She bit her lip, nodding. “I want that again. I want to remember we’re still here. That our love is still real and no matter what, we won. I need reminding we have our entire lives to spend together. It doesn’t matter how we came together; nothing can ever tear us apart.”
I couldn’t help myself. I kissed her excruciatingly hard. “You’re a witch, I swear. Or maybe a HSP yourself. ”
She frowned. “How do you mean?”
“I need the same thing.” I smiled, tracing her bottom lip with my finger. “I feel like I’ve lost you a little. That you doubt what we have is true. I need to make you focus. To accept nothing else could match what we’ve found. And in a way, I need to punish you for ever doubting that.”
I stared at her with a mixture of awe and worship. Had she picked up on my silent wishes as I picked up on hers? Last week, while dealing with Bonnie’sfuneral and lawyer documents, I’d had the sudden compulsion to fight such grief with blistering dirty sex. I wanted to ravage and fuck. I wanted to remind myself that no matter what I’d done to my father, I was still me and still deserving of Nila's love.
I hadn’t asked her to give me what I needed as I hadn’t wanted to hurt or upset her.
But here she was asking for the same thing.
“You’re fucking perfect.” I kissed her.
“And you.” She kissed me back.
“Will you let me have control tonight? Let me do what we both need?”
Her head fell back, submitting to me. “Anything, Jethro. I’m yours for the night. Do anything you want.”
“Just the night?”
A sly smile spread her lips. “You want more than that?”
The growl built in my throat. “You know I do.”
“In that case, you better prove to me you can love me enough to last forever.”
More than forever, Needle.
I didn’t hesitate.
Letting her go, I shot to my drawers and pulled out two ties. Both silver with diamonds spilling down the fabric.
Nila didn’t take her eyes off me as I prowled to the head of the bed and snapped my fingers. The old hint of authority sent a shiver down her spine. “Come here, Ms. Weaver.”
She obeyed faster than any order when I’d been deadly serious. My lips quirked.
Seems sex is more wanted than debts.
My heart tripped.
If she reacted so defiantly and strong when facing something she didn’t want to face, what would she be like in our future? Would she be eager to do things I could guarantee she’d love? Could we finally have the trust I’d always begged her to give me so I could live entirely in her feelings for me?
Biting my lip, I ran the two ties through my fingers. “You’re making it very hard to remember I should be punishing you and not rewarding you.”
She smiled as she lay back, placing her hands above her head. Licking her lips, she never took her eyes from mine. “Perhaps, I want both.”
I swallowed hard, climbing on the bed and hovering over her. Slinging my knee over her hips, I straddled her.
We didn’t stop staring; my mouth watered, my cock hardened, and the shitty night faded. Somehow, she even managed to stop me thinking about Kestrel’s funeral in a few hours, about the mammoth task before me of culling the mine and granting peace to a scarred nation, and all the loose ends I had to tie up now I was heir.
I’m heir.
I never thought I’d say the words.
Hawksridge is mine.
