Finally.
Only nothing prepared me for what happens next.
I step inside the main house, expecting to see her at the kitchen table, or curled up on the couch with one of those paperbacks she found on my shelf.
But the living room’s empty.
So’s the kitchen.
The silence is louder than the engines were.
A pulse of something sharp hits me in the chest.My heart starts pounding, breath going shallow.
For one sick second, I think maybe someone came for her while I was busy congratulating myself.
Then I remember.
I stalk down the hall, boots heavy on the hardwood, my jaw clenched tight enough to crack a molar.
The guest room door is shut.
I push it open—harder than I mean to—and it slams against the wall.
She jumps, eyes wide and hunted, sitting on the edge of the bed like a kid waiting to be scolded.
“Sawyer!”she gasps.
“What are you doing in here?”My voice comes out low, angry, a growl I can’t quite choke back.
“Well, um—” She twists her fingers together, shoulders hunching.“I didn’t want to be presumptuous.”
“Presumptuous?”
“Yeah.”Her voice wavers.“I didn’t know if you wanted me in your room or not.I mean, we hardly know each other?—”
I step inside, shutting the door behind me.
My anger isn’t directed at her.
It’s at me for not telling her.For not making it clear.
It’s at the fucking thought of her thinking she’s not wanted.
“Hardly know each other?Iknowhow you feel when your pussy is clenching around me,” I say, voice rough.“Iknowyour scent, the way you taste when you’re on fire for me.And Iknowwhat sounds you make when you come, Lil Bit.”
Her eyes go round at my words, but I don’t stop.
“I think we know each other just fine,” I finish quietly.
Her lips part, a tremor running through her.
The nervousness is still there, but under it I see the spark—the same one that’s been burning me alive since she stepped onto my land.
I move closer, slow this time, until I’m standing right in front of her.
My hands find her face, thumbs brushing her cheeks.
“You are not a guest here,” I murmur.“You’rewith me.You sleep where I sleep, period.Tell me.”
