Page 68 of The Outlaw and the Heir

When Samuel's head snapped up, his expression curious and without his normal humor, I felt my heart skip a small beat. He hadn't hesitated in the slightest before responding to my call and instantly went on the alert. It was only when he spotted Elizabeth and I standing near the fence that his expression softened into his normal smirk before he patted one of the other men on the shoulder and made his way over to us.

"Miss me already?" he asked as he approached with a chuckle.

"I don't know about him, but I certainly did," Elizabeth fired back with a wink. "But don't let my brother know that, or he might think I have a little girl's crush on you."

"What, you don't?" he asked with a wide grin, his sweaty chest shining in the sunlight as he leaned on the fence. I hated him for encouraging my sister's...behavior, but I was distracted by the display and knew he was about as interested in her as the fence he was leaning on. "Best be careful. I think we're making him mad...again."

She glanced at me with a snort. “I'm not sure if anger is the word I would use."

"Oh? Then what would you use?"

"Maybe I'll tell you another time."

"Ooh, I do love a good mystery."

"You like answers, not mysteries," I grunted at him.

For a moment, his brow twitched before settling back to its normal level. "Well, well, you've been around me long enough, and suddenly, you think you're an expert reader of people. Interesting