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The word always bounces around in my mind, my heart, my soul. But it doesn’t mean the same thing to him as it does to me. He’s speaking generally.
I mean it.
Always, forever, me and Pearce.
Swallowing, I say, “Whatever it is, tell me.”
He nods, letting go of my hand and laying his forearms on the table. I’ve never seen him like this, so torn, so lacking in certainty. He’s nothing like the giant who loomed in the courtroom, master of his surroundings, nothing like the man who easily disarmed Elijah.
“Piper, my feelings for you… they’re far, far stronger than I’ve said.”
“Okay…”
He glances at me, holding my gaze for a moment before looking away, as though staring at me is too much.
“The second I saw you, I knew I had to have you. It was the moment you walked into the courtroom. I couldn’t explain it then and I can’t now, except to say I know, right in my gut, as deep as my bones, that you’re my woman.
“You belong to me. You’re going to be the mother of my children. You’re everything to me, Piper. I knew that the moment I saw you. There wasn’t a delay. There was no doubt. It was the most certain I’ve ever felt about anything.”
I shuffle my chair around the table, place my hand on his shoulder, squeeze in what I hope is a supportive way. A voice cautions from deep inside, telling me to wait, just in case I’ve somehow read this wrong.
Can he mean it?
Is he really going to make all my dreams come true?
He reaches up, laying his hand atop mine, squeezing firmly. “I knew I had to have you. It was a, hell, a primal feeling. I don’t know how else to describe it. It was like my body was calling out for yours. But it wasn’t just physical. It was everything. You’re mine, Piper. You belong to me. No other man gets to touch you, ever. No man gets to kiss you. No man gets to do anything intimate with you whatsoever.”
“Except for you,” I whisper.
He flinches, looking at me. “Aren’t you freaked out?”
“Tell me you mean it.” I blink as tears rise in my eyes and slide down my cheeks. “Say it’s true, Pearce. This isn’t a joke.”
“I’d never joke about this,” he says in such a serious tone. “You mean too much to me. This is real, Piper. Crazy, maybe, but real.”
My heart skips a beat and my throat feels like there’s a big ball of emotion lodged in there. “I felt exactly the same, the first time I saw you. All those feelings, Pearce, they hit me too. They, heck, became me. The second I saw you, I started thinking about a future, a family, all the happiness we could share.”
He leaps to his feet. “What?”
I rise with him, looping my arms over his shoulders, standing on my tiptoes. We devour each other with our gazes, fixated obsessively.
“Everything,” I say. “All the stuff you said, I felt – I feel – the same. I wasn’t going to tell you. I know that’s hypocritical, maybe, after everything that happened with my mom. But I didn’t want to ruin this. And really, I thought, what are the chances…”
“I’d feel the same?” he finishes breathily. “It’s the same question I asked myself. I couldn’t hope, couldn’t even dare to hope you’d feel the same way.”
“I feel it,” I whisper. “So strongly. So loudly I can’t hear anything else. You’re everything to me, Pearce.”
“You’re my whole world,” he growls.
He crashes his lips against mine and all my feelings burst out of me. I moan through the tight press of our mouths, shifting my body against his.
He grumbles and slides his hands down to my hips, squeezing, pulling me flush against him. His urgent need pressed against my belly.
Then something brushes against my leg. I look down to find Bones standing there, gazing up, wondering what his humans are doing.
“We have a lot to thank you for, boy.” I reach down and scratch the top of his head, which I’m quickly learning is one of his favorite spots. “If you hadn’t brought us together…”
“We never have to worry about that,” Pearce says, holding my hips hard. “We’re always going to be together. I can’t believe you’ve felt the same this whole time. I’ve been driving myself crazy wondering how you’d react.”
I giggle, meeting his eyes. “Ditto. I can still hardly believe it.”
“It’s the truth,” he says firmly. “You belong to me.”
“And you belong to me, yeah?” I grip onto his chest, digging my nails into his rock solid pecs. “You’re mine?”
“Always,” he snarls. “Forever and ever. Nothing is ever going to separate us. I’ll die – I’ll kill – to defend what we have. It’s a special thing, Piper, this bond between us. I feel so damn lucky.”
