Page 197 of Wild Mustang Security Firm

“Do you have a family?”

“Not living. I’ve been on my own since I was fifteen. I lied about my age to join the military. I think I was looking for someplace to call home, but I was just as alone there as I was as a kid. It wasn’t until I joined Wild Mustang, I knew I’d found what I was looking for, with the exception of a few key pieces.”

“Those being?” she asked, utterly astonished at how easily he revealed himself to her.

“You. I didn’t know it was you, but I should have.” He laughed, shaking his head with mirth and pointing the chef’s knife at her. “I can’t tell you how many times I said I wanted a nice quiet girl… then you came along, and that notion went right out the window.”

He crossed from the kitchen area to the couch, leaned down, and kissed her with a passionate intensity that belied the fact the kiss itself was brief, and the only part of him that touched her were his lips.

“I can’t believe how I vacillate between losing my heart to you or running like hell,” she sighed.

He had returned to the kitchen and smiled benignly at her.

“You wouldn’t be losing it. You’d be putting it in my safekeeping, a gift I would cherish. And you’ve tried running like hell… how’d that work out for you?”

She laughed. “The welts on my ass would tend to indicate not so well.”

“Then, next time you think to take off on me or put yourself in danger, you remember what it feels like to have me take my belt to you.”

“Is it so easy for you? Just throwing down a gauntlet? Do as I tell you or else?”

He looked up at her and shrugged. “Pretty much.”

She rolled her eyes. “Honestly, what makes you think that’s okay?”

“You’re my woman. Part of my job is to make sure you’re safe. If you choose to behave in a way that makes you unsafe, I’m going to get after you until you decide, staying safe is better.”

“If I’m your woman, does that make you my man?” she asked, afraid to hear his answer.

“I thought I’d made that perfectly clear.”

“You’ve called me yours several times but never said anything about you belonging to me.” Zara hated that this was so important to her, hated that it mattered at all. She feared how she would feel if he said no… feared even more, he’d say yes.

He stopped what he was doing in the kitchen and rejoined her, taking her face in his hands, rubbed her nose with his, and took possession of her mouth with skill and raw lust that left her breathless.

“I would have thought, Zara, as bright as you are, I didn’t need to spell it out for you…”

“It has nothing to do with my intelligence…”

“You’re right. My apology.” He stopped and seemed to gather his thoughts. “I have a sneaking suspicion I’m going to fuck this up badly, so bear with me. I’ve never said this to another woman because I’ve never felt for another woman, even a fraction of what I feel for you.”

“That’s bullshit, Noah. My ass is not the first one you’ve spanked, and I’m damn sure not the only woman you’ve ever fucked into submission.”

“No, you’re not.” He shook his head and grinned. “But I was always playing. I never saw any of those women as mine. Don’t get me wrong, they were my submissive, and I took care of them, but that’s all they were… a submissive for me to Top, so I’d have something to play with. While I would have protected their feelings and knocked some guy into next Tuesday for trying to threaten or harm them or even calling them a bitch when they were behaving like one, I damn sure wouldn’t have killed for them.”

“And would you kill for me?” she whispered.

“In the space of a heartbeat. I never envisioned being with any of those girls for the rest of my life. Always and forever, Zara… that’s what I’m demanding, and that’s what you’ll give me.”

“You can’t demand that,” she whispered, shattered to the core.

There, he’d said it. Why did he have to say it? He’d declared himself in no uncertain terms and let her know she wasn’t something casual. He meant for them to build a life together. Once again, she felt like she was losing her equilibrium.

“I can, and I am. What’s more, not only do you know that, but it’s also what you want.”

“I don’t,” she murmured, shaking her head.

“You do. You’re just afraid because what you had with Damian wasn’t as intense, and it still almost destroyed you when he died.”

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