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“They won’t touch me if they know I’m yours.”
He went still for a moment. Then his fingers slid down my neck and began massaging my lower back.
“Is that what you want, cariad?” he asked, his voice low. “For everyone to know who fucks you?”
A shudder moved down my spine and through my hips as I remembered how hard he’d taken me last night. The things he’d said in the dark still rang in my ears.
“Maybe,” I whispered.
His fingers stilled in my hair. I turned, letting the water pour down. Bubbles streamed down my back as I looked up at him. So handsome, droplets of water dusting his chest and stomach.
“Are you mine?” I breathed.
His throat bobbed. “For as long as possible. If you still want me after last night. I warned you that I have some rough edges.”
I settled my body against his, every curve and line fitting into the dips in his chest and stomach. We felt so perfect together. Infinite, unshakable.
“Those are the parts I want the most.”
He slid his palm up my back and tangled it in my wet hair. I shifted so I could look up and his eyes sobered and he released a small sigh.
“You may stay.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
MERRICK
If I hadn’t been so spent from last night and this morning, I’d have taken her to bed again.
If I could have, I’d have canceled the auction tonight, ordered everyone away. I’d have spent the morning, the afternoon, and the night in bed. I’d kiss every inch of her body and apologize for how rough I’d been last night.
“Are you?” she’d asked weeks ago. “Are you rough with the women you sleep with?”
I winced as I strode down the hall. I was almost at the end, preparing to turn the corner, when Caden appeared like a jack-in-the-box. Springing up out of nowhere with that smug smirk on his face.
“Did you fucking bring Clara here?” he said, his mouth jerking up in the corner.
I turned the corner and kept walking. He fell into step beside me.
“Don’t start,” I said.
“Has it occurred to you that you could just have her,” he said. “I’ve seen how she is around you. She’s practically putting herself on a silver platter.”
I glanced sharply at him.
“Fuck Osian Cardiff,” said Caden.
I stopped in the middle of the hall and I turned to face him.
“The Cardiffs are offering equal to my net worth,” I said, my voice low. “What kind of Brenin would I be if I turned that down? And what kind of guardian would I be if I robbed her of the future she’s been planning for six years. She told me what she wanted and I promised her I would get it for her.”
“Maybe she’ll change her mind.”
I cleared my throat. “I don’t know if I can trust that she knows what she wants.”
Caden’s brow arced. “Why?”
“Because…of course she’s bonded with me,” I said, voicing one of my deepest fears for the first time. “I’m the only man who hasn’t treated her like shit.”
