Chapter 24 #3
When her legs loosened, I carried her out of the shower instead of setting her down.
Tamsin protested that she could walk, but the way she rested her head against my shoulder weakened the complaint.
I dried her with firm strokes, paid careful attention to every bruise, then smacked her bare ass lightly when she tried to steal the towel.
“Bed,” I ordered.
Her blue eyes narrowed, but satisfaction had made the glare lazy. “You have an alarming number of commands after sex.”
“You want ’em dirtier, pretty girl?”
The blush hit instantly. Tamsin muttered something about impossible men and left the bathroom with a sway in her hips that made my cock consider an immediate recovery.
By the time I cleaned our come from my dick, dried off, and walked into the bedroom with a towel slung low around my waist, she was waiting beneath the covers in one of my black T-shirts.
I stopped beside the bed and let my gaze travel over her. “That’s mine.”
“Then it shouldn’t have been hanging in the closet with all my other clothes.” She tilted her head and narrowed her eyes. “Along with all of your other things.”
I grinned. “Picked up on that, did you?”
“Just as long as you understand that all your clothes became mine the moment you put them in there.”
My smile turned salacious as I sauntered toward the bed and dropped the towel. Her gaze fell to my cock, and the color warming her cheeks did nothing to hide her interest.
“My shit looks better on you anyway.”
Tamsin laughed as I climbed beneath the covers and pulled her against me.
She cuddled against my side, one bare leg sliding across mine while the shirt rode high enough to expose the curve of her ass.
I kept one hand there as she fell asleep, already planning what I would put over her shoulders when she woke.
Morning light had begun seeping around the curtains when I sat beside her with folded leather across my lap. I knew I shouldn’t wake her, but I was having a rare moment of impatience.
Tamsin stirred beneath the sheet, reached toward the space where I had been, then opened her eyes when her hand found nothing. Sleep softened her face for several seconds before her gaze dropped to what I was holding.
Her breath caught. “Is that—?”
“Yours.”
I opened the vest enough for her to see TAMSIN stitched over the front left panel and PROPERTY OF GHOST stretched boldly across the back.
The leather had been cut and shaped for her small frame, every detail chosen because I had pictured exactly how my name would look covering her.
I had Stryker put the order through the first time I returned to the compound after meeting her, and it arrived two days ago.
I had waited until every bastard hunting her was dead before bringing it home.
“Sit up,” I told her.
Tamsin’s cheeks turned pink, but she let the sheet fall away and sat before me in nothing except tiny panties.
I held out the vest, and she slid her arms into it without looking away from my face.
My hands settled the leather over her shoulders before I drew the zipper slowly over her naked breasts, letting my knuckles drag between them while the material enclosed her.
Her nipples pressed visibly against the leather. I rested my fingers at the top of the zipper and watched her breathing quicken. “Stand up.”
Tamsin placed her hand in mine and climbed from the bed.
Wearing only the vest and pale panties, she padded beside me toward the full-length mirror, her bare legs and rounded ass making my cock hard before we reached it.
I stepped behind her and settled both hands at her waist, turning her enough to see my name across her back.
“That’s better.”
Tamsin met my gaze in the mirror, her eyes bright and already shining. “How long have you had this?”
“Long enough.”
I turned her to face me. The ring had been waiting inside the vest’s pocket, and her breath caught again when she saw it resting between my fingers. I took her left hand and held it firmly in mine.
“I love you, pretty girl.” I looked directly into her eyes. “Marry me.”
Tamsin glanced from the ring to my face, tears gathering along her lashes even as the beginnings of a smile curved her mouth. “Is that a question?”
“No.”
“You’re very sure of yourself.”
“Shouldn’t I be?”
A laugh slipped through the emotion, and her cheeks turned pink again.
“Yeah. You should.” She squeezed my hand and smiled fully. “I love you, Gavin. I can’t wait to marry you.”
I slid the ring onto her finger, then closed my hand around hers while my other arm locked around her waist. Tamsin rose onto her toes, caught my shoulders, and kissed me with enough hunger to make the leather creak beneath my grip.
I took control before the first breath ended, driving my tongue into her mouth until she melted against me and the ring pressed between our bodies.
When I finally lifted my head, she looked down at the vest and ran her fingertips over the edge. Her lips were swollen, her eyes hazy, and the leather bearing my name framed her bare breasts in a way that promised I was going to develop a serious fucking obsession with seeing her wear it like this.
“Should I take this off?” she asked.
My smile turned darker.
“Not a chance.”