Chapter 38
JAKE
At breakfast, I can’t keep my eyes off Emma. Sitting next to me at the kitchen table, eating the full breakfast Mason made, wearing another one of my shirts, she looks freshly fucked and thoroughly mine, and the satisfaction that rolls through me is almost ferocious in its intensity.
Until she says, "I need to go home."
Every muscle in my body goes tight. "No," I say flatly.
Mason looks up, his fork paused halfway to his mouth. Luke closes the laptop he’s been staring at, doing fuck knows what, and focuses on us.
She huffs a breath, not looking like she was surprised by my response. "Jake—"
"You're staying here."
"I can't stay here indefinitely." Her tone is reasonable. Too reasonable. "I have responsibilities. I need to check in with Jim to make sure everything's running smoothly at the ranch.”
Everything’s fine at the Circle H, but I don’t tell her I’ve been monitoring it. I need to tell her, but this isn’t the moment. "Jim can handle it."
"He can, but I still need to be there. It's my ranch now, Jake. My responsibility." She gets up and takes her plate to the sink. “Besides, I have my own work to catch up on too. I have to email some pictures to one of my editors and take some photos for another. All my equipment is at the house."
I lean back in my chair, forcing myself to stay calm even though every instinct I have is screaming at me to lock her in my bedroom and never let her leave. "What else?"
She frowns at me. "What do you mean?"
"You said you need to check in with Jim and catch up on work. What else?"
She hesitates, glancing at Mason and then Luke, who’s watching with amused interest.
Fuck—there's more she hasn’t told me yet. I sigh. "Emma."
"I have plans with Harper tonight. We’re meeting for a drink after she gets off shift." She lifts her chin, the way she always did when she was digging her heels in. "We've had it scheduled for over a week."
Luke grabs a piece of bacon from Mason’s plate, pale eyes sharp. "Is it smart, going out with the sheriff's daughter?"
Emma meets his gaze straight on. “She’s my friend. It'd look weird if I canceled now, and besides, I don’t want to."
“Be smart to find out what the sheriff’s thinking,” Mason says.
I shoot him a glare, which just makes the corner of his mouth kick up, his version of raucous humor.
I don't like it. I don't like the idea of Emma leaving Blackthorn, going back to Circle H, being out of my sight for even a few hours. Going out alone, God knows where, taking pictures. The need to keep her close is almost overwhelming.
I turn to her. "I'll come with you."
"Out with Harper?" Emma's eyebrows shoot up. "Jake, that's—"
"Not to the bar. To the Circle H.” I get up and take our plates to the sink. I need to fuel up, but first, I’ll make sure Emma has what she needs. “I'll follow you home, make sure everything's secure."
"Eli's, um, taken care of," she says slowly, like I don’t understand the situation. She stands and faces me. "There's no threat anymore."
Mason and Luke have gone very still. I can feel their attention on me, warning me to tread carefully.
I don’t give a fuck. This is about Emma’s safety, and I won’t compromise that. I advance on her. She lifts her chin even higher. That little bit of defiance? Makes my cock twitch with the need to dominate.
The sad thing is, I think she might be the one in charge here.
I back her against the counter, my hands bracketing either side of her. "There's always a threat. Cole Turner might come around. And your security is shit. No alarm system, weak locks, isolated location—"
"I've lived there my entire life without an alarm system," she says, rolling her eyes.
"That was before."
She shakes her head. "Before Eli?"
"Before you were mine."