"Yes," she moans.
"Good girl." I lean down to kiss her, swallowing her next cry. "Because I'm keeping you here. In my bed. In my house. Mine."
I can feel her getting close—the way her body tightens, her breathing goes ragged.
I adjust the angle, hitting that spot inside her that makes her see stars.
"Come for me, darlin'. Let me feel it."
She breaks with my name on her lips, her body clenching around me so hard I nearly lose control.
But I hold on, working her through it, drawing out every wave of pleasure until she's shaking beneath me.
Then I let myself go.
I drive into her hard and deep, chasing my own release.
When it hits, it's with the now-familiar thought: mine, mine, mine.
I don't pull out. Never do.
The idea of my come inside her, marking her from the inside out, potentially putting a baby in her—it satisfies something primitive and possessive in me.
"Shadow," Grace breathes as I collapse beside her, pulling her against my chest. "That was?—"
"Just the beginning." I press a kiss to her temple. "Give me twenty minutes and I'll do it again."
She laughs, the sound soft and sated. "You have to go talk to my dad."
Reality crashes back in.
Right. Phantom. The threat. The lies I'm about to tell.
"Yeah," I say quietly. "I do."
Grace tilts her head to look at me. "What are you going to say?"
"About the threat? Everything. About us?" I meet her eyes. "If it comes up."
Fear flickers across her face. "He's going to lose his mind."
"Probably." I cup her cheek. "But we'll deal with it."
She nods, but I can see the worry in her eyes.
"Hey." I make her look at me. "I'm not giving you up. Not for your father. Not for anyone. You understand?"
"I know." She kisses me softly. "I trust you."
Those three words hit harder than they should.
She trusts me.
And I'm about to walk into her father's office and lie through my teeth.
An hour later, I'm on my bike heading toward the main house when my phone buzzes.
Phantom:
