Without another word, his face dipped to meet hers, his warm lips claiming a kiss that was slow, hot, and full of dark desire.
His tongue played with hers, coaxing, demanding, and in that moment, she wanted nothing more than to surrender everything to him.
When he finally pulled back, his chest rising and falling with steady breaths, a faint, satisfied smile tugged at the corners of his lips.
There was a dangerous glint in his eyes now, something darker that made her pulse thrum.
“So would I, love.” He pressed his forehead to hers,his thumb brushing over her jaw. “Stay with me and I’ll make it worth your time. I never make promises I don’t intend to keep.”
That power he had over her, the unspoken control rooted not in only desire, but in need, coiled inside her.
“You’re asking me to live here…with you?” Her voice faltered, a mixture of longing and apprehension rising in her chest.
She couldn’t ignore the tension between them, the hook that kept reeling her in, but even that scared her too.
“Not really asking, love. I won’t let you walk away again. Not after everything.”
“I don’t need taking care of,” she said, though the tremble in her voice betrayed her.
When he smirked, her stomach flipped. “You do. You just haven’t figured that out yet because you didn’t give me a chance. From now on, I’ll decide what’s best for you.”
She laughed under her breath, resenting his arrogance. But deep down, part of her craved the safety in surrendering control, the certainty that he wouldn’t let her fall.
“Never gonna happen, Jamie.”
“Stay here, love. I’ll handle the bills while you build your dream career with me by your side. You’re mine now, in every way.”
Her breath hitched in her throat, the finality of his words sinking in.
Her mind raced with thoughts of the future—of her independence, her career, her autonomy—and yet, in thismoment, all she could focus on was how fucking irresistible he was.
“I… I don’t know what that means,” she whispered. “You saymine, like you own me.”
He smiled again, a dark, hungry smile that made her stomach flutter. “I’ll put it this way…I’m not letting you stay in the loft, love.”
She swallowed hard, a wave of heat rising up her neck, her body betraying her. “I don’t belong to you, though. That’s so?—”
His hand slipped beneath the loose t-shirt, his fingers grazing her skin, teasing their way to her nipple, pinching it.
“You want me all to yourself, don’t you? Want me to give you everything you crave?”
She swallowed hard, the ache between her thighs intensifying. “Yes…”
“So you want me to belong to you, love?” His voice dropped lower, a dangerous edge to it.
“God, you’re impossible.”
“I know,” he growled, his grip tightening on her breast as he lifted her thigh around his hip, pulling her closer.
“Then we’re in agreement. I’m yours. And you...belong...to me. But only if you move in with me. Your choice.”
A chilly breeze stirred the loose hay, scattering it across the yard like tumbleweeds.
Silence hung heavy, eerie for a weekend. There was no rhythmic sound of hooves, bustle of activity as the staff worked. Nothing.
Just a flurry of birds circling the creaking weathervane above.
Shannon peeked over Trixie’s stable door, her heart sinking when she saw it empty. She moved down the line of stalls, all empty, too.
