I stood with Carmen at a high-top table in the bar. It was a Friday night, and after the long workweek, people were celebrating the arrival of the weekend. Music played overhead, the bass thudding in the background. I was in a purple dress with black heels. Carmen looked like a supermodel in a blue dress cut low in the front.

“So what did Griffin and your dad talk about?” Carmen stirred the ice in her drink with her straw. We’d both finished our drinks, and Griffin had left for the bar to get us refills. It was a packed night, so he probably wouldn’t be back for a while.

“He didn’t really say.”

“Does he ever really say anything?” she teased, glancing at him behind me.

I chuckled. “Not with his mouth, no. He usually conveys his thoughts with a look.”

Her eyes moved over my shoulder again, seeing him in the background. “I think I know what he’s trying to say right now…”

I didn’t turn around. “He’s probably staring at my ass.” I could feel his piercing stare against my back, feel him surrounding me even when he was fifty feet away at the bar.

“He’s staring at all of you, hon.”

I finally glanced over my shoulder to look at Griffin. He was leaning against the bar waiting for service, and he killed time by staring at me like the most possessive man in the universe. He staked a claim all the way on the other side of the room, keeping the boys away with his brooding confidence. Just as he did when we were alone together, he wasn’t afraid to give me that look…the same look he showed when he was on top of me, driving my body into the mattress underneath him.

“The hottie beside him practically has her ass cheeks popping out, and he doesn’t even notice her.”

A woman in black heels was next to him, wearing a short red dress, the hem of which had risen throughout the night. Now the bottom part of her ass cheeks were visible, and her thong wouldn’t be far behind. Bones seemed oblivious to her, watching me like I was the only thing that mattered. “She’s not his type.” I turned back around, unable to wipe the smirk off my face.

“What’s his type?” she asked.

I shrugged. “Me.”

Her eyes softened. “I’ve never seen you so happy, Vanessa. Not even before you met him.”

“No. I didn’t discover the meaning of happiness until now.”

She glanced at the bar again. “Still staring at you.”

“He’ll be doing that all night.”

“Is he like that at home?”

“Yes. Every second of every day.”

She sighed, her eyes moving to the ceiling. “That’s one hell of a man. He’s the kind of man who doesn’t make you jealous with other women…but makes all women jealous of you. He’s possessive but not mistrustful. He’s built like a brick shithouse. He’d take a bullet for you or anyone you love in a heartbeat.” She sighed again. “He knows how to handle a real woman. He’s so bad that he’s good. I hope I find a man like that someday…but I suspect he’s one of a kind.”

I’d been with a few men, and none of them came close to Bones. “He’s definitely one of a kind.”

“Does he have a brother by chance?”

I chuckled. “No. Sorry.”

“Damn,” she said. “Maybe I need to walk the streets late at night and hope I witness a crime…”

“Carmen, you better be joking.”

“Worked for you, didn’t it?” she teased.

“You’ll find the right man, Carmen. I don’t know when or how…but you will. Conway was never the kind of guy to be a husband and a father…until he met Sapphire. So you’ll meet a guy and turn him into the man you want him to be.”

“I don’t want to turn him into a man. I want him to turn me into a woman. Catch my drift?”

I chuckled. “Good point.”

“I’m sure Griffin was already a man when you met.”

“Yep. All man.”

She scanned the bar, seeing the crowd of men and women. “I don’t mind being single. It’s fun. I have my independence, I have my shop, and I’m still young. There’s no rush. But all those first dates, awkward bad sex, and clingy men are getting old. Seeing what you have with him makes me want that too. But I know I can’t rush it. I have to wait for Prince Charming to walk in the door.”

“You know what I’ve learned?”

“What?” she asked. “You have it all figured out.”

“You don’t want Prince Charming,” I said. “You don’t want a vanilla gentleman. I liked Antonio, but he was too plain for me. He was too safe, too boring. I never would have been happy with him, not like I am with Griffin.”

“So you’re into the bad boys?”

