“No, sir. I beg your pardon. Her exact words were, she was going home.”

Croft’s smile beamed like the sun rising on the eastern rim of the Grand Canyon—expansive and glorious to behold.

“I take it you feel she might be safer there?” the concierge asked with a hint of concern.

“Ms. Reid will be completely and utterly safe at home. I give you my word.”

Croft left the Savoy. As he cleared the doorway and was back out on the street, he allowed himself a small shout of happiness and victory. She’d made her decision. Finn was going home—and home had better damn well be the dairy barn at Willa and Mac’s.

A long plane ride later, made all the longer by Avery’s relentless teasing, Croft arrived back at the ranch. His heart was gladdened as he saw a rental car parked next to his truck. Given that Zara Hughes had met with Finn, Noah had stayed behind but moved from the Amba to the Savoy.

Finn had gone directly from the airport to the home she would now share with Croft. The closer she got to home, the more her emotions rollercoastered between joy and guilt. She entered the house, stripped, and donned one of Croft’s t-shirts. When Croft entered their home, Finn expected him to be furious with her for all she’d put him through and demand in no uncertain terms, she yield to his authority as he welted her ass.

Not so much to forestall his discipline as to offer him the one act of contrition she knew he would recognize as such, Finn took a deep breath and readied herself. Instead of anger, what greeted her when he came through the door was a warm, soft smile thatfelt like a caress all on its own. He closed the door behind him and leaned against it.

Before he could say another word, she turned away from him and walked to their bed, drawing the oversized t-shirt over her head and letting it drop to the floor. She knew her man was watching every move she made, knew he enjoyed the sway of her hips, exaggerating that motion as she crawled up on the bed, remaining on her knees as she stretched out her upper torso, so her arms were stretched out in front of her, hands grasping the iron rungs of the headboard, her legs spread, and her ass high in the air.

Croft closed the distance between them and cupped the globes of her ass. Following the swell of her hips, he ran his hands up her sides, dipping under her to grasp the fullness of her breasts before pinching her nipples. He brought his hands up to her shoulders, using one hand to press on her neck, pinning her gently in place as his other hand ran down her spine. His index finger traveled down the cleft of her ass and rimmed her bottom hole.

“What are you offering me, Finn?” he said in a voice heavy with lust.

“Everything,” she said simply.

“Do you know what I’m going to do to you?”

She nodded.

“Not good enough. You’re going to ask me, and if you won’t, I’ll spank you until you do.” He paused, giving her a moment to think. “What do you want me to do, Finn?”

She swallowed and took a deep breath.

“I want you to fuck my ass, Croft.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s yours to take and because I want you to know how sorry I am and that I am yours to punish or pleasure as you see fit. I trust you, Croft.”

Her whole body was flushed with desire, energy flowing throughout her body, connecting it into a single receptacle for his need and love. She’d fucked him more intensely the short time she’d known him than any other man in her life. She couldn’t seem to get enough of him and now understood as she subjugated herself to him, she never would.

He removed his hand from her neck.

“Stay in position, Finn. I’m going to take what’s mine, then I’ll decide whether I welt your ass.”

She shivered as Croft used his thumbs to spread the cleft of her buttocks, pressing them against her puckered entrance before drifting down to her pussy and collecting the wealth of honey that threatened to drip onto the bed. Scooping some, he slathered his cock with her natural lubricant. His cock throbbed in anticipation.

He parted the cheeks of her ass and sighed. She shivered and moaned as she felt him collect more of pussy juice and massage it into her dark rosette as he slipped his index finger inside her forbidden entrance knuckle deep, getting it to relax and accept. He rimmed her, opening her, making her go soft and supple for his use. Withdrawing his finger, he pressed the head of his cock against her opening, pushing past the muscles that tried to deny him.

“I love you, Croft.”

“That’s good to know, sweetheart, but it isn’t going to save your ass.”

He pushed relentlessly into her—gentle but firm, gaining entrance inch-by-inch. She moaned and tried to rock back against him.Smack!His hand delivered a stinging blow.

“When I fuck your ass, you stay where I put you. If I want you to impale yourself on my cock, I’ll drag you back by your hips. I want you to feel me take possession of you. Can you feelme, Finn?” he said darkly as he fucked into her, surging forward until he was deep inside.

“Croft,” she cried softly as he dragged his cock almost all the way back out before impaling her again.

Croft thrust in and out as her dark passage sucked at him, trying to keep him from withdrawing completely before he plunged back in. What had first been uncomfortable gave way to a sensual sensation of dominant possession and pleasure. It felt good, different than when he fucked her pussy. He surged forward and drew back more slowly, more deliberately, but every bit as deliciously. He slid his rod deep within her dark channel until she felt it beginning to swell in anticipation of his climax.