Page 60 of Property of Spike

I search her face, needing to be certain because the last thing I ever want is to push her too soon. But she reaches for me, her touch warm, steady.

“I need you,” she whispers, and I know she doesn’t just mean physically. She needs me in all the ways I need her.

When I follow her down, it’s not just about comfort or escape. It’s about something deeper. Something more.

It’s about reminding her she’s not alone.

It’s about showing her, with every touch, every kiss, that she’s mine. That I’ve got her.

That I always will.

***Riley***

Spike moves over me with a care that steals my breath, his hands tracing slow, reverent paths across my skin like he’s memorizing every inch of me.

“You’re so damn beautiful,” he whispers, his voice rough with emotion.

I reach up, my fingers threading through his hair, pulling him closer until our lips meet again. The kiss is soft, unhurried, filledwith all the things we don’t have words for. He kisses me like I’m something precious. Like I’m fragile and unbreakable all at once.

Somehow, he’s removed both of our clothes, but I’m too caught up in the moment to admire his body or worry about the condition of mine.

His weight settles over me, solid and safe, and for the first time in weeks… years?... I feel like I can breathe. Like I can let go of everything outside this room and just be here with him.

He enters me slowly, kissing away my tears of pleasure as they fall down my face. I arch into him, sighing at the way he fits against me, inside me. The way my body recognizes him, like it was made for him and him alone.

“I love you,” I whisper, the words spilling from my lips without hesitation.

His breath catches, his forehead pressing to mine as he murmurs, “Say it again.”

“I love you, Spike.”

A shudder runs through him, and then he’s kissing me again, deeper this time, his body molding to mine like he’s trying to fuse us together. Every touch, every lingering caress, speaks of something more than just desire. This is love in its purest form.

He moves with aching tenderness, his name a whisper on my lips as he guides me toward something I didn’t realize I needed so desperately. The world fades away, leaving just us. Heart to heart, breath to breath, souls entwined.

And when we finally fall, we fall together.

After, he doesn’t let me go. He falls to his side, keeping me wrapped in his arms, his hand tracing lazy circles on my back as our breathing evens out. I press my face against his chest, listening to the steady rhythm of his heart, feeling it beat for me.

“You’re mine,” he murmurs into my hair, his voice thick with emotion.

“Always,” I whisper back, knowing with absolute certainty that no matter what comes next, we’ll face it together.

“I love you, baby. So fucking much.”

Chapter Eighteen

Riley

The past week has been a strange kind of bliss. Spike loves me. He loves me. And I love him. Saying the words out loud was like taking a deep breath after drowning for so long. Every time he looks at me, every time he touches me, I feel it. This isn’t just desire. It’s something bigger, something neither of us is willing to lose.

He still works long hours, handling club business, but when he comes home, he holds me like he never wants to let go. And at night, when Asher is asleep, he whispers promises against my skin, words that sink deep into my soul.

I’ve never had someone like him. Never had this kind of love.

This morning, I woke up alone in our bed, but his scent lingered on the sheets, wrapping around me like an unspoken vow. I got up, fed Asher, and now we’re outside, enjoying the warmth of the sun while I walk the perimeter of the compound.

The Iron Shadow’s compound is my safe place, surrounded by a tall, solid wall, and the front gate is iron bars that keep out the world. But lately, my mind has been too focused on everything that’s been happening, the chaos swirling in the distance, the feeling that something’s coming.

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