“Mine,” he growled as one of his hands circled her neck, squeezing just hard enough that she knew he was serious.
“So bossy,” she sassed as her ankles hooked around his hips, bringing his next thrust deeper.
“Say it,” he ordered, going still and making her whine a protest.
“Steel,” she groaned.
“Say it. Say you're mine.”
“We only just met, and everything is crazy, and?—”
“Say it,” he ordered again, tightening his hold on her neck. If this woman thought he was ever letting her go, she was crazy. If she left there once her brother was dead, he would follow her. He’d find a way to wear her down, to earn her trust and forgiveness, to be worthy of her heart and her soul, but he couldn’t let her go.
Thrusting hard into her, he released his hold on her neck and instead found her greedy little bundle of nerves, working it until he knew she was close and then stopping.
“Steel,” she whined, grabbing at his hand and trying to make him go back to what he’d been doing.
“Tell me you're mine,” he insisted, giving a single swipe over her bud and making her moan.
“Yours, I'm yours, just please don’t stop,” she begged.
“Told you you'd beg for me, little ladybug,” he said smugly as he resumed playing with her bud and thrusting into her until she came with a scream.
Only then did he allow his own orgasm to crash over him, consuming him in fiery pleasure right as midnight struck and the fireworks went off behind them.
With aftershocks still rippling through his system, Steel hooked an arm around Rose’s waist, grabbed the blanket, and stood, keeping himself buried inside her. Balancing her on the railing, he tucked the blanket around them and rested his cheek on her head as they both watched the explosion of colors lighting up the night sky.
“You can't take it back,” he warned the object of his obsession, his little ladybug, his Rose. “You can't take it back.”
January 1st
8:57 A.M.
Waking up to an empty bed was not how Rose wanted to start her day.
Or her year.
Sex with Steel had been crazy and impulsive, possibly one of the stupidest things she’d ever done, and yet somehow it had also been right.
They'd watched the fireworks on the balcony, Steel’s hard length growing softer still nestled inside her, the blanket tucked around them, his body heat more than enough to keep her warm.
Then, when her eyes had started to grow heavy, he’d carried her inside, somewhat reluctantly allowed himself to slip out of her, then laid her down in his bed. She’d half expected him to clean her up first, that’s what the heroes in the romance novelsshe edited always did for the heroines after mind-blowing sex, although she had no idea if real men did that in real life.
Rose shouldn’t have expected it of Steel, though. His possessive, obsessive self wanted her to fall asleep still covered in the evidence of what they’d shared. He probably thought of it as marking her in some caveman kind of way. Crazy man.
What she had expected, though, was to wake up with him still beside her.
He’d been there all night. Even in sleep, she’d been aware of his huge body wrapped around hers like the protective shield she’d always longed for. But now he was gone, and she found it absolutely sucked to wake up alone after sex, especially when it was your first time.
Doubts crept in as she threw back the covers and headed toward Steel’s bathroom. He was the crazy one who wouldn't let her come until she agreed that she was his, so where the hell was he?
Cranky and sore, Rose quickly washed between her legs, then did her business and threw her clothes back on. Doing a walk of shame she was sure was captured by a camera even if she didn't run into anyone, she made her way back to her room, where she showered and dressed.
Then she pasted on a look of disinterest and sauntered downstairs to the kitchen. At least they hadn't gone back to locking her in her room. That was some small saving grace, although it did little to ease her bad mood as she heard voices and saw that everyone else was gathered around the kitchen table when she walked in.
“We left you some pancakes,” Voodoo told her like he was her big brother, and she rolled her eyes at him.
“Yay,” she drawled.
