Page 32 of Owned By Royal

“I was scared because everything I believed about the world changed in a matter of hours.” I nod silently. “I grew up believing there were only two kinds of people.” She takes another step. “Good people and criminals. Then I met you.”

She stops only a few feet away. “You and your friends live somewhere in between.”

I shake my head. “I don’t know if that’s a good thing.”

“I do.” Her answer comes without hesitation. “I spent the last week asking myself whether I could accept what you do.”

She smiles faintly. “You only go after people who’ve escaped justice. You protect innocent people. You risk your lives for strangers. I can’t pretend I’m completely comfortable with it. But...” She reaches for my hand. “I understand why you do it.”

Our fingers intertwine naturally, as though they were never meant to separate. “I also spent the last week trying to convince myself I could live without you. I failed.”

A quiet laugh escapes me. “So did I.”

Tears fill her eyes. “I love you, Royal.” The words settle into every broken place inside me. “I’ve loved you for weeks.” She laughs through those tears. “I think I loved you the day I watched you teasing Roman at the tattoo shop.”

“I knew. I saw the way you looked at me afterward.”

She shakes her head. “I thought I was hiding it.”

“You were terrible at hiding it.”

She gently swats my arm. “I was doing my best.”

I lift my free hand and brush away a tear slipping down her cheek.

For the first time in a very long time, the future no longer feels uncertain. The words unlock something in me. I pull her into my arms, burying my face in her hair, breathing her in. “I love you too,” I murmur against her temple. “God, Sierra. I love you so much it terrifies me.”

She pulls back, her eyes shining with tears. “Then show me.”

I don’t need to be asked twice.

I lift her into my arms, and she wraps her legs around my waist, her mouth finding mine. The kiss is desperate, hungry, weeks of longing compressed into a single moment. I carry her to my bedroom, laying her down on the sheets, following her down without breaking the kiss.

I pull back and look at her, really look at her. She’s beautiful, flushed and breathless, her hair spread across my pillow like spilled honey. Mine. She’s mine, and I’m never letting her go again.

“I missed you,” I say, my voice rough. “Every second. Every breath.”

“I missed you, too.” She reaches for me, her fingers tangling in my shirt. “Don’t make me wait anymore.”

I strip her slowly, reverently, peeling away her jeans, her top, her underwear, until she’s bare beneath me. Then I remove my own clothes, watching her eyes darken as she takes in the ink covering my skin. She sits up and traces a pattern on my chest, her touch feather-light.

“You’re beautiful,” she whispers.

I push her back down and settle between her thighs, kissing my way down her body. I need to taste her, need to feel her come apart beneath my mouth. It’s been too long, far too long, and I’m starving for her.

“Royal,” she gasps as I spread her open. “We don’t have to… I just want you inside me…”

“Shh.” I look up at her, meeting her eyes. “Let me. I’ve been dreaming about this. Let me make you feel good.”

I lower my mouth to her, and she cries out, her hips bucking against my face. She’s already wet, already ready, and the taste of her floods my senses. I lick into her with long, slow strokes, circling her clit, teasing her entrance with my tongue. She moans, her fingers gripping the sheets, her head thrashing side to side.

I slide one finger inside her, then two, curling them to find that spot that makes her see stars. She gasps, her body going rigid, and I know she’s close. I back off, slowing my pace, drawing out her pleasure.

“Royal,” she whimpers, frustrated. “P-please…”

“Not yet,” I murmur against her thigh. “I want you desperate. I want you begging.”

I return to her, building her up again, feeling her climb toward the peak. And again, I pull back, denying her release. She sobs, her hands fisting in my hair, trying to pull me closer.