“Thank you,” Elise said with that bright, grateful tone that seemed to charm everyone she met.
We followed the signs down a narrow hallway to the gift shop. It was cozy and cluttered, the kind of place that smelled faintly of cedar and old postcards. Elise drifted toward a rack of T-shirts and pajama bottoms, her fingers brushing over the fabric.
“Not exactly my usual style,” she murmured, holding up a soft gray shirt that readNew Orleans Vibesin faded lettering.
“It suits you,” I said without thinking.
She shot me a look, amused and a little shy, before turning to the rack again. “What about you? Going for something equally glamorous?”
I grabbed a black T-shirt and a pair of sweats, ignoring her grin. “Function over fashion.”
When we returned to the front desk, the innkeeper handed me a single key attached to a brass tag. “Room twelve. It’s small, but the heater works like a charm. You’ll be dry in no time.”
The room was exactly as promised. Small but warm, with one queen bed and a soft yellow glow from the bedside lamp. The sound of rain against the window filled the silence, steady and rhythmic.
Elise disappeared into the bathroom with her new clothes while I sat on the edge of the bed, rubbing a hand over my face.
For once I wasn’t thinking about strategy or outcomes. Just her.
That was new.
That wasn’t how this usually worked. With other women, everything was easy.
With anyone else, I would’ve already mapped this out. Known exactly how the night would go before it even started. But Elise made things unpredictable.And for the first time in a long time, I wasn’t entirely sure I had the upper hand.
When she came out in a T-shirt and shorts a few minutes later, nearly every ounce of restraint I’d been holding on to slipped a little.
She caught me looking, not that I was trying to pretend like I wasn’t. “You can’t keep looking at me like that.”
“Looking at you like what?” I pressed.
“This isn’t real,” she whispered after a moment. “You’re my boss. Whatever this is, it ends when we go back to California.”
Something inside me snapped.Boss?She was acting like I hadn’t had my tongue down her throat less than twenty-four hours ago.
Fuck that.
I stood up from the bed and stalked toward her until I was towering over her, forcing her to meet my gaze. “We’re way past all that boss and assistant crap, and you know it.”
“Are we?” she asked softly, but there wasn’t conviction behind it.
“We are.” I softened my tone, just enough to let her see the truth in my eyes, “I don’t make it a habit of repeating myself, but I will because I feel like you need to hear it. “You’re mine.” Her playful defiance faltered for the tiniest fraction of a second, and I seized it. I took another step closer, the space between us shrinking enough for her to feel the heat radiating off me. Her breath hitched ever so slightly, and I could see the awareness inher eyes. She knew the effect she had on me. “You hear me?” I murmured, letting my voice drop to a near whisper, rough and intimate. “I mean it, Elise. No one else's. All mine.”
Elise laughed softly, that nervous, breathy sound that made my chest tighten. “You sound confident,” she whispered, though her eyes were glued to mine.
“I am,” I admitted, closing the gap until we were just inches apart. “Because it’s true.”
Her lips parted, and I felt her leaning in slightly, that tiny movement giving me permission, teasing me, daring me. I tilted my head, brushing my forehead against hers, letting the tension build, slow and electric.
“Are you sure about that?” she whispered, voice low and teasing.
“Never been more sure of anything in my life,” I murmured. And then I claimed her, letting our lips meet in a kiss that started slow and questioning, then deepened as the heat between us ignited. “You’ve been mine since the moment I laid eyes on you.” I bent down, brushing my lips against the soft skin of her shoulder. “You were mine then.” I kissed the pulse at her neck, feeling it stutter beneath my lips. “You’re mine now.” I backed her up against the wall, caging her in. “And you’ll be mine forever.” I hovered my lips just inches from hers. Close enough to feel the hitch in her breath, the heat radiating between us. “Say it,” I murmured. “Say you’re mine.” Her lips parted, a tremor running through her before she spoke.
“I’m yours.”
The words barely escaped her mouth before I crushed my lips to hers, claiming what had been mine all along.
And this time, I wasn’t stopping.