“Griffin is a man, not a boy. And no, that’s not my type either. I just realized I wanted a strong man who wasn’t intimidated by my sass or strength. I wanted a strong man who was powerful enough to make me feel safe, even though I don’t need a man for anything. Griffin does all those things…makes me want things I didn’t know I needed.”

Her eyes glanced up, following someone through the bar. “Incoming.”

I smelled him when he was feet away. His cologne mixed with his aftershave and body soap filled my nostrils. I could feel the heat his body generated before he actually touched me. He set the drinks on the table, two drinks for us and one scotch for him. He moved to the spot beside me and rested his arm on the surface, his fingers gripping his glass. His gaze burned right through my skin.

“Thanks for the drink.” Carmen sipped hers through the straw.

He didn’t look at her, his eyes on me. “You’re welcome.”

I was used to him staring at me like that all the time, but everyone else wasn’t. “Stop.”

He knew exactly what I was referring to, but he lifted his glass and took a drink without directing his gaze elsewhere. “No.”

Carmen smirked. “Let the man do what he wants. He’s earned it.” She looked at the crowd again, giving us some privacy.

The corner of his mouth rose in a smile. “She’s my favorite Barsetti.”

“You’ve said that before.” I gripped my glass but didn’t take a drink.

“I’m saying it again.”

“Aren’t I your favorite Barsetti?” I took a drink, letting the cool alcohol move down my throat.

“You won’t always be a Barsetti.” He drank his scotch, drinking like an alcoholic even though he’d already cut back.

I kept my face controlled and didn’t react to what he said, but his words hit me right in the heart. We’d talked about getting married before. He said if my father approved of him, he wanted to get married, but since we’d been back together, the conversation hadn’t come up. I never mentioned it, not wanting to rush him. As long as we were together, I was happy. Whether I was his wife or not, the connection we had was unbreakable. After everything he’d been through, he could take all the time he wanted. I wanted him to be my husband, but if he never was, it wouldn’t change anything.

He held my gaze then took another drink, unashamed of what he said.

“So, for now, I’m your favorite.”

He moved closer to me, his head bent down so he could bring his face closer to mine. “For now.” His hand moved across the deep curve in my spine, his fingertips spanning across my entire back. His palm was warm, heating the fabric right against my skin. He didn’t show public affection very often, not with his hands, at least. But now he was, hinting at the things he wanted to do with me when we were back at home.

Carmen turned back to us after she was finished surveying the room. “Griffin, you got any guys to set me up with? Since I’m your favorite?” She smiled at him, her long brown hair framing her shoulders perfectly. “I’m looking for the strong and silent type, someone like you. You know, bad but not too bad…”

Bones finally took his gaze off me to look at my cousin. “No.”

“You don’t have a single guy?” she asked incredulously.

He drank then set the glass down. “No.”

She cocked an eyebrow. “No friends or what?”

“I have a few,” he answered, his voice deep. “But none that are good enough for you.”

“Aww.” She stirred her drink. “That’s sweet of you to say.”

“What about Max?” I asked.

Bones shot down the suggestion immediately. “No.”

“What about the other one?” I asked.

“No,” he repeated, stirring his drink.

“Looks like you’re on your own,” I said to Carmen.

“Oh well.” She looked into her drink just as a man walked up to the table. With a drink in his hand, he came to Carmen’s side.

“I like your dress.” He looked her up and down, a handsome man in a fitted t-shirt. He was confident. A little too confident.

“Thanks.” Carmel smiled. “I’m Carmen—”

“Boy.” Bones stared down the man who joined us, giving him a terrifying glare that would make anyone piss their pants. He spoke in a rich baritone, his powerful voice deeper than the bass that played overhead.

I stilled at his unexpected aggression, and Carmen nearly jumped out of her skin.

The guy turned to him, his glass starting to slip due to the sweat that had formed on his palm.

“Men only,” Bones barked. “No boys. Leave.”

