Chapter 3 #2
Water splashed against ceramic like the erratic flutter of my heart.
Even the soothing motions of washing the teacup left me hollow and restless.
If I stayed, if I dared risk everything, would Menace accept the real me?
It would have been easy to believe in fate, in a destined mate, in the strength of our bond, but he was cautious where I was desperate.
It wasn’t just my father’s threat I faced.
It was my own fear that Menace wanted a woman, not a virginal princess preserved for a loveless match.
I set the cup on the drying rack and watched the water drain, feeling as fragile as the porcelain.
I clutched the edge of the counter as if it could keep me tethered to this reckless plan.
Staying. Letting the call of my heart, not my father’s will, dictate my fate.
The name Savannah felt like a bad joke, as foreign and distant as the world it belonged to.
Sawyer was a bolder soul, one I could only hope to embody when I was free from the shadows of Martha’s Vinyard and duty.
But the specter of inexperience haunted me as much as Declan’s power. It dogged my every breath.
I believed in what I felt for Menace, in the promise I saw in his eyes.
If I stayed, I would have to tell him the truth.
About Declan. About being promised to another.
He might not even want to touch me after that.
Would his restraint turn into a permanent withdrawal, leaving me more alone than ever?
The thought that he could walk away at any time and never look back brought me to the edge of despair.
A subtle ache settled deep in my bones whenever he wasn’t near. It grew stronger by the day, this longing that ate away at reason and left nothing but blind, reckless need. Maybe this was what being mated felt like. But if he truly was my fated one, wouldn’t he have taken what was his?
I moved through the tiny space, restless and unsettled. Each shadowed corner of the apartment, each carefully chosen piece of furniture, spoke of a home that I could lose at any moment.
Or was it a home I’d never really had?
Menace was the constant, the true north that I had to believe in.
Just then, a shadow filled the doorway. Strong.
Indelible. I met his eyes and was lost to their heat.
His hunger stole my breath away, stole the words from my throat.
I stood frozen and wanting. Then he stepped inside.
The door clicked shut. The distance closed.
A shift in the world. In me. His presence was magnetic, more real than any fear that had gripped my heart.
Jeans hung low on his hips. His chest was damp, a hint of sweat.
Of man. My father, my past, my every fragile doubt seemed absurdly distant.
“I had to see you,” he said, and I drowned in it. His words. His scent. His need. Everything was Menace.
The moment stretched thin and breathless between us.
Electric tension sparked and snapped, leaving the air heavy with unspoken promise.
My body burned with a need I could barely understand, but I felt it at the core of me, pulsing and raw.
Desire flooded every vein, setting my skin ablaze with the unbearable longing to close the last inches between us.
“Sawyer,” he murmured, his voice a deep, rough caress. The sound of my name on his lips broke something inside me, tore down the walls I’d built, and left me exposed. It was enough to make my knees weak and my heart pound so fiercely I feared it might burst. “I couldn’t stay away.”
He took a step closer, and I felt the world narrow to the charged, impossible space that held only us. Only this. Only now. His scent—earth and forest, power and want—enveloped me, seeped into my bones and took root. It left me helpless and breathless, a girl with nothing left to lose.
Nothing left to fear.
The single light over the kitchen peninsula flickered above us, a strobe to mark the dizzy spin of my thoughts. My hands twitched, reaching for him, then pulling back as I hovered on the edge of reckless abandon.
Of losing myself completely.
His gaze never left mine. Hazel eyes shimmered with promise, with hunger, with the same reckless need that tore through me. That made me want to forget every terror, every plan, every doubt I’d harbored.
When he touched me, I thought I might shatter. His hands, strong and sure, cupped the back of my neck and pulled me in. My breath hitched. My pulse exploded. There was no hesitation, no holding back, only the fierce press of his lips on mine, unyielding and absolute.
It set fire to everything.
I melted against him, against his solid warmth and the unrelenting surety of his touch. The world shifted, dizzy and unfocused, a blur of light and dark as he pulled me closer.
“I tried to go home after our run. Saw your light still on.” He had my head in his hands, fingers massaging my scalp as his breath brushed my lips.
“You need to lock your goddamn door,” he said. Then, his lips crashed onto mine. Consuming every thought in my head except for his taste, the feel of his lips, his tongue, as it dominated my mouth.
My arms reached around his waist as I held on for dear life.
He slowed his assault on my mouth, easing into soft, simple kisses across my mouth and face. His breath came in pants until he was back in control of his emotions. My breathing slowed as well, and I looked into his beautiful hazel eyes that tonight were more gray than anything.
“I don’t want you to stay away.” I told him.
He kissed my forehead. Serious, suddenly.
“I’ll be by in the morning about seven. We need to talk about your future around here. I need to get back to my regular schedule at my auto dealership, and I want to be sure you are squared away.”
This was not the conversation I expected after those kisses. “Oh, uh, okay. That sounds great. I’d like that. I guess.” I know I sounded like an idiot. Gah. I needed to try to sound more mature. “Uh, I mean, yes, I’d like to know more about where I can fit in around here.”
His grin was so beautiful. Standing in my house with his six-pack on display, sweat-soaked hair, looking like sex on a stick, after all but fucking my mouth with his tongue, he wants to have this conversation.
He gave me another forehead kiss. “Good. I’ll see you in the morning at seven sharp, Red. Lock this door and set the alarm.” He said over his shoulder as he shut the door behind him.
I followed him to the door to lock it. “See you in my dreams, Bridger.” I whispered under my breath as I set the alarm. I knew at that moment I was staying.