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“I understand,” I say softly, my face reflecting my regret and worry, if not the true cause. “I’m so sorry, Eve. I should never have done that. This... This is new to me too. All theseemotions,these… primitive urges… I’m learning how to handle them in real time, and… I fucked up. Badly. All I wanted was to make sure you are safe at all times, but… yes. Restricting your freedom was… atrocious. Please, please don’t let my primitive idiocy ruin our happiness. I swear to you, I will do better. So much better.”
I will. I’ll never be this obvious again. I gently stroke her cheek, my heart hammering in my chest. She’s my everything. In a few short weeks, this small female now means more to me than my business, my family, my own life. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do to keep her content at my side.
“I just want to make you happy,” I plead.
Caution is still evident in Eve’s eyes as she looks up at me, but there’s softness too—hope. She believes me. Thank all the stars in the sky, she believes me.
“You need to understand that I’m your equal,” she says, voice stern, even if a small waver betrays the emotion she’s struggling to contain. “I know you have… alpha stuff… going on, but you can’t treat me like I’m your subordinate, or… like you own me. Got it?”
“Got it,” I confirm, stroking my thumb down her cheek to her lips. “It won’t happen again. I swear it.”
“I mean it, Adam,” she warns, pulling away from my caress to show me she’s serious. “Despite what’s happened between us, I’m not some weak-willed woman who can’t stand on her own two feet. I’mallowingyou to be all protective alpha—I don’t need it to survive—and if I have to, I will be fine on my own. Baby or not.”
“I know,” I say, because it’s what she needs to hear right now. “But you won’t ever need to.” Gently, I let my hand find her lower abdomen. “I’ll treat both of you right—I promise, darling. And if I don’t, yell at me, and I will instantly fix it. You’re the love of my life—there’s nothing I won’t do for you, you understand?”
She swallows thickly at my words, her beautiful eyes turning shiny before she looks down, trying to hide the emotion in them. “The love of your life. I still… struggle to understand how that can be, after such a short amount of time.”
“You’re my Fated,” I say softly, nudging her chin up, forcing her to look at me. “You know it’s got nothing to do with length of time. I love you. When it all comes down to it, it’s that simple. Whatever else you may feel about our courtship, I know you know my love is real. Look into my eyes, Eve. It’s right there. Just for you.”
Her eyes dart between mine, and I see the moment she gives up fighting against the inevitable. Tears spill over and drip down her cheeks, and when I draw her into my chest and wrap my arms around her, she sniffles.
“I love you,” I say again, lips pressed against her scalp. “I’ll always love you.”
For a moment, her only response is quiet sniffling. Then, so quietly I almost miss it, she whispers, “I… I think I… love you too.”
My heart slams hard against my ribs, and I let out a soft gasp into her hair. Every molecule in my body lights up from within as her hesitant confession fills my being like nothing I’ve ever experienced before.
She loves me.
I knew I wanted her to love me from the moment I accepted the truth of what she is to me. I wanted her willingly bound to my side.
I didn’t anticipate how profoundly hearing those whispered words would change my spirit, make it bloom until all I feel is deep, aching bliss.
Shelovesme.
“Eve,” I croak, clutching her tighter to me. If I could absorb her into me, make her a part of my own flesh, I would. My skin itches with my need for her, for us to finally be one like we are supposed to. Breathing hard to keep control of myself, I pull back to look down at her, my fingers digging into her hips. “It’s time, my love. I know you feel it too.”
She stares up at me, gaze wide and lips parted. There is fear in her eyes, and if she tells me no, if she denies me, I don’t know—
“Yes.”
Yes.
Relief burns through my veins, euphoria in its wake so intense my vision blurs.Yes.
I lift her into my arms, feel the perfect weight on her against my body—another reminder of how we fit together in every way. How we were made for each other.
And now I finally get to claim her as mine.
TWENTY
LIKE A FUCKING CHRISTMAS TREE
HIM
The first time I had her, she was scared and tense, even as her body yearned for me as much as mine did for hers. This time, as I lay her down on my bed and crawl over her, my mouth hungry on her neck, jaw, collarbone, she’s soft and pliant—eager for the pleasure I’ve trained her to expect.
“Your scent drives me wild,” I moan into her ear before I bite the delicate lobe, my tongue playing with the pearl stud piercing it. “Everything about you makes me hard and so fucking needy.”
