Page 64 of Possession

He stares hungrily at my breasts, which sit heavily under my sleep tank top, but then he glances at my baby bump.

“How are you feeling this morning?” he asks hesitantly.

“Better than I have in a really long time, Hunter.”

I wrap my arms around his neck and wiggle my ass on his lap.

“Still–”

“Still what?” I interrupt him.

“There’s nothing more I’d like to do than make love to you repeatedly, but we’ve established that we’re very good at the physical thing. I think we need to focus more on our non-physical communication.”

“You want to focus on ournon-physicalcommunication?” I ask in disbelief.

“Your engagement ring is sitting in that box on the dresser over there.” He points to a medium-sized, intricately carved wooden box I’ve never seen before.

“You’ve been shopping,” I say.

“It’s a recreation of a box my mother used to have in her bedroom. It was one of her favorite possessions. I’ve been thinking about her more lately. I’m trying to remember all the little things I can about her so that I can tell Lena.”

I nod my head in understanding. “She’ll like that.”

“Back to us, as I was saying, your ring is in that box, and I don’t want to put it back on your finger until you’re sure that you won’t take it off again because once you put it back on, you're mine, Megan. I'm not going stand for any more wishy-washy bullshit just because we argue once or twice."

A part of me feels guilty for my past behavior. If it were me advising anyone else, like a girl from the nightclub, I’d tell her she was crazy. I’d tell her that she’d probably never do any better than a man like Hunter and to act accordingly. Seriously. What are the chances of someone like me falling in love with one of the wealthiest, most respected, and most feared men in Los Angeles?

Slim.

But this isn’t about the odds of this love story.

This is about real life and how I want to live it.

“You’re right. Just because we’re bringing a baby into this world doesn’t mean that we should jump into marriage.”

His left eye twitches at that comment. “I didn’t say exactly that.”

“No, but I know what you meant. So where do you think we should start with this whole working on our non-physical communication?”

“Honesty.”

“Honesty?”

“Brutal honesty. It goes against everything I’ve ever learned in the streets about keeping myself alive and staying one step ahead, but if I’m going to trust one person completely in this world, I’d like it to be you and vice-versa. The only way that’s going to happen is if we try being honest with each other no matter how much we think it may hurt the other person’s feelings.”

It sounds like everything I’ve ever wanted from Hunter, but now that he’s said the words out loud, the whole concept seems a bit daunting.

Do I actually want brutal honesty?

Does anyone?

“What do you want me to be honest about?” I ask him.

“Do you want to marry me, Megan?”

Well, shit, he’s not pulling any punches.

“I think so.”

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