Every aspect of their lives revolved around business. They had no desire to feel, and although he could teach them how, their minds were closed off to anything beyond ten-minute sex.
Yet, Aubrey showed him more in the short time they had spent together than most women had in his lifetime. The second look she cast his way when answering his questions suggested she wasn't sure if she had said the right thing to please him. He wasn't even certain if she realized how often she touched him.
