I couldn’t leave everything up to my brothers. I called Stansbury myself to make sure all the arrangements were properly made. And to ensure the most important thing—solitude.

I didn’t want a single member of the staff anywhere near the estate. No yard crew. No maintenance. No security. Not even one of the cooks.

It was becoming clear that I wasn’t going to be able to tell my bear no. The only one who could do that was Sienna. She was the only one he would listen to. If I went through with this—if I claimed my mate I wasn’t going to do it with a house full of people.

I wanted freedom. I wanted sanctuary. I wanted to claim my mate in every fucking room of that house as many times as she asked. Until we were starving for air and thirsting for water. Until she was carrying my cubs.

I glanced over at Sienna in the car. My eyes fell to her stomach. The depth of instinct in me was unreal. I’d slept with thirty women, probably more. But never had I looked at one with the kind of longing I had for this woman. The harder I fought against it, the harder it tied me to her.

“It’s so beautiful out here.” She smiled as we passed an open field.

“It’s good to get out of the city.” I was in pain. I wanted to touch her. I wanted to kiss her. Draw her lips under mine. Inch my hands under her dress. Taste every drop of her honey.

“Do you come out here often?” she asked. “To the estate?”

“No.” Every word was a struggle. I couldn’t think about conversation when I wanted her.

“Oh.”

“We used to—all of us. My brothers and I. And our parents.”

She shifted her body toward me. “Are there problems with the house? Is that why you stopped?”

“It hasn’t been the same since my parents died.” I cleared my throat. “And I don’t have time to leave the office much.”

“I’m sorry about your parents. You’re so young to have lost them both.”

“It was a while ago.”

She smiled sadly. “Doesn’t mean you don’t still carry pain.”

I flinched when her hand slid over mine. It was like fire tearing through my veins.

“Sienna,” I warned.

She quickly retrieved her hand and I felt instant coldness where he skin had grazed mine. Fuck.

“Sorry,” she whispered.

I wanted to explain what was happening. How I didn’t have the strength to do anything but make her mine, but in the back seat of a Towne car didn’t feel right. We were only a few miles from the estate. I would tell her tonight.

I would tell her everything. And I would ask her to be mine. I’d ask her for the words that would unlock the magic between us. The words that would bind us together as fiercely as when our bodies united.

My mate deserved to know what the hell she was getting into and my bear had to have his answer. Either way, this agony would be over. I’d either wake up with my mate in my arms or I’d wake up alone.

* * *

“I can’t get over this place. It’s unreal.” I walked Sienna through the south wing of the house. It was my favorite part of the estate.

“I’m glad you like it.” I smiled.

She clutched a glass of wine. I had poured drinks for our tour. I wanted to show her the art gallery. I had a feeling she would appreciate it, maybe more than the other parts of the house.

I pushed open the French doors. We stepped inside.

“Oh my God.” She covered her mouth with one hand. “This is real? You have a Degas?” She walked slowly to the ballet painting.

“I do.” I watched her amazement with pleasure. Everything she did seemed to give me pleasure.

“Where? How?”

“I can’t take credit. It’s my mother’s collection. She loved art. She traveled all over the world to collect. Other than her sons, I think it was her proudest accomplishment.”

Sienna moved to the next painting. “She should have been proud. It’s unbelievable. Truly amazing, Grayson. And it’s been locked up here?”

I took a sip of the bourbon I had poured for myself. “Yes.”

“Doesn’t that make you sad? No one can enjoy this beautiful art.”

“I think what makes me sad about it is that my mother isn’t here to enjoy it.”

She paused her orbit around the room. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound thoughtless. Of course this is painful for you.”

“It’s all right. The collection is one-of-a-kind and I have been hiding it. Maybe I should rethink that.”

She grinned. I could see a glimmer in those baby blues of hers. “I think that would be wonderful. Maybe open it up for a house tour—like at the holidays?”

“Maybe.”

I stepped closer to her. I could smell the shampoo wafting from her hair. I saw the pulse in her neck beat erratically. My eyes traced the line of her lips. Her eyes flashed to mine as she dragged her bottom lip under her teeth.

I lost the reign I had on my bear. With one arm, I wrapped my hand around her waist, pulling her toward me as my lips crashed against hers. I kissed her with power and possession. I pushed my tongue between her soft lips while she whimpered and sighed. Her tongue twisting with mine in passionate strokes. I wanted to ravage her. Take her here against the wall. Over the velvet settee in the corner. On the floor where she could ride me wildly.

I broke away and caught the fire in her eyes.

“Wow,” she whispered, taking a step back. “Your kisses. I don’t have words actually.”

I threaded my fingers through hers. There was a reason the passion between us was cataclysmic.

“I have more to show you.” I led her down the hall.