It’s going to learn something.
No one touches what’s under my roof.
No one.
And if a man thinks he can scare Ellie James into disappearing again, he’s about to find out what a firefighter does when the thing he wants to protect is threatened.
I move toward the door, checking the locks, checking the sightlines, already planning the next steps.
Then I hear her voice from the hallway, sharp and breathless.
“Wyatt?”
I turn.
“Yeah?”
She’s standing in the doorway with her backpack still on, hair a mess, eyes too bright. “If I’m here… what exactly am I supposed to pretend?”
My mouth goes dry.
Because the answer comes too easily.
My wife.
My bride.
Mine.
I keep my voice steady anyway. “You’re supposed to pretend you belong to me.”
Her breath catches. Her eyes flicker.
“And if I’m not good at pretending?” she asks, like she hates herself for asking.
I take one step toward her, slow and sure, letting the heat in my gaze do what my hands aren’t doing yet.
“Then you better learn fast,” I say. “Because someone out there is watching.”
Her face goes pale.
And the air between us tightens, charged and dangerous, like a match struck in a room full of gas.
Chapter 3
Ellie
Wyatt’s cabin smells like pine, coffee, and the kind of clean that comes from a man who does not tolerate clutter or weakness.
It also smells like him—woodsmoke and soap and something darker under it that makes my skin feel too tight. Like my body knows it’s standing in the middle of a bad decision and would like to make it worse.
I drop my backpack by the couch and stare at him like he’s a problem I’m not sure how to solve.
Before I can open my mouth a dog, black and white and fluffy and full of energy bounces into the room, tail wagging.
“Oh! Who is this?” I bend, scratching the dog behind the ears.
“This is Jake. He’s full of trouble and will lick you into submission. I hope you like dogs.”
