“I think so.”
We stare at each other, her defiant, me exasperated. This could go on all night. She’ll dig in, I’ll push, we’ll circle each other like we always do.
Fuck that.
I move fast, bending to hook one arm behind her knees and the other around her back, lifting her off her feet before she can process what’s happening.
“What the—Bones! Put me down!”
“No.” I start up the stairs.
“I’m serious! Put me the fuck down!”
“Also no.”
She struggles, but I’ve got seventy pounds and two feet of height on her. Plus, I’ve been carrying lumber and drywall for months. She’s not getting free unless I let her.
“This is kidnapping!”
“This is me making sure you didn’t give yourself an infection trying to be stubborn.”
“I’m not stubborn, you’re just?—”
“Overbearing? Controlling? Yeah, we’ve established that.” I shoulder open my apartment door and kick it shut behind us. “Still not putting you down.”
She’s switched tactics now, going limp in my arms like dead weight. Classic Emma move. I adjust my grip and keep walking toward the bedroom.
“I hate you,” she mutters.
“No, you don’t.”
“I really want to.”
“I know.”
In the bedroom, I set her on her feet but keep one hand on her arm so she can’t bolt. With my free hand, I start shoving her jacket off her shoulders.
“Don’t,” she says, batting my hand away and trying to pull it back on.
“Emma—”
“I said don’t!”
“Five minutes ago you were begging me to strip you bare and fuck you.” I catch her wrist when she tries to hit me. “So you’re either mine or you aren’t. I’m not risking everything I am unless every fucking part of you belongs to me. Do you understand?”
Her breath catches. Those storm-gray eyes flash with anger, with hurt, with something that might be fear.
“Say it,” I demand, still holding her wrist. “Tell me you’re mine. We both know it’s true.”
The silence stretches between us, taut as a wire. I can see her processing, weighing her options, trying to find an angle.
There isn’t one.
This is it. All in or nothing.
“I’m yours,” she finally says, voice barely above a whisper.
“Say it again.”