The guy didn’t stand up to Bones and walked back into the crowd, not saying another word before he disappeared into the groups of people that were shoulder-to-shoulder in the packed room.

Carmen turned back to Bones, her eyebrow raised. “What was wrong with him?”

“Yeah?” I asked.

“He was drinking Jack and Coke.”

Carmen and I stared at each other, having no idea what that was supposed to mean.

“One, how did you know it was Jack and Coke?” I asked. “And two, what does that matter?”

“I can tell by looking at it.” He turned his gaze on me again, just as possessive as before. “And it fucking matters. If a guy has to dilute his drink with cola, he’s not a man. He’s a boy. And that opening line was pathetic. He’d last two minutes in bed before collapsing on top of you. Barsetti women belong with real men, not pathetic little boys pretending to be men.” He downed the rest of his scotch until the glass was empty before he marched back to the bar to get a refill.

Carmen watched him go, and when he was out of earshot, she smiled. “He’s intense, huh?”

“Always.”

“Kinda territorial.”

“It’s because he likes you.”

“He’s territorial because he likes me?” she asked, tilting her head to the side.

“Yeah. You’re his favorite, so he wants the best for you.”

“Well, that’s sweet…even though I didn’t need another overprotective brother.” She stirred the contents of her glass before she took a drink.

“I didn’t think I needed another protective man in my life either.” I’d never needed a man to take care of me, to keep me safe at night or keep me warm when the heater died. I’d never needed a man to walk me home, to lift heavy things to make my life easier. “But now I can’t imagine my life without that overprotective, psychopathic, territorial caveman.”

After we walked Carmen home, we headed back to our little apartment above the gallery. It was strange to walk down the cobblestone streets with him beside me, after I’d walked these streets alone for so long. It was a warm summer night, and the breeze licked the sweat off the back of my neck. My heels were starting to kill my feet because I’d been wearing them for nearly five hours. I didn’t think we needed to walk Carmen home, but Bones insisted, so that was an extra mile I had to spend in the shoes.

Bones walked beside me, wearing a gray V-neck that stretched across his powerful chest and thick arms. Over a foot taller than me and possessing the menace of a gargoyle, he kept the path ahead of us clear with just his presence. His powerful arms swung slightly by his sides, and he stared straight ahead, his eyes scanning for danger that didn’t exist.

I sighed under my breath, the heels becoming too much. I didn’t care how dirty my feet got from walking barefoot. No way in hell could I walk three more blocks like this. I stopped and slipped them off.

Bones stopped at the exact same moment, in tune with me completely.

“I can’t wear these anymore. They’re—”

He scooped me into his arms and cradled me against his chest before he walked up the street again. Like I weighed as much as a pile of feathers, he carried me down the street under the dimly lit streetlamps.

I held my heels with a single hand, letting them dangle past his shoulder. “I could have walked.”

“I don’t want your dirty feet against my chest.”

I watched his side profile as he moved in and out of the light from the streetlights. His hard jaw was tight and covered by a slight beard, and his blue eyes faced forward as he carried me home. There wasn’t a sign of exertion, not a twinge of pain from his healed gunshot wound. “You already know how you’re going to fuck me when we get home?”

“I always know.”

I moved my arm around his neck, my heels dangling from his other shoulder. My mouth slid to his neck just below his ear, and I kissed him gently, dragging my soft lips over the cords in his neck. “Maybe I know how I want to fuck you.” I kept kissing him, my hot breaths falling on his ear.

He crossed the street and kept going, his body not indicating his enjoyment. We were in public, so he was prepared for an attack from every direction. After everything he’d seen, he was always paranoid. If he enjoyed my kisses, he only enjoyed them so much.

“Don’t care.”

I circled my other arm around his neck, my face resting against the side of his head. “You don’t care how your woman wants to fuck you?

“No. Tonight, I want to do all the fucking.”

