“I didn’t send Knight and Octy to spy on you. I told them you were here in case there was an emergency, and yeah, I’ll admit I might have asked my brother to give me a heads-up if you tried to leave.”
“What about Cora? Shepopped”—she accentuates the word—“by to see me and invite me to dinner.”
“Okay,” I say, unsure why she’d be shocked by that.
“Why would she come here if not to check I haven’t disappeared with your TV?” she says snarkily.
“Because she likes you. Because you’re up here alone. Because the Barnetts enjoy company. Because she wanted a chance to get to know you better and for you to meet the rest of her family.” I list all of the most obvious reasons.
The roll of her eyes pushes me over the edge, and before I even realize I’ve reached for her, she’s in my arms, my palm cupping her chin firmly. “Verity, I did not send my friends to make sure you weren’t stealing from me. I didn’t ever once consider that you would do that. My only fear about leaving you here while I was at work was that I’d get back and you’d be gone,” I admit, my gaze locked with hers so she can see the honesty in my words.
Her eyes flutter closed, and I want to shake her and force her to look at me. “Maybe I wasn’t clear enough with you before I left. I didn’t want to freak you out or scare you off. But you, amore mio, are mine. I knew it the moment I laid eyes on you, and having you here in our home is the best decision I’ve evermade in my life. I don’t fucking care if you steal from me. You can have everything I own as long as you don’t leave me.”
Opening her eyes, she looks up at me with so much confusion in her depths that a growl rips from my lips. “I was trying to ease you into this. I didn’t want to scare you off, but apparently I haven’t made my intentions clear enough. I want you, Verity. I want to taste these perfect lips and suck on your perky little nipples. I want to sink my cock into your virgin cunt, then into your tight ass. I want to claim every fucking inch of you as mine. But more than that, I want to take care of you. I want to provide for you. I want to give you a home and every little comfort you’ve ever wanted. I want to make sure you never want or need for anything that I don’t give you ever again. So I have no reason to have people check up on you because everything of mine is already yours, and all I want is you. In my life and in our home. Eventually I want you in our bed, branded with my name and maybe full of my kid. But all of that starts and ends with you.”
Her lips fall open, her shock so evident, I decide to give her a moment to process what I just told her. Not wanting to check the time, I suck in a shaky breath, then run the pad of my thumb over her full bottom lip, slipping the tip into her mouth, finding her tongue and coating it in her taste before I lean forward and suck my thumb between my own lips.
“Do you understand what I just told you?” I question when she doesn’t speak.
Starting slowly, she shakes her head from side to side.
“You are mine, Verity. You are my woman. Soon you’ll be my wife. This is your home. Our home. I hate that I have to leave, but I have to go back to work soon. But in a couple of days when I get home, I’m going to strip you naked and claim all of your firsts as mine. You are not leaving. My friends might not have been checking up on you before, but from this moment on, they’regoing to make sure that you don’t leave me. Consider this house your cage for the next forty-eight hours. Do you understand?”
Blinking slowly, she slides her tongue out and licks her lips. Then she shakes her head, and I can’t help it. I smile. Keeping hold of her chin, I dip my face and kiss her. But instead of the careful, gentle kisses I’ve been giving her, this time I kiss her how I’ve desperately wanted to. I slip my tongue into her mouth and devour her, kissing her until she melts, her whole body swaying into mine, her hard nipples pressing deliciously into my shirt.
Reluctantly pulling away, I tighten my grip on her chin. “Do you understand?”
“Not really,” she admits. “How do you know?”
“If you knew a little more about this town, you’d get it. But I’m not saying all of this on a whim, Verity. I’m telling you because it’s the truth. I’d marry you now if we could get to the courtroom and back before I have to be back on base. But when I give you my name, I won’t be letting you out of bed for a week.”
“What if I don’t want that?” she questions, her voice small.
“Amore mio.” I smirk. “Are you telling me if I slid my fingers into your panties right now, they wouldn’t be wet with arousal? Because those pretty little nipples of yours have been pressing hard into my chest since the moment I put my hands on you.”
Her gaze dips to her chest, and I pull back just enough for her to see the hard buds clearly visible through her shirt.
“I…” she starts.
“You don’t need to explain. Just don’t lie to me. You want me just as much as I want you, don’t you?”
She starts to shake her head, but I keep her still with my hold on her chin. “You’re pissed at me because you thought I sent people to check up on you.”
“I get it,” she whispers.
“You can shout and scream and tell me how angry you are with me as much as you need to, and I’ll listen to every word. I’ll take any anger you want to throw at me. But you won’t lie, Verity. I’ll take every ounce of your truth, but not your lies. Do you understand?”
It takes her a moment before she slowly nods.
“Now you’re pissed at me, aren’t you?”
She nods again.
“Give it to me, amore mio. All of it.”
It takes her a minute as heat fills her cheeks, then she parts her lips. “You told me this was my home, then you sent strangers that I don’t know here. How was I supposed to know that they were just being nice? Do you know how many nice people I’ve met in the last ten years? Maybe one, and she was only nice because I was making her money. You made me feel like you’d lied to me. You made me feel like everything you said was bullshit and that you were just waiting for a reason to kick me out. You made me feel like you trusted me, like you wanted me here, and then they turned up, and it scared me because I let myself trust you, and I don’t do that.”
“What else, amore mio?” I push.
