Corey’s breathing evens out, but I can’t sleep.

He has one arm under my neck, the other draped across my chest, and I lie on my back and stare at the ceiling.

I don’t regret what we’ve done. Being with him was everything I ever dreamed of. But the very nature of my upbringing leaves me with a sense of guilt.

Ash and before him, his father, made all the decisions in the community about who married who. Chastity was drummed into us, although when Ash took over, his little harem was an obvious breach of that. Except that was okay, because it was the leader. He was different. The girls he picked usually thought it was some kind of honour.

The idea of Ash Harris’s hands on me makes me nauseas.

Corey’s, on the other hand …

“Con.” Corey’s deep voice rumbles in my ear, and his lips brush my neck. “Having trouble sleeping?”

“I thought you were asleep.”

“I’m a pretty light sleeper. Pays to be when I sleep rough while working nights.”

I turn my head. The room’s so dark, I can’t see anything, but Corey’s all around me.

“Are you okay?” he asks.

“I’m fine.”

“But you can’t sleep.”

I sigh. “I’ve barely left this house, but this world is so different to the one I grew up in.”

“You’re feeling guilty because we had sex.”

I wish I could see his expression. How the hell does he know that?

“A little. I’m glad we did it.” I close my eyes. “Being with you is the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

“Sweetness,” he murmurs. His lips land on mine, and he gives me a gentle kiss. It’s not filled with the urgency of his earlier kisses, but then again, it’s for a different reason. This is why I have no regrets about being with Corey. While there’s this raw attraction between us, it’s not just sex. He cares.

“I don’t regret walking away from the life I had, but I do miss Mum and Dad.”

“Do you think they’ll ever leave?”

I shrug. “They were there long before I was born. They’ve lived there for probably forty years. It’s the life they know. I remember my dad saying ages ago that he didn’t know how they’d cope out in the world. It’s so isolated inside those walls.”

“Maybe now you’re here, they’ll change their minds. We can help them if they want to go.”

My heart thuds. “I can’t go back to talk to them.”

“No, but maybe I can.”

“You’d do that for me?”

His breath is hot on my cheek. The ache in my core which has existed since that first night when he put his arms around me gets worse. I’ve gone from one extreme to the other.

I want him again.

Now.

“I’d probably do anything for you, sweetness.”

I melt at his words. “There’s only one thing I want,” I whisper.

“What’s that?”

I choke on the words. This is so unlike me, but if I don’t show Corey, he’s never going to know. Turning the rest of my body to face him, I hook my ankle around his calf.

“Oh.” He shifts his hand to pinch a nipple, and I gasp. “You want me inside you again?”

“Yes.” The word is strained, but it’s clear, and before I can say anything else, his mouth is on mine. Every lash of his tongue, I meet with mine. I’m so determined to prove I’m his equal in this.

“Jesus, woman, you undo me.”

“I hope that’s a good thing.”

“It’s a spread-your-legs-for-me-and-I’ll-take-care-of-you kind of thing.”

I roll onto my back, and Corey moves quickly, quietly. I don’t even hear him lift off the bed, but his breath moves from my cheek to between my legs.

I arch my back as he plays me with his tongue. I never imagined sex could be this good. Back home, it wasn’t talked about much once a couple was matched. The descriptions I’d heard had sounded clinical.

There’s nothing clinical about the way Corey’s touching me.

He grips my thighs, his face pressing into my flesh. I tear up, loving that he’s the only man to touch me this way. He’s the only man I ever want to touch me.

“Hey.” His voice is in my ear again, and I turn my head despite the darkness of the room. “Are you okay?”

“How did you know?”

“You sniffed. It wasn’t loud, but I happen to have excellent hearing.” His tone is kind and loving. I’m the luckiest woman alive right now.

“I’m just really happy,” I whisper.

“I’m glad.” He captures my mouth with his, and I surrender to my feelings. Nothing else in the world can compare to this.

In the dark, the drawer opens, and his weight’s on me. I want this—I want him so much. He’s so gentle despite his size, and I part my legs wider to let him all the way in.

