Page 117 of Sinful Mates

I reached back and removed my wallet and the gift I got her. She needed to know what she meant to me. “I got this for you. For us.”

I waved the rectangle of plastic in her face, and she took it off me and read the words. “Mrs. A Redding.”

Her eyebrows hiked. “Mrs.?”

I rocked her from side to side. “I might have committed slight fraud so we can share a bank account.”

Her cheeks puffed as she blew out air. “Slade won’t be happy...” She kept it light, dodging the real issue lying at the heart of the gesture.

I grinned at her, running my thumb along her jaw. “That for all intents and purposes, we appear married in the eyes of the state, or that I got in first and gave you my last name?”

She laughed, tossed her head back, and spanked me on the ass, calling Daddy to the surface. “You’re incorrigible. You did this to piss him off.”

“Nah. Just some innocent competition is all.” Slade and I were always trying to outdo each other. This was one of my best moves.

She pursed her lips and twisted her engagement ring around her finger. “Innocent could get you killed.”

“Totally worth it.” I kissed those sweet, succulent lips of hers. “This was the best eight months of my life, Sorceress.”

“Stop it!” She shoved at my stomach, the bond turning from lighthearted to serious. “Seriously, what does this mean for us?”

That was my woman, always asking the right questions.

“That I’m ready to take the next step,” I said. “That I trust you and want to share everything with you.”

Baby fucking steps. Shared finances. Shared family home. Then a fucking mating to end all other claimings. Daddy would ensure ours was number one over the others.

She narrowed her eyes. “I want it in writing that you won’t fuck up my credit history if I overspend and get an overdraft fee.”

I barked out a laugh. “That’ll never happen.”

She let out a pleased hum.

I took the card from her and tucked it down her shirt into her bra, right next to her perfect breast. “I want to start again. Rebuild from scratch. Share finances. Share a home. Share a child.” She chuckled nervously at that. “Maybe share a dog?”

She gave me a nipple cripple for the last one. “Oh, you’re pushing it on the last one.”

I chuckled and hugged her tighter. “What’s wrong with getting a dog?”

She laughed, the silky sound like music to my ears. I’d never get enough of hearing it. “You really want the canine, huh?”

I sifted my fingers through her hair. “I think Mia will really love it.”

Her eyes sharpened with recognition. Finally, she understood the heart of what I was saying. I didn’t just want to share everything. I wanted to plan a future together. House, kid, family, a fucking damn dog.

“Okay. But not a big dog.” She jabbed a finger at my chest. “I don’t want it bowling her over if it jumps on her, or dragging her when she walks it.”

Compromise. I could do that. Something I never had with my ex but got in spades with Aaliyah. “You have a deal, Mrs. Redding.”

She gave a pleasant hum and the bond told me she liked her new surname.

She loved everything about me. My darkness. My light. Faults. Strengths. Maybe not so much the work I did in enforcing for the club, but certainly the enforcing I did for Thoth.

“And when the time’s right,” I added, “I’m going to make you mine for always.”

A wicked smile toyed at the corner of her lips. “We’re already married on paper. Maybe we should hold off mating until the real wedding.”

I dragged her into my arms and growled into her ear, “You do that, and I’ll punish you, Sorceress.”

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