The "daddy" makes her whimper, her hips shifting beneath me. Fuck, she’s gonna kill me.
"You like that?" I ask, voice dropping lower. "Like when daddy tells you how perfect you are? How badly he wants to breed you?"
Her eyes flutter closed, embarrassment and desire warring on her face. "I shouldn't."
"But you do." My hand slides higher, brushing the underside of her breast. "Your body doesn't lie, baby. Tells me everything I need to know."
She's trembling beneath me, a mix of nerves and raw want that makes my cock throb painfully against my zipper. I want nothing more than to strip her bare, spread her open, and claim her completely.
"I want you to give yourself to me," I tell her, forcing myself to slow down. "Not because you're scared or grateful I protected you. But because you want me as badly as I want you."
Her eyes open, meeting mine with surprising steadiness. "I do want you."
Four simple words that nearly break my control.
"Then be mine," I growl. "Not just tonight. Not just during this storm. Be mine forever, Julia."
She should laugh. Should tell me I'm moving too fast, that real life doesn't work this way. Instead, she reaches up to touch my face, fingers gentle against my stubbled jaw.
"I think I already am," she whispers.
Something cracks open in my chest—something I thought died years ago. I capture her hand, pressing a kiss to her palm.
"Gonna take care of you," I promise. "Keep you safe. Give you everything you need."
Outside, the storm continues to rage, wind and rain battering the small bookstore. But in here, in this moment, I've found something worth protecting. Something worth claiming.
Something worth changing for.
I lower my mouth to hers again, gentler this time. "My good girl," I murmur against her lips. "Daddy's perfect angel."
The words make her shiver, her body yielding beneath mine. And I know, with absolute certainty, that I will do whatever it takes to keep her. To deserve her. To be the man she's looking at me like I already am.
eight
. . .
Julia
His body coversmine like a living shield, all solid muscle and barely contained power. I should be terrified after what just happened—strangers breaking in, violence erupting in my peaceful bookstore. Instead, I'm trembling with something else entirely. The way Butch protected me without hesitation, the primal look in his eyes when he returned…it awakens something in me I never knew existed. Something that wants to submit to his strength, to be claimed and kept safe by this mountain of a man who keeps calling me his.
"You're shaking again,” he murmurs, his rough palm cupping my cheek. "You okay, sweetheart?"
The tenderness in his voice contrasts sharply with the violence I know those hands are capable of. Violence he used to protect me. My throat tightens with emotion.
"Yes," I whisper, turning my face to press a kiss into his palm. "Because of you."
Something flashes in his eyes—surprise, wonder. Like he can't believe I'm looking at him with gratitude instead of fear. He dips his head, capturing my mouth in a kiss that starts gentle but quickly blazes into something hungry and desperate.
"When I heard that crash," he says against my lips, "all I could think was keeping you safe. Protecting what's mine."
Mine.The word doesn't feel possessive anymore. It feels like belonging.
"Thank you," I breathe, arms winding around his neck, pulling him closer. "I've never felt so protected."
His large hand slides down my side, settling on my hip. "Never gonna let anything happen to you. You know that, right?"
I nod, overwhelmed by the certainty in his voice. Three days ago, I was alone, running my little bookstore, living my quiet life. Now this man—this intense, possessive, overwhelming man—has crashed into my existence and turned everything upside down.