“Fuck you feel good,” he murmurs in my ear. I close my eyes as his lips graze my neck. He lingers, his breath floating above my skin as he moves inside me slowly. “Can’t believe I could have fallen asleep and missed this.”

I laugh. “I’m sure there’ll be plenty of other opportunities.”

His face is so close to mine as he speaks. “This is still our first night together. We only get one of these.”

He speeds up, his weight lifting from me as he moves. I want to see this, want to see him, but the room’s so dark, and even though my eyes have adjusted, I can’t see enough.

I meet him with every thrust, and he groans. “Keep that up and I’ll be finished before I’ve started.”

But I can’t stop. I’m way past my initial discomfort when he was first inside me, and the sensation of him moving in and out feels so good.

This is what sex should be like.

He finds my mouth with his, and his hand slips between us. I moan when his thumb strokes my clit.

“Come for me, Constance.” His voice is right in my ear, and I spread my legs a little wider to give him more access.

Butterflies build in my stomach again, and when my climax hits it comes in waves, my body clenching around him.

“Holy shit.” He slams into me and stops. His movements become slow and small, and I wish that I could see his face in the dark.

When he shifts off of me and to my side, I sigh. There’s something comforting about having his body pressed against mine.

“Tomorrow, I’ll go and get my annual check-up out of the way. It’s a little early, but if you’re on the injection, then we can ditch the condoms.” He runs his hand up my neck. “I want to be buried deep inside you with nothing between us.”

My breath catches. “I want that, too.” I squeak, and he laughs.

“I think I’ve completely corrupted you.” Corey plants a kiss on my forehead.

“You just woke me up.”

“I like you being awake.”

Corey was right.

His bed is a million times more comfortable than the spare bed is.

On the much softer mattress, I’m surrounded by him. He’s so tall and well-built that I’m cocooned against his chest, wrapped in his body.

I feel safer than ever.

I didn’t plan for this to happen. Maybe it was inevitable with the electricity between us. Though, until yesterday, I didn’t know for sure it went both ways.

Now I do.

Corey stirs, burying his face in my neck, his lips grazing my skin. “Good morning,” he murmurs.

“Good morning.”

“I’m glad you’re still here. I thought you might run in the night.”

“Is that why I’m trapped underneath you?”

He gives me that throaty chuckle I love. “You’re free to get out any time. I just like sleeping like this with you.” His mouth latches onto my earlobe as his hand dips down between my legs. “Are you sore this morning?”

“A little. Not that I want to let it stop me.”

“Good.” He teases my clit with his index finger. “I don’t know about you, but I could do with more of this.”

“Me too,” I whisper.

“But I also have things to do today and lying in bed isn’t going to help.” He leaps out of bed, and pulls back the curtains.

I roll until I’m looking at him, and pout. The morning sun catches his loving eyes, his broad shoulders—he’s so beautiful.

“You can stay in bed. Get some rest before tonight.” He waggles his eyebrows, and I laugh.

“Will I need it?”

“Yes. So, stay here and I’ll bring you breakfast in bed.”

“Really?” I tap my forehead. “I should have moved in here on my first night.”

Corey chuckles. “I’m glad we got to know each other first. At least I know what you like for breakfast now.”

I grin as he exits the room. The sight of him naked makes me sigh.

There’s no way I could get rid of my grin, even if I tried. Last night was everything I ever imagined could be possible. My heart’s a goner.

“Before I cook bacon, I should probably put on some clothes. That stuff spits.”

I laugh as Corey flops back onto the bed. “That doesn’t look like getting dressed.”

He looks up. “Maybe I don’t want to.” Desire flashes in his eyes, and he crawls up the bed, pulling the duvet off me as he goes.

“What are you doing?”

“I want to love you in the daylight, sweetness. Then we can have breakfast.”

I squeal as he keeps coming toward me, lowering himself next to me and draping his arm over my chest.

“Mine.”

What does he mean?

I relax and close my eyes as he sucks gently on my neck. It hasn’t taken him long to find the parts of my body that make me sigh when he pays attention to them.

“All mine,” he murmurs in my ear.

No.

I don’t want to be owned.

I can’t help tensing up.

“Constance?”

I open my eyes to see his concerned expression, and a look of understanding crosses his face. “You might be mine, but I will never make you do anything against your will. Do you understand?”

Slowly, I nod. The memory of my last encounter with Ash is so fresh, and his insistence that he had complete control of me still rings in my ears.

“You’re in charge of your own life now. And I promise that I’ll always listen to you. If there’s ever anything you don’t want me to do, then tell me. I’ll respect you.”

As the tears well, I rest my head on his chest.

Maybe I should say something to him and acknowledge what he’s said. But any words I have are lost in the overwhelming affection I have for him.

He considers me his equal.

Despite him telling me to stay in bed, I make my way into the kitchen. The smell of toast and bacon fills the air, and I breathe in deep as Corey turns to look over his shoulder.

“What are you doing in here?” he asks.

I wrap my arms around his waist, burying my face in his back. “I missed you.”

“Missed me, or was your stomach grumbling?”

“My stomach doesn’t grumble.”

He laughs. “Are you sure? I thought I heard it from out here.”

I slap his back. “No more teasing.”

Corey turns and plants a kiss on my nose. “There’ll always be teasing.” His lips quirk. “But only the kind that gets you hot.”

I roll my eyes, pressing my body against his. When I got out of bed, I stole one of his T-shirts from a drawer, and my nipples rub against the thin fabric, against him.

“That’s cheating,” he says.

“How?”

He captures my arms, holding them behind my back. My body’s aching to be touched. All it’s taken is one night, and I want more.

“Now you can’t touch me,” he says.

“I’m still touching you.” I rub my breasts against him and he catches his breath.

“I need breakfast. And then I might need some more of you.” He sucks my lower lip into his mouth before giving me a tender kiss. “But that’s all you’re getting for now, because I’m starving. You wore me out.”

“I wore you out?” I laugh as he lets go of me and steps back.

“Yeah. You’re insatiable. Can’t get enough of me.” He winks before turning back to the stove, and I grin as I take a seat at the table.

This house looks different today. Before, it was somewhere to stay, but this thing between Corey and me makes it home.

My home.

“I made you coffee.” Corey places a steaming mug in front of me, and drops a plate stacked with toast and grilled bacon on the table. “Are you okay?”

“Just thinking.”

“About what?”

“How happy I am here. How everything in my life seems to have fallen into place when I was so lost.”

He smiles. “I hope that includes me.”

“It is you. The night I ran away, I panicked when I realised what I’d done. It all happened so quickly. But you’ve never wavered in taking care of me.”

Corey nods. “Whether we’d ended up in bed or not, I’d never have let anything hurt you.”

“I know.” A thought I don’t like crosses my mind. “This isn’t just sex for you, is it? Because I can’t—”

“If you think last night was just about sex, you’re crazy,” he says. I close my eyes, and he cups my cheek. “I’m not one to take advantage. Not like that.”

“Corey,” I whisper.

“I would never have slept with you if I didn’t want more out of this. You showed up here scared and vulnerable, and all I’ve wanted since the day we met is to protect you.”

I open my eyes and look into his. I’ve been here long enough to know how open he is—about everything. He’s not the type to hold back and given that he’s already extended an open-ended invitation for me to live here, I think I can trust what he’s telling me.

“The only reason why last night happened is because we wanted each other. If you’d come here and thrown yourself at me at the start, I would have said no.”

I can’t breathe. “No?”

“You weren’t ready. But we’ve spent the last few weeks like an old married couple. You fight me on everything, and you know better even though you’ve only been outside those gates a short time. You’re what I need.” He lowers his voice. “You’re who I need.”

Tears blur my vision, and Corey runs a thumb under my left eye. “If you’re not a match for me, Con, then I don’t know who is.”

I sniff, laughing, as he smiles. “Let’s have something to eat.”

Nodding, I pick up a fork. “I’m starving.”

“I knew I wasn’t the only one left tired by your neverending need for me.”

As I stab a piece of bacon, I roll my eyes.

This is the life I always wanted—not full of fear or worry about what’s coming next.

This is freedom.