Page 114 of Dark Horse

“Of course.” I look up to him, waiting for him to pull out hisphone. I assume he has a property in mind. I can’t imagine he’s been looking for me, but then again, he has an army of underlings he can order around to do his bidding, so one of them might have put something together for him.

“All right. Grab the folder so you can look through it some more and follow me.”

“Follow you?” I give him a curious look.

“Yeah. I’ve got the idea up in my suite.”

“Okay…” My brow furrows a little as I try to make out his plan, but I gather up the folder and follow him out of the room, down the hall, and up the elevator to the private residence floor where he lives. I’ve only been here one other time. We’ve been staying at the ranch since we got back from Ohio. It seemed like a more neutral space where we could negotiate where we were headed, and it also afforded me some room to roam while still having plenty of security. Getting to go for a ride any day I wanted was a bonus, and Kell has been letting me help out in the barns to keep busy.

When we get upstairs, he turns on the light and walks me through the kitchen to the island. Unlike the office we were in, there’s not much on it. No folder full of properties for sale I might buy with the insurance money I’ll be getting, and no clues as to what house he might have found for me.

“You think you could make this place work for you?” He whirls his finger around the room and looks at me expectantly.

“Work for me?” I repeat the question to make sure I understand him correctly.

“I want you to make this place ours.” He studies my face, watching my reaction as my brow shoots up. “I know it’ll probably take a lot of work to feel like home for you. Give you a place you can bring Vendetta where she’ll be happy and somewhere that makes you feel comfortable too. But I can give youthis.” He pushes his black card across the counter. “And free rein to do what you want. Do it yourself. Have Hazel help you plan. Hire someone. I trust you. We’re enough alike that I’m pretty sure I’ll love anything you pick.”

“We’re enough alike? You’re all business and luxury and rich leather and shiny things. I’m all vintage, worn edges, and messiness. How do you propose that’s gonna work?” I give him a skeptical look, but the smile spreads in its wake because I can hardly believe he’s suggesting letting me have control over this.

“I want it to feel like a home. However you decorate it doesn’t matter. If you’re here, and you love it, it’ll feel like a home to me.”

“Grant…” I press my hand to my heart, looking up at his brilliant blues and getting lost in them. “You’re… I don’t even know if there are words that are good enough to start.”

“You could start with yes?”

I turn around, looking through the dining room, and then wandering into the living room and then the hallway and the master bedroom beyond that. There’s a lot I wouldn’t change. It’s gorgeous the way it is, but it could use a little extra character here and there. I stop outside his closet where there’s an old piece of furniture that looks like a torture device, a crossed tee at the top and a worn leather seat, with four horn-styled feet at the bottom.

“I think we can make it work if we get rid of the toys you used with other women.” I nod to the obvious BDSM furniture. He bursts out laughing, and I cross my arms over my chest and raise a brow.

“That is a valet. You hang your suit jacket on this part, sling your tie over this, space for your cuff links here. And this drawer at the bottom is for your belts and any other accessories. It was my grandfather’s. I brought it here from the ranchbecause Ramsey was never much on suits other than when they were mandated by the team for events.”

“Oh.” I feel a soft blush come over my cheeks. “Sorry. My imagination got the better of me.”

“I like your imagination. So fucking much. I think we might have to try that out…” He presses a kiss to the side of my jaw. “But for what it’s worth, I’ve only ever had family and the Kellys in here.”

“And me.”

“And you.” His kisses drift down to my neck, and then he pulls back to meet my eyes. “Hopefully permanently, if we’re agreed?”

“I don’t think you say no to the head of The Quiet Horsemen, do you?”

“Rather you didn’t.” There’s a wry smile on his lips as he presses them to my sensitive skin just beneath my earlobe. “If you need more convincing, though, I’m happy to help with that.”

“I think I might,” I whisper back because I’m so weak for this man that I can’t even get through a day without him.

He walks me backward until the backs of my legs hit the leather of the valet. His hands ghost their way down my body, and then he kisses me, softly at first, until we both turn more desperate.

“Sit down,” he demands as soon as we break.

I follow his orders. The worn leather is soft against the backs of my thighs, and he uses his foot to kick my boots wider so he can step between them. I watch as he pulls his suit jacket off, tossing it to the side and revealing the black dress shirt and the leather shoulder holster he wears underneath. His hands move to his belt, quickly undoing the buckle and pulling the leather free from his waist.

“Hands up.” He motions for me to lift them above my head.He presses my wrists together and uses his belt to secure them to the crossbar, wrapping and weaving the leather around until it’s tight. I try to pull away to taunt him, but I’m surprised when it holds. A sly smile forms on his face, and then he hits his knees.

“Did you follow my rule?” he asks as his fingers slip under the hem of my dress and push upward. He grins when he finds me naked underneath and bends down to place a kiss between my thighs. “That’s my girl. I like it when you listen.”

He made me promise never to wear panties when the two of us go out together. It was part of the terms of our new agreement that gives him free rein to use me whenever he wants. One that he uses more often than not as an excuse to have his head between my thighs. A thing he says helps clear his head when he’s working, and I’m certainly not complaining.

“I like you on your knees.”

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