The dress slowly began to fall down, more of her slender back coming into view, and I reached my hand inside, feeling her nakedness.

There was nothing. No bra, no panties, no slip, nothing but her, completely pure and beautiful and innocent underneath the dress.

The gown fell to the floor, and my cock throbbed and swelled. Her ass, her shoulders, her legs—golden skin that she sure as hell didn’t inherit from her father’s side glowing in the dim light.

She turned around, her eyes falling on my pants and the bulge growing there.

She started breathing faster, her gaze turning heated. “Fuck the sheets,” she whispered.

And she slid down, spread her legs, and straddled me. I groaned, unfastening and yanking open my jeans. I took out my cock and rubbed the tip up and down her length, finding her so wet already.

She lowered herself, hugging me close and moaning as I filled her.

Fuck. I grabbed her tits, covering the nipples with my mouth, one by one as she held the back of the chair and began moving in and out, rolling her hips faster and faster. She rode me, her moans and whimpers getting louder, and I leaned back, taking her ass in both hands and just fucking watched her.

God, I was lucky.

“So, do you still like me?” she asked, playing.

I laugh a little. I more than like you.

“I think I’ll keep you,” I told her instead. “And no one keeps me from you. Got it?”

I kissed her chin, trailing kisses along her jaw. “Not your father, not your brother, not your men.” I squeezed her ass again, pulling her in deep. “I want your smart-ass mouth.” I kissed her lips. “I want every memory you’re going to make from now on.” I kissed her forehead. “And I want this.” I gripped her, yanking her into me as I bit her neck. “In the car, on this table at breakfast tomorrow, everywhere…”

Her body grew tense, and she wrapped her arms around me, bouncing faster and faster. “So, you do like me then?”

I smiled at her joke. Little shit.

“Yeah,” I told her. “I like you a lot.”

A lot.

I unbuttoned the collar of one shirt and pulled it off the hanger, slipping my arms into it. It was just after six in the morning, and I could smell the rain in the air as soon I woke up. I buttoned my shirt and walked to the bedside table, grabbing my phone and pausing when I saw the leather gloves she always wore laying next to the lamp.

I shifted my gaze to her, seeing her hands, one resting on the pillow and the other over her stomach. A smile pulled at my lips. She took them off.

The scar looked almost like a red ink stamp across the back of her hand, and I squeezed my phone, anger building. Gabriel was going to pay for that. And for a lot more.

Her lips were slightly parted, and I noticed a chocolate-colored strand of hair that had fallen on her lip. Leaning down, I softly pulled it off before giving her a kiss, lingering just long enough for her scent to cast a trail of heat from my heart to my groin.

I groaned, reluctantly pulling back up. Not now. She needed sleep, and I wanted her to wake up to breakfast. She said she liked eggs.

No.

She just said she ate a lot of eggs. Maybe she didn’t like them all that much. They were cheap, low in fat, and sustaining. Perfect for a person of low income.

I looked down at my ring, finally feeling it sink in that she was mine now. Until she ran away again, anyway.

And she had a life to live if I had anything to say about it. No eggs. I was going to enjoy indulging her.

Opening my phone, I left the room, quietly closing the door behind me as I checked the weather for today. I should never have gone to sleep last night. I had no idea what today had in store, but I should’ve been ready earlier. The body’s need to waste one-third of its lifespan unconscious was an error of evolution. Look how much I could’ve gotten done.

Cloudy all day, high of sixty-eight. Evening thunderstorms. Great. I needed to get the house closed up, some supplies and food, and I had a flood of phone calls from friends back home wondering if we were going to be in town tonight and employees wondering if they should find new jobs. No and yes.

That fucking prick. I’d promised I wouldn’t hurt him, but after what he did, I might not be able to stop myself.

My phone rang as I walked down the staircase, and I checked the screen, seeing a number I didn’t recognize.

I slowed, staring at it.

Damon. I hadn’t heard from him since the day on the street in front of The Pope. He must’ve been getting a new burner phone every time he made his little calls.

I smiled to myself, fingering my wedding ring with my thumb. He wasn’t going to be in a good mood.

Answering the phone, I brought it to my ear.

“Where is she?” he said, not waiting for a greeting.

“Sleeping.”

“I will get her back,” he told me.

I took a deep breath and walked to the front door, looking out the little window on the side. Banks’s men were still out there.

Impressive.

“So, come on, then,” I told him. “Come to the house, and take her back.”

His chuckle filled my ear. “Oh, I will,” he said. “But I’m smarter than you. I’ll get my leverage first.”

What leverage?

I didn’t want him here. I didn’t want him near her. But I was ready to shut him up. He wouldn’t be getting her back.

“I’m the only one who’s taken care of her,” he argued. “The only one who’s loved her. You can’t ask her to give me up. You know why? Because it’s an impossible choice and you don’t want to know that she just might not choose you.”

I shook my head, opening the front door. I wouldn’t ask her to make that choice anymore. I would just keep fighting, because I loved—

I suddenly felt like the wind had been knocked out of me.

Because I loved her.

“You see me in her, don’t you?” he taunted, lowering his voice. “Do you really want to be faced with her every day? Could you really love her, knowing who she is and that I’ll always divide her attention?”

I ground my teeth together and stalked out into the driveway, pounding on the hood of the SUV twice. The guys inside jumped up, pulling their feet off the dash. I headed back for the house, knowing they would follow.

“Where are you?” I asked Damon.

“I wish I could tell you,” he nearly fucking chirped. “I really do, because it’s just too good. If only you’d done just a little more research, man.”

“Damon—”

“It’s really a miracle for me that you haven’t yet realized.”

“Damon!”

“Can’t talk,” he said. “But I’ll see you soon.”

“Tonight?”

And I heard a click.

“Damon!” I yelled into the phone. What did he mean ‘soon’?

“Yes.” I heard a voice behind me.

I turned around, looking at the dead call on my phone screen. I could call him back, but the phone would be off, no doubt. Plus, it was a waste of time.

I saw David and the kid, Lev, step into the foyer, the younger one yawning.

Walking over to the table in the hallway, I dug out a set of keys from a small chest on top.

I tossed the set to him. “The third floor is yours,” I said. “Banks will organize your tasks in this house and outside of it, and I’ll put you on payroll. She’s sleeping now.” I stepped up to them, weighting my instructions heavily, so they knew I was serious. “Don’t leave her alone here or let her leave, and when she wakes up, tell her I’ve gone to run an errand, and I’ll be back soon.”

“You.” I looked to Lev. “Go to Delcour. Bring Will and Rika here and keep them here. Tell them to pack an overnight bag.”

“They won’t come with me,” he argued.

“I’m texting them now to let them know you’re on your way. Go.”

He sighed and took the car keys from David, heading out the front door, and I got on my phone, shooting a text to Michael to meet me at The Pope and then another one to Will and Rika.

“Check every window and door,” I ordered David, grabbing my car keys and walking out. “Once everyone arrives, it’s lockdown. You got that?”