The clickof her door echoed louder than it should’ve. Final. Unbearable.
He didn’t move at first. Every muscle remained drawn taut, his body locked in the space she’d left behind. His pulse hammered against his ribs, not steady—never steady with her.
Her scent still hung in the air—warm, defiant, delicate only in the way fire is before it spreads; it wrapped around him, unshakable and inescapable.
He should’ve walked away. Should’ve turned on his heel, put distance between them before his restraint shattered.
But his body didn’t get the memo—palms haunted by the memory of her, soft where she scorched him, strong where it mattered more.
That little gasp she’d made when he found her pulse point? He was going to hear that sound in his dreams. Or his nightmares. Either way, he was a dead man.
He dragged a hand through his hair, jaw clenched hard enough to ache. Every part of him was thrumming—wanting her, needing her, but worse… needing to protect her in a way that felt almost primal.
Not because she was weak.
Because the world would try to break her, and he’d burn it down before he let that happen.
She had no idea what she’d done. What she was doing.
That wasn’t just lust.
That was a complete collapse.
Her breathless“I’m yours”had detonated the last thread of his control.
It blew straight through his self-control, left nothing but ash. He wasn’t built to hear those words and stay sane, not from her. Not when the world was closing in.
Gideon exhaled hard. He flexed his knuckles and forced himself to take a step back, then another.
The space between them was physical now, but it didn’t matter. She was in his blood.
And now? There was no more pretending.
Arden Rivers was his.
And heaven help anyone who tried to take her from him.
Arden had pausedin the doorway, still on edge from that alley, and from Gideon’s last words at her door.
Go inside like a good girl.
She’d almost flared up at the command, but she was also spellbound.
Her sass had kicked on instinctively,I’m not a good girl—half-rebellion, half-truth.
Then his voice at her ear, low and sinful:I prefer it that way.
That whisper had sent a shiver winding down her spine, reigniting every spark they’d set off against the door. Her heart throbbed from it all.
By the time she crossed the threshold, the door clicked shut with a soft snick. And the silence vacuum-sealed around her.
She stood there, back against the wood, trying to get her breathing under control.
Part of her still rattled, the memory of being followed scraped raw. Another part felt nothing but gratitude that Gideon had appeared in the alleyright on time. And a third? A third couldn’t stop replaying every single word he’d murmured against her skin.
Kicking off her boots,she drifted into the living room. She turned on a lamp, tossed her keys on the table, and caught sight of herself in the hallway mirror.
Hair wild. Lips flushed. Ravaged. Radiant.
