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I pull back just enough to see his face, and he doesn’t put his walls back up. He is giving me as much of himself as I am giving him.

“Then stop trying to figure it out and fuck me.”

He lifts me in his arms and presses my back against the tiles as he expertly works my body. He doesn’t rush or get rough; it’s just us right here in this moment with each other. And when I inevitably come apart, it’s with his name on my lips, and with his eyes still fastened on me. I know his claim of “mine” rings true, and I have a feeling one does not easily walk away from this man. I’m his, and I think I’m okay with that fact.

He follows not long after, his face pressed to my neck, and one hand braced against the wall above my head, murmuring my name quietly against my skin.

Neither of us move for a moment.

Then his hand slides down from the wall and presses flat against my ribs, and I stay where I am with my back against the tiles.

“Still tired?”

“Shut up and don’t ruin the moment.”

He tilts his head and kisses me before helping to steady me on my feet. Then, once he conditions my hair and washes my body, we both get out.

I’m grateful I could pack an overnight bag this time, but when I pull out my pajamas, he silently throws me one of his shirts. I pull it over my head, and the smirk on his face when I turn around has me instinctively wanting to rip it off and tell him he is a smug bastard. But when I see the look in his eyes, I climb into his bed without saying a word.

Clay gets into the bed naked, pulling the sheet over his body as I roll toward him. I was tired before, but now I feel like I could stay awake until the sun rises.

“I have decided that if you plan to claim me, I should know more about you.”

He rolls onto his side to face me. “There is no plan. I have already done it, but what do you want to know?”

“I know you have two sisters, but I’ve only heard you talk about Jess.”

“My other sister’s name is Meeka.”

“Is she older or younger?” I ask as he reaches out to trace the tattoos on my arm.

“Older than Jess, younger than me.”

“Are they close?”

He smiles. “Thick as thieves, and they always have been. You can’t get a word in when they are both in the room. They talk over each other the entire time.”

“I always wanted a sister.”

“It’s a nightmare. I wish I had a brother.”

“Who do you worry about more?”

He thinks about it for a second. “It depends on the day. Jess is more reckless—she doesn’t think before she acts. Though Meeka is more careful, she isn’t as vocal as Jess if she has a problem. That worries me a lot.”

“What about your dad?”

“He is a good man, works a lot, always has since our mom passed. He did his best to raise three kids by himself. I took on the parent role because he was always working, and I guess that has carried over even now that they are both adults.”

“That must have been a lot to take on.”

Clay shrugs. “I didn’t think about it. They needed me and I was there for them.” Clay wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me closer.

“Do they know what you do here after dark?”

His lips pull up at the corners. “Jess does—she calls them my kinky little night chases. I nearly had a heart attack when she first said it.”

I chuckle. “And what did you say to her?”