Page 106 of Revenant

Never once looking away, he presses my hand against his cheek and leans into my touch. “I have a few ideas about your father, but I’m still working out the details. We can discuss things with the others in the morning.”

My pulse skidders at the thought of him facing off against my father. To distract me, Hicks leans forward and nips at the palm of my hand hard enough to sting, and my eyes flare wide at the un-Hicks-like action. He kisses the spot, then turns and presents me with his back. Glancing at me over his shoulder, he slowly lowers himself to his knee. “Would you like a ride?”

I can’t help the smile that breaks across my face, vividly remembering the last time we were in the same situation. Only this time, the smolder in his eyes is strong enough that it lights my body on fire.

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that he’s asking for more.

He’s asking for everything.

And I don’t hesitate to step forward and wrap my arms around his neck. He reaches back, looping his hands around my thighs. When he stands, he carries my weight easily. We don’t speak as we head back to the cabin, his warmth better than any heating stone. By the time we reach the cabin, I’m so relaxed that I’m nearly asleep.

The rest of the guys have made themselves scarce, giving us time alone. After Hicks kicks off his shoes, he heads straight for my room, never once flagging as he climbs the stairs. He easesme onto the bed, then slips my boots off one at a time before setting them next to each other on the floor in slow, deliberate movements.

He tugs off my hat, strips me of my gloves, and slowly lowers the zipper of my jacket. He watches me under heavy lids, as if waiting for me to object, but I’m done pretending that I don’t want him. When he finally wrestles me from my jacket, he hesitates, and I lift a challenging brow. “Giving up so soon?”

His green eyes darken at my challenge, and I gulp when I swear flames flicker to life within them. Maybe I should be worried, but Hicks would never hurt me. Instead, my body comes alive under his scorching gaze, my skin aching for his touch. He normally keeps his emotions so bottled up that I wonder if he even finds me attractive, but any doubts vanish when it looks like he is seconds away from devouring me whole.

Chapter Thirty-nine

HICKS

“Giving up?” I quirk an imperious brow at such nonsense and shake my head. Even when she was being a major pain in my ass, the thought of leaving never crossed my mind. “Not a chance in hell. You’re stuck with me.”

I capture one ankle, then the other, slowly dragging her to the edge of the bed, excited at the thought of her trying to get away.

It’s much too late for that.

She’s mine—she always has been, always will be.

It’s about time that she knows it.

Resting her dainty feet against my chest, I skate my palms up her calves, frowning at the coolness of her skin. I warm my hands without thought, the need to take care of her impossible to ignore. Rue groans as the heat massages her sore muscles, and the beast I carry chuffs in pride at being allowed to take care of her.

I slide my hands over her knees, admiring the way her jeans cling to her like a second skin. She shivers under my touch, and my cock hardens at the image of her sprawled across the bed. Her pink hair is a halo around her head, the windblown strands looking like she just rolled out of bed after a hard night of fucking.

Her mouth is parted, her eyes dazed and heavy with lust.

For me.

She licks her lips, watching me like I’m a side of beef to be devoured, and a possessive snarl rumbles in my chest. My hands land on her hips, a slight tremble to them as I strain to remain in control, and I battle the impulse not to strip her naked and take her hard and fast.

“If you want me to stop, you need to tell me now, or I’m going to fuck you until you’re mine.” My voice is husky with the need to take her over and over until she’s hoarse from screaming my name. “When we are together, no one else exists but me. I’ll demand everything from you. Be sure this is what you want. Once you are mine, I’m never letting you go.”

It’s the only warning she is going to get.

After I claim her, it will be too late.

She will be irrevocably mine.

Instead of being intimidated, Rue hooks her legs around my hips, then grabs the front of my shirt before dragging me so close that her face hovers barely an inch away. My beast chuffs, and I nearly grin at the absurd idea that my possessiveness would scare her away. If anything, the fire that burns inside her is equal to mine.

“Claiming goes both ways.” She searches my face, her teal eyes narrowing in warning. “If you climb into this bed with me, you will be mine, and I don’t share.”

Normally, clingy women are annoying, but her possessiveness is sexy as fuck. She’s different from the others. Toher, I’m not a status symbol. She doesn’t care about my money. Fuck, she has more than I do with the investment portfolio she built over the years.

No, she wants me…for me.

It’s a novel experience that leaves me more than a little flustered and uncertain.

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