Marking her.
Claiming her.
I know she’s not just mine, but right now, she is. Fuck everyone else.
Capturing her lips once more, I kiss her passionately, not willing to separate from her just yet. Our tongues tangle until we’re completely breathless, our hands caressing each other like we’re committing this moment to memory.
Silence rings through the room when I lean back, pulling out of her. My eyes track how my cock leaves her and how my cum follows, dripping out of her to the floor.
Fuck, that image just burned itself into my brain.
My gaze finds her face again, but she’s laying with her eyes closed and her chest and those perfect breasts moving up and down rapidly as she attempts to regain her composure.
A grin breaks out across her face, making my heart flutter, and I slide my hands under her to pull her up to me in a tight hug.
“Happy birthday,” she whispers in my neck. “I hope you liked your present.”
“As long as you’re my present, I will always love it. I just want to be here and breathe you in. That’s all I could wish for and all that I need,” I mumble against her, taking a deep breath of her coconut scent mixed with sweat and my scent.
Mine.
“No dummy, the sex was the present. You can have me any way and any day,” she whispers, and I squeeze her to me.
I have her back.
“Oh, I absolutely love sex as a birthday present. I’m gonna want it every year now,” I chuckle, kissing the top of her head before I let go and step back.
Grabbing her panties and jeans off the floor, I help her put them on when she hops off the desk. I hate to see them go, but I adjust her bra, effectively covering her breasts before I slide her sweater over her head.
I pull up my boxers and pants when she’s dressed again and leaning against the desk.
“What a nice way to christen your new office.” I smirk, gliding my thumb over her cheek, and add, “I think we need to do this with my office too.”
“I’m ready to christen any room you want to.” She smirks, making me laugh.
I’m so damn happy I could burst.
My thumb wanders from her cheek to her chin, stroking over it, and she leans in to kiss my thumb. I pull her close so her head rests on my chest again.
“So this is it, it’s real?” she questions, her voice a fragile thread in the quiet room.
“What’s real, Shortcake?” I ask, my lips brushing against her hair, trying to infuse some lightness into the moment with the shift in her mood.
“I can have you,allof you? We’re gonna do this?” Her voice is barely audible, yet it’s charged with a vulnerability that squeezes my heart.
“I would have never gone this far with you if I wasn’t willing to give you what you need, Sloan. I fucked up once. It’s not gonna happen again. We all want to make this work,” I assure her.
We can do this. We’re gonna do this.
“But it’s not just about me—” She starts, but I need her to see the truth, to understand.
I lean back and grip her chin gently between my thumb and forefinger, coaxing her to meet my gaze. “I already told you once, even though I didn’t fully understand it then. You’re good for us, for each of us. We all want you and to be good for you. It’s not just about you. It’s aboutallof us. It’s about making this work, being a family.”
Her eyes are glassy, filled with a turmoil that sets my nerves on edge. “Hunter, there is something you guys don’t know, and I need to tell you. But I’m so scared. This could ruin everything again, but I’m not going to give him up.” Her voice cracks, and a sense of dread pools in my stomach.
“Him?” I can’t hide the sharpness in my voice, the sudden flare of jealousy.
The thought of sharing her with my brothers is one thing. I’ve come to terms with that and even see the sense in it. But another man? That’s a different story entirely.