I closed my eyes, aroused within seconds. Just a moment ago, all I could think about was the pain from my heels, but now all I could think about was the powerful muscles that were holding me up effortlessly, the way my man told me he would take me the second we were home. I liked being surrounded by him, his massive body dipping into the mattress and protecting me from the horrors of the world. I liked feeling him enjoy me, take all of me like a prize he’d won. I spoke into his ear. “Get me home.”

He turned his head my way and brushed a kiss over my hairline. “Yes, baby.”

He carried me up the stairs, got the door unlocked with one hand, and took me inside the apartment he’d bought for me. My shoes hit the ground, thudding against the hardwood floor along with his heavy footfalls. He whisked me away into the bedroom and dropped me on the covers. He yanked his shirt over his head then moved for his bottoms, moving as quickly as he could because he wasn’t in the mood to take it slow. Even if I asked him to make love to me, he probably wouldn’t do it. His boxers and jeans hit the ground, and he stood in the darkness, all muscle, ink, and power. His narrow hips led to a broad chest that was flanked with enough definition to make him look like a Roman soldier. The black ink contrasted against his fair skin, a fresco all over his body. His eight-pack was hard as concrete, and his shoulders were chiseled with so many individual muscles, he seemed to be carved from marble.

I stared at him, my thighs aching and my pussy burning.

His knees hit the mattress, making all the gravity shift because of his weight. His hands moved up my short dress, and he gripped the lace of my panties before he yanked them down my long legs. Once he pulled them off my feet, he pressed them into his nose and took a deep breath, his eyes locked on mine.

Oh god.

He tossed my panties onto the floor then shoved my dress above my hips. Normally, he stripped off every piece of clothing before he enjoyed me, but tonight, he wasn’t in the mood to wait an extra thirty seconds.

He grabbed both of my hips, his fingers spanning across my ass, and lifted me until my body was level with his. He held me in place as he shoved himself into me, getting his big cock inside me with a single thrust.

“God…” My hips were in the air, and my shoulders were against the bed. I clutched his wrists and watched him pound into me, taking my pussy like he owned it.

He fucked me fast, hitting me hard with every thrust. All the muscles of his core tightened and shifted as he used his stomach, ass, and back to shove himself inside me over and over.

“Griffin…” My head rolled back, and I enjoyed this man, enjoyed everything he gave to me.

He moved one hand to my throat, gripping me while he held me with a single hand. “Eyes on me.”

I turned my gaze back to him, his hand still around my neck.

“This. Pussy. Is. Mine.”

“Griffin…”

“Say it.” He squeezed me a little tighter, his thrusts never faltering.

“My pussy is yours.”

“No.” He dropped my hips and repositioned himself, his arms moving behind my knees. He buried himself between my legs, going balls deep. He started to fuck me again, this time deep and hard. “It’s not yours, Vanessa. It’s mine now. Say it again.”

I knew I was going to come a few times that night. He was perfect between my legs, so big and deep that I would agree to anything he told me to say. “This pussy is yours.”

He angled his neck down and gave me a hot kiss, full of tongue and longing. “Yes. Yes, it is.”

Like every morning at seven a.m., I woke up to Bones helping himself between my legs. He always turned me on my back, spread my knees, and shoved his dick inside me without even waiting for me to wake up. He rocked me into the mattress, hard enough to make the headboard tap against the wall, but not nearly as aggressive as he was at night.

My eyes remained closed, and I felt him bury his face in my neck, fucking me in a lazy way. One hand fisted the back of my hair, and he clenched his ass as he buried himself deep inside me. My hand gripped his tight ass, and I widened my legs farther, still not waking up fully.

First thing in the morning, he always wanted to come inside me. It was the only time when he was selfish in bed, using me to dump his come somewhere. But he always made me come anyway, whether that was intentional or not. His hard body rubbed against my clit, and his warmth and smell made me convulse all around him. He usually came in that same moment, finishing within five minutes of when he started.

He pulled himself out and left me there, my eyes still closed because it was way too early to wake up. It didn’t matter what time Bones went to bed, he was always up insanely early. And it didn’t matter how early I went to bed, I was never up before nine.

