“Nothing I want from you costs a damn thing,” he murmurs, stalking slowly toward me.
His hands settle on my hips just as I swipe the mascara wand through my lashes, and his lips find the sensitive spot on my neck thatalways makes me melt. I feel the gentle scrape of his teeth against my skin, followed by the warm, velvet stroke of his tongue.
“All I want is you," he murmurs against my throat, his breath dancing across my skin and sending shivers down my spine. “Just you in my bed, wrapped up in nothing but me, letting me hold you through the night while I stay buried inside you until morning. That’s it. That’s all I'll ever want.”
September 12 is his birthday. I remember showing up at the farm with Travis that day as if nothing was wrong, even though, at that point, everything felt like it was. I gave Christian a bottle of bourbon, one I’d picked out and paid for myself while Travis wasn’t looking, choosing the label I knew he’d recognize from some half-forgotten conversation at the bar. But when Christian pulled me in for that hug, my body betrayed me. For those few precious seconds, I let myself drown in him. He was all leather, pine, and raw male heat. Two seconds of heaven before reality yanked me back to earth, reminding me that some cravings can’t ever be fed.
“Hardly special when you can have that whenever you want,” I tease, setting my mascara down and spinning to face him.
I wrap my arms around his neck, loving the way he instinctively pulls me closer like we’ve been doing this forever.
“Why don’t you ask for something you haven’t had yet?” His eyebrows shoot up, and that dangerous smile plays at his lips while his hands slide down to cup my ass.
“Piper, there’s nothing off-limits with me. If there’s something you want… you ask for it.”
“You must have a limit.”
“Don’t think I do. Not with you.”
I drag one finger down his chest, tracing the line of buttons that stand between me and bare skin.
“Okay, so… can I fuck you?”
“You’re gonna have to elaborate, because I’m thinking you don’t mean riding my cock.”
“Well, considering you have no limits…” I lean in just a fraction, letting my lips graze his. “Maybe I could bend you over and have my way with you. What’s it called again? Pegging?”
He growls, hands tightening on my ass. “Alright, smartass, there’s your limit. The only one getting fucked like that is you, so no, you can’t have everything.”
“Well, you know… you haven’t done that to me either.”
“You want me to do that to you?”
“I mean, it’s you, and I trust you. So I’m not completely against the idea.”
His head rolls back, and he lets out this primal sound that makes my toes curl.
“What are you doing to me, woman?”
I smile sweetly, tucking his reaction away in my memory. Because apparently my mountain man has a few fantasies of his own, and I have every intention of pulling them into the light.
I can’t help but laugh as I step out of his embrace and slide my feet into my boots. “You need to be on your best behavior tonight. I know Callan and Violet know what’s going on, but that’s how it needs to stay until you’ve talked to Travis.”
“Then I’ll do it tomorrow,” he says, stepping toward me. “Because I don’t wanna hide this, Piper. I’m ready to shout it from the top of the goddamn mountain.”
Jesus, this man. I could cry just looking at him, at the way he’s standing there, ready to claim us publicly and willing to deal with whatever chaos follows rather than keep hiding what we have.
“How about I head back to Violet’s tomorrow night?” The look he gives me could freeze hell over. “I have to go back sometime. It’ll give me a chance to catch up with my sister and give you time to have that conversation with Travis without me here. Then we can figure everything out from there.”
“Like when you’re moving in?” He says it so casually that my heart does a backflip.
I start laughing, and that unfairly beautiful smile I’ve fallen hard for spreads across his face. I know without a doubt he’d help me carry boxes up his front steps tomorrow if I asked, but we need to breathe. Just be together without rushing headlong into something that deserves time to grow.
“There’s no rush for us,” I say softly, turning back to face the mirror. “We have all the time in the world.”
His arms wind around my waist from behind, and I watch our reflection as he rests his chin on my shoulder, the scrape of his stubble rough against my skin. We fit together like this was always meant to be—like this,us, was always the destination. We just had to take the long way home.
“I’m not getting any younger, Piper.” His fingers trace gentle circles on my stomach as his eyes hold mine. “If there are things you want—if there’s even a small part of you that dreams of something bigger than this—we need to talk about it.” I freeze under his touch, my heart thundering against my ribs. “I’m not trying to scare you, but I need you to know where I stand when it comes to our future. You deserve to know what you’re getting into because now that you’re mine, I’m not letting go. Not ever.”
