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She stilled. Narrowed her eyes. “Don’t be a smart-ass, Alex. ”
“You know what?” He crossed his arms over his chest. “You’re right. ”
“Yeah, I usually am,” she sneered. “What am I right about this time?”
“I don’t love you. ”
She froze and stared back at him.
“Love is just a pale fucking word for what I feel. I’ve watched love die. I’ve watched couples drift apart
and love fade like a memory. ” He shook his head. “I don’t love you, Janey. When I said you own me, I meant you own me. Heart. Soul. My hopes, dreams. My life. Because I’d die for you. What the hell more can I give you?”
Janey stared back at him. When he’d said he loved her, she’d realized the lie for what it was. There had been no feeling, no strength in the words. And there was now. There was the intensity in his voice that she had always associated with Alex and emotion. His emotions. His voice deepened, became rougher, when he let emotion slip free.
“Son of a bitch, I’m fourteen years older than you. ” He sighed. “We see things different somehow. ”
“Throw your age up to me again and I’ll spank you . ” She told him fiercely. “Age has nothing to do with this. ”
She could feel something building in her now, glowing within her, taking hold of her and heating her, warming her in places she hadn’t imagined would ever be warmed.
“I . . . ” She swallowed tightly. “I really own you? All of you?”
“Janey, sweetheart,” he groaned, moved to her, framed her face with his hands, and stared down at her.
His expression was filled with emotion now. His eyes raged with it. “I could say I love you until hell freezes over, and I’ll never say it enough to make myself feel as though I’ve told you how I feel for you.
I’m a loner, baby. I always was, until you. No one has ever owned any part of me, until you. Janey, I live for you. ”
He lived for her. He loved her past loving her. And she owned him. The tears fell again. Freely. She’d never been allowed to cry as a child or as an adult. But Alex had let her cry. He’d dried her tears at the funeral. He’d held her when she needed to be held. He’d let her be free, but she had always known his arms were right there, ready to curl within.
“I live for you,” she whispered, those tears running over his hands now. “Alex, I love you so much it eats me alive because I’ve been so scared. So scared of losing you. Of not having you in my bed ever again, or not having your touch. ”
He pulled her to him. Right there, against his hair-roughened chest, his big hand covering the back of her head, making her feel sheltered, strong, and yeah, she was owned as well.
“I breathe for you, Janey. ” He whispered the words against her forehead, then tipped her head back and breathed against her lips. “You own me. ”
His lips covered hers, gently, tenderly, with hunger and with possessiveness, with all the emotions she had always dreamed of suddenly swirling between them.
They could have a baby later, if it happened. For now, she had Alex. And having Alex was everything her soul had despaired of ever knowing.
“You own me, too,” she whispered, staring back at him. “All of me, Alex. You have owned me for so long. ”
His thumb smoothed over her cheek, wiped away the last tears.
“Are you going to talk to Natches now?” he asked, a hint of a smile at his lips. “Because we both know, Janey, you’re not leaving my side. ”
“Ever,” she promised. “Oh, Alex. I’ll never leave your side. ”
EPILOGUE
Four Days Later
Janey was waiting nervously in the office when she heard Natches pull into the back lot. Alex was upstairs overseeing the repair on the apartment; she suspected he might actually be helping. He’d come down earlier looking all sexy and sweaty and she hadn’t been able to take advantage of him. Dammit.
She hated her monthly cycle. She was definitely doing something about this.
But for now, she had a brother to deal with. A stubborn, possessive, sometimes too domineering brother.
