She yelps, half-startled, half-offended. “Rowan, what the hell?—”
I toss her gently onto the middle of the bed.
She bounces once and glares. “You can’t just throw me around because you had a rough meeting?—”
“I can,” I say, voice low. “And I will.”
She’s breathless as I move to the foot of the bed and drag my eyes over each freckle.
“You’re freaking me out. Did the partners say something? Are you?—”
“Let me worship you.” The words come out clipped.
Her lips part.
“W-What?”
I move slowly this time and crawl up the bed.
“I let them talk,” I say, settling between her knees. “I let them reduce you. Diminish you. Like you’re just—legs. Or charm.”
Her voice is soft now. “Rowan…”
I don’t stop.
“They don’t know what you’re capable of. But I do. I’ve always seen it. You’re not pretty background. You’re a fucking masterpiece of nerve and brilliance, and I’ve never wanted to kneel more in my life.”
She swallows hard. Eyes wide. “You want to... kneel?”
My lips twitch. “Don’t get cocky.”
But I do.
I do want to kneel. To erase every snide comment from every man who thought they had the right to look at her like she was anything less than divine.
I reach for her ankle first and slide my hands up her calves.
She gasps when my lips touch her knee.
“Rowan…”
“I’m going to make you forget every room where men tried to turn you into wallpaper.”
Her breath catches.
I lift my eyes to hers.
“And then I’m going to tell you exactly who you are.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Tessa
Idon’t know what I expected when he walked back in. Maybe anger. Maybe one of his surgical takedowns about whatever toxic masculinity festival just went down in the cigar room. I definitely expected him to catalog every offense against his sense of order while looking constipated about it.
What I didn’t expect? Him closing the door and looking at me with something broken in his eyes.
And I really, really didn’t expect him to drop to his knees at the edge of the bed.