The mattress shifted when he left the bed. I heard him walk around, pull on his sweatpants, and then walk out.

I fell back asleep before he reached the kitchen.

Two hours later, I woke up and picked up his abandoned shirt from the foot of the bed. He’d been wearing it the night before, so it still smelled like his soap and cologne. The cotton was soft against my skin, all the way down to my knees. I wiped the sleep from my eyes before I walked down the hallway into the living room.

He was sitting at the dining table, his laptop open with a cup of coffee beside him. He was shirtless, the muscles of his body cut and defined. His shoulder blades moved the muscles of his back every single time he breathed. His ink covered his battle scars, acting as an artful bandage to hide his old wounds. The hair on the back of his neck was clipped short, merging into the short strands on his head. His knees were wide apart as he sat in the chair, a large man taking up every single inch of space.

It was a view I could wake up to every single day.

A view I would never get tired of.

I came up behind him and rested my palm against his shoulders, feeling his hard muscles under his scorching hot skin. My hands slid down his chest as I bent over to embrace him. My arms wrapped around his shoulders, and I pressed my face into his neck. “Morning.”

His arm covered mine, just the way he did every morning. “Good morning, baby.”

I kissed his neck before I released him. As I walked away, he gave me a playful smack on the ass.

When I looked at him over my shoulder, he was already looking at his laptop again. “You want anything?”

“No.”

“You already ate?”

“Two hours ago.”

I narrowed my eyes as I looked at the time on the clock. “Shit, it’s ten?”

He chuckled, never taking his eyes off the screen. “Yes.”

I rubbed my eyes before I made myself a bowl of cereal. “I should get to work downstairs, but I need to get out to the house. I haven’t seen Conway in a while, and Sapphire is about to pop.”

“I would offer to help, but I think I would scare off all your customers.”

I rolled my eyes because he had no idea how wrong he was. Women all over would flock inside to look at him, not my artwork. “I want you to come with me anyway.” I carried my cereal to the table and started to eat.

Bones didn’t make an argument. He scrolled through a document on his computer then typed an email. I didn’t know what he was working on, but it probably had something to do with Max and his crew.

“You want to come along?”

He drank his coffee, his eyes focused on the screen. It was the only time of day when he didn’t drink scotch. And it was the only time of day when he didn’t stare at me as often as usual. He took care of business in the morning and didn’t get distracted. “If you want me there.”

I didn’t expect Bones to immediately get along with my family, even after receiving a long overdue apology, but I hoped he would get closer to my family naturally. My father was here a few days ago, but Bones never elaborated on that afternoon. Since he was a man of few words, it was impossible to get him to say anything. “I always want you there.” I scooped my spoon into the bowl and kept eating.

Silence passed. The morning light filtered through the windows of the apartment. The artwork on the walls was visible, looking beautiful in the natural light. There were a few images of Bones, images that captured the intense way I loved him.

“I’m sure my father wants to see you again. The two of you were out for a long time the other day.”

Silence.

I waited for him to say something and gave up when words never came. “So, you guys just got something to drink and talked?”

He sighed and finally withdrew his gaze from the screen. It was the first time he’d really looked at me all morning. “I haven’t left my job yet, baby. I have work to do. Can we talk about this later?”

He never bothered me when I was painting, so I knew I had to respect his request. “Of course.”

He turned back to his computer, dismissing me.

I stared at him, enjoying my breakfast while letting my eyes be entertained by the man across from me. I watched the way his head shifted slightly when he was thinking, the way his eyes remained still and focused when he was reading. Sometimes, he rubbed his fingers along his jaw, deep in contemplation.

After fifteen minutes of that, Bones flicked his eyes up and looked at me.

I held his gaze, unflinching despite being the recipient of that powerful look.

“Yes?” he asked, his voice deep.

“I can stare at you all I want. No questions asked.”

His eyes turned slightly playful before he looked at his screen again. “No questions asked…”