We’re lying in bed hours later, and I’m holding Dani in my arms. Finally, after a month of feeling unsatisfied, it’s like having a five course meal after being stranded on an island and barely surviving. Her head is on my chest, she has one arm wrapped around my waist, and I have her hand close to my face, inspecting the delicate bones of her wrist, the light dusting of freckles that dot her arm. My finger traces a light brown beauty mark just under the bone in her wrist. I bring it up to my lips and kiss it for no other reason than I can. When I look down at her she is watching me closely. There’s a look of such longing on her face. It makes me want to promise her anything in the world she wants, and then bust my ass to make sure she’ll get it.

“What are you thinking, Hellcat?”

“Why do you call me Hellcat?”

“It fits you,” I tell her, only giving her half the truth.

She strains up to bury her face in my neck and breathes in against my skin.

“Are you sniffing me?”

“You smell good,” she mumbles, her lips placing small kisses against my skin.

I want this. I want more of this. I want this forever. I’m not letting her get away. Her fate is sealed. It was before this, but in this moment with the softness she’s showing me and the peace I feel? It’s cemented.

“I’ve missed the hell out of you, Hellcat.”

I feel her lips stretch into a smile against my neck—which is good. I want to give her more smiles.

“Sure you did, Cowboy.”

“Don’t do that, Dani,” I chastise her, pulling away, so she is forced to look at me.

“Do what?” she asks genuinely confused.

“Treat me—treat us like we’re just fucking. We’re not. I know that, and you know that.”

“Zander…”

“Admit it, Dani. Give me the words.”

“I…maybe? I don’t know. If it’s not just fucking, what are we?”

Disappointment hits my gut hard, but I shake it off. Dani wasn’t what she appeared to be at first, and still, she’s let me in. Hell, even after my monumental fuck-up she let me back in. I need to hold on to my patience a little longer.

“I don’t know how to make this any clearer to you. You’re mine,” I tell her, hoping it finally gets through to her.

“I’m not sure I can handle being a man’s property.”

So much for patience. “Too damn bad.”

She pulls up so the upper half of her body is stretched above mine. Which is okay—more than okay. The sheet falls away and pools at her hips. It’s a damn good show and she’s so put out with me that she doesn’t seem to notice.

“What is that?” she asks, and I have to force myself not to stare at her breasts. “Why do men think they can own a woman? What in your DNA makes you think that you can have a person as property and do with them whatever you want? What the fuck is it?”

Whoa, there’s a lot there to digest, but along with the anger in her eyes, I see something else, and what I see is fear. I need to rid her of that before she can accept my claim.

“It goes both ways, Hellcat. I belong to you too.”

“I…wait…What?”

“I said, I’m yours too.”

“What does that mean?”

“Just what I said. I’m yours.”

“As in…all mine?”

I fake a heavy sigh and slide down in the bed further, flopping my hands out on each side. “Do with me what you will, oh Mistress.”

I look up at her and wink. She kind of half smiles, but she’s looking at me more intently than I imagined she would.

“Seriously, Zander.”

I bring my hand up along her jawline, rubbing my thumb along the bone and take a breath.

“Did Nicole explain to you what claiming someone was in the club?”

“Well, yeah, but that’s them. They’re a couple and well we’re…”

“We’re what?” I say trying my best not to get exasperated at her.

“You know what I mean, they’ve been together for a…”

“Damn it woman, how long do you think Dragon and Nicole were together, before he claimed her?”

That seems to make her stop and think, so I press my advantage.

“How long have we been together, Dani? “And I can tell you right now, you can count the month you’ve been gone because my dick hasn’t gone near another woman since the moment I got a taste of you.”

“I…you’re serious?”

“As a heart attack.”

“There are things about me, things you don’t know…and Zander, it’s not that I don’t want to tell you…I just don’t think I’m ready to tell…anyone.”

“Hell...” I stop when she puts her finger to my lips.

“I’ve been working on it the last month, honest…and I’m not saying this to hurt you, Zander. That’s the last thing I ever want to do, but I’m not sure I can…I mean I’m not sure I’m ready for more than just this…I’m not sure I’m ready for us.” she sighs, and it sounds like the weight of the world is on her shoulders. “And I know…,” she whispers like it’s a dirty little secret, she doesn’t want to admit. “I know that I’m not ready for others to know there is an ‘us’.”

I let her words sit with me a moment. There are different ways I could react to what she’s telling me, but she’s trying. I can tell that, and I have seen enough signs to know I need to go slowly here. Still, I need a few things made clear.

“Do you plan on fucking other men while we’re sleeping together?” She jerks back like I slapped her.

“Of course not, but…”

“Do you want to keep going with whatever this is between us?”

“Yes,” she whispers, answering me eagerly, and her tone is full of pleasure.

“Then we’ll do this on the down low, just the two of us.” She smiles, and I feel the need to clarify my answer. “Just until you work it out in your head. Hellcat the two of us are meant to be together.”

She thinks about it and must agree, because she gets this devious little smile on her face, and leans down to whisper in my ear, “We have a few hours to play before Ray and Paul make it back.”

“Is that so?” I ask, as her hand slides down under the cover.

“Oh yeah.”

“What would you like to do?” I ask.

“You,” she answers simply, and there’s this happiness in her eyes.

“I don’t know Hellcat, I’m pretty tired.”

“Sorry Cowboy, but as my property, you must agree to my demands.”

“Is that so?” I ask on a groan, because she wraps my already hard cock in her hands.

“Afraid so, Zander. I don’t make the rules, I just enforce them.”

“Well if there’s no other choice,” I say lifting her up to straddle me. “But, since I’m so tired, maybe you could do all the work.”

And just like that, she guides me inside of her and lowers herself down on my shaft. Heaven. Warm, soft, wet, sweet Heaven. Dani.