I type back quickly.She’s secure. House is locked down. I’m staying here tonight.
A moment later, bubbles appear.Costas pulled back to the ridge. They saw you claim her. They know she’s off limits now unless they want a full-scale war.
Good, I reply.Let them watch.
I look back at Courtney. She leans against the desk, watching me. She looks small in this war room I’ve built, but she looks like she belongs here. My woman. My chaotic, stubborn, beautiful problem.
"Austin?"
"Yeah, baby?"
"What happens now?"
I step close, leaning down to kiss her forehead.
"Now," I say, brushing a stray hair from her face. "We finish fixing this house. We make it impenetrable. And we make sure everyone in this town knows exactly whose patch you're wearing."
I walk to the window and look out at the tree line. The sun sets, casting long, bloody shadows across the yard. The war is coming. I feel it in the air, taste it on the wind.
I turn back to look at Courtney, my heart beating steady and strong.
Let them come. I’ll burn the whole fucking world down before I let them touch her again.
9
COURTNEY
Morning light filters through the cracked blinds of the master bedroom, dusty beams cutting the air like bars of gold. For the first time since I returned to Pine Valley, the cage feels like a fortress.
I shift, intending to stretch the stiffness from my limbs, but I remain anchored in place. Austin’s arm lies heavy across my waist, a leaden weight pinning me to the mattress. His massive frame curls around my back, radiating a heat that seeps through my skin and settles in my marrow.
I lie still, inhaling the scent of him. Old leather, gun oil, and the sharp, musky smell of sex. My body throbs with a dull, pleasant ache—a physical reminder of the way he claimed me last night. He possessed me, a violent reclaiming of the years we lost.
I won’t lie—I loved every second of it.
The fear that sent me running to the Outfitters yesterday feels distant now, a nightmare fading in the sun. The club wanted the land. Dangerous men on the eastern cliffs wanted to turn my family home into a battlefield. But the way Austin looked at mewhen he tore through that door, the way he shook when he told me he’d burn the world down just to keep me breathing… pure desperation drove him.
"Stop thinking so loud," a rough voice rumbles against the back of my neck.
I startle, then melt back into him. "I thought you were asleep."
"I'm never asleep when you're awake, Court. Old habits." His hand, large and calloused, moves from my waist to splay over my stomach. His thumb traces the curve of my hip bone, a touch that feels like a brand. "You sore?"
"A little," I admit, my voice husky as I remember the way he filled me.
"Good." He presses a kiss to the sensitive, bruised spot behind my ear, his stubble grazing the marks he left. "I want you sore, Court. I want you feeling the weight of my cock in your pussy every time you move. Means you won't forget whose bed this is."
He shifts, rolling me onto my back so he can loom over me. In the daylight, Austin looks even more dangerous than he does in the shadows. The scars crisscrossing his chest and shoulders tell stories of violence I missed while I played it safe in the city. His dark hair falls into eyes currently burning with an intensity that curls my toes.
His gaze rakes over my face, searching for a crack in my resolve. "You ran yesterday."
The statement hangs in the air, heavy and accusing.
"I was scared," I whisper, reaching up to trace the thick line of muscle at his neck. "I was shaken after what James said. Forgiveme if I think that you might have changed in the years since we last saw each other."
Austin’s jaw tightens, a muscle feathering beneath the skin. "James thinks in contracts and leverage. He doesn't understand that some things aren't for sale." He catches my hand, pressing his lips to my palm. "The club wanted the land, Court. I won't lie about that. Logan sees territory. He sees a buffer zone against the Costas."
"And you?"
