I was done waiting. It was time to make Moira mine. It was time to show her that it had always been her, and would always be her. I’d never been the type of man to sit around and wait for things to fall into my lap, and right now I wasn’t going to start.

After I told her I needed to speak with her, we headed to her room, which was the closest. After she shut the door and walked into the sitting area, I steeled myself for what I was about to say to her. This was harder than I thought.

I went up against huge corporations, talked about mergers, dealt with difficult clients, but in the end I was a shark among them, not stopping until I was sated. But with Moira I was out of my depth, struggling to breathe, and not wanting to fuck this up.

But just saying what I thought, how I felt, was what I was going to do, because beating around the bush had never been my style.

Don’t be a fucking coward. Just tell her how you feel. Tell her you want her as yours.

Taking a step closer, I instantly saw the way she was breathing: hard, fast, as if she couldn’t control her body’s reaction to me. I wanted her unhinged, though, wanted her to become unbalanced for me.

I could see she wanted me, could see it by the way she reacted to me. Even if she wasn’t in love with me, tonight I’d seen the looks she gave me. It had me feeling hope she was right here with me, wanting this.

Passion, obsession, and possessiveness slammed into me.

I let myself appreciate the way she appeared, her outfit modest. Her clothing showed me all the curves of her womanly body, showed me a peek of her cleavage, the tease of her skin under the baby yellow fabric.

I wanted to peel off what she wore.

Lust slammed into me. But I didn’t just want to fuck Moira. I wanted her to know I’d do anything for her, that she was mine to cherish, protect … love. I walked up to her and cupped her cheek, felt her tense, and knew she was confused as fuck right now.

I smoothed my finger along her butter-soft skin, loving that she melted into me, that she was comfortable with me and knew I’d always be there for her.

“I love you, Moira,” I said, not about to try and lie to myself or her any longer. I was a grown-ass man, I knew what I wanted, and that was a life with this woman. “I love you so fucking much. I should have said something before, told you how I felt. But you’re so young, so innocent. I wanted you to experience life.”

And she was also my good friend’s daughter. That could be crossing lines, but then again I’d do anything for Moira, so fuck it if I lost my friendship. Making my girl happy was what I wanted in life.

I’d go to any lengths to make sure she was protected.

“Braxton.” She said my name so sweetly, so softly.

Everything in me tightened. I wanted to kiss her until she was breathless, until she was clutching at me and begging me to make her mine in any way I saw fit.

But I wanted to hear her say she wanted this too. I wanted her to tell me that she loved me, that she wanted this life.

“It’s been you since that day you graduated, since I saw you for the woman you’d grown into.” I inhaled deeply, taking in her scent, her very essence.

“I’ve loved you for years,” she finally said softly, and my heart skipped a beat. “God, this is really happening.” She glanced down, but I reached out and placed my finger under her chin, lifting her head up so she was forced to look at me.

She stared up at me, her eyes so wide, her expression so vulnerable.

I pulled her in close, stroking my hand over her hair, letting her know by the way I held her and the way I touched her that she’d always feel comfort and safety with me.

“I love you so much it hurts sometimes.”

Yeah, I knew exactly how she felt.

She had her hands on my back, and if possible, my body tightened even further.

She’s mine.

I didn’t have any self-control when it came to Moira, when it came to what I wanted with her.

“I’ve wanted you for so long, Braxton.”

Right now, the way she looked at me, the things she said … I wasn’t about to try and stop myself from having her, from showing her with my body that I loved her as well.

I couldn’t have had restraint even if I wanted to.

But I sure as hell didn’t want to control myself, didn’t want to stop this.

“Do you want me, want this right now?”

She nodded and licked her lips.

I cupped my hand on the back of her head, held her in place, and leaned forward. For a second all we did was stare into each other’s eyes and breathe the same air.

God, she smelled incredible, and I knew she’d taste the same.

“I want this.”

I groaned, my body shaking.

She looked up at me with wide eyes, her desire clear, her emotions right there for me to see.

“I’m going to devour you, baby girl,” I said on a harsh sound. I leaned down to kiss her like my life depended on it, like I’d wanted to do for the entire night.

We were just getting started.

She moaned for me, and I kissed her harder. I tightened my hold on her hair, tilted her head back, and moved my mouth down her neck, licking a path along her pulse point. I felt how hard and fast it was beating, how nervous she was right now.

With my tongue and lips I ran a path down the slender arch of her throat, licking, sucking. She rested her head back on the wall, her mouth opening slightly, her breathing coming on fast.

“Arch your back for me.”

She did as I asked, and I felt her breasts press to my chest.

“You consume my thoughts. It’s you that I live for.”

“Braxton.”

My cock jerked at the way she said my name.

“I need you.”

I cupped the side of her face and ran my tongue along her bottom lip, tasting the sweet flavor of her mouth. God, she was perfect. She was mine.

I dug my fingers into her hair and pulled her impossibly closer. I wanted us to be one person, wanted her embedded in me, ingrained in every part of me.

“I don’t care about anything else but being with you.” Her voice was soft, her lips red and glossy. “But this will be my first time, and I’m nervous.”

“My sweet girl,” I said in a low voice, looking at her mouth, still holding on to her.

The silence stretched between us for several seconds.

“But my nerves won’t stop me from going forward.” And then she rose on her toes and kissed me like she was starving for me. I kissed her harder.

I groaned, loving that she parted her lips for me. I plunged my tongue into the warm, sweet recess of her mouth.

“Are you ready for me, baby girl?”

She nodded, her mouth consumed with mine.

“How ready are you for me, Moira?”

“I’m soaking wet for you.”

I wanted to be buried inside of her, to feel her pussy milking my cock. I wanted to pump my seed deep into her body, making her mine, having her take it all.

I had no control over my actions anymore, not right now. Moira was so receptive to me, so primed. I moved my thumb to her lips and slowly around her pink flesh, and leaned down so our mouths were only inches apart. “It’s always been you for me, sweet girl.”

She arched her chest, pressing her breasts against me. My cock jerked, the fucker demanding to be free.

I pushed her back against the wall. This noise left her. “Do you want me, want me to claim you as mine?” I ran my tongue along her lips, and she parted for me.

“Yes, Braxton. I want that and more.”

“I’m going to memorize every inch of you, make you see—feel—that I will worship the very ground you walk on.”

“Do you want that, Moira? Do you want to come undone for me?”

She shivered in my embrace and closed her eyes. “Yes,” she groaned.

I pulled back and waited until she opened her eyes and looked at me. The startling clarity of the color could have dropped me to my knees. “I want to make you come without even being inside of you.”

I felt like the world was crashing down around me. Tonight I would show my girl what she meant to me.

She stared into my eyes, and I felt my heart beat a little faster at the vulnerability and innocence I saw.

“You hold so much power over me, baby girl.”

I kissed her again at the same time I lifted her into my arms and carried her into the bedroom, needing to make love to the woman who’d stolen my heart.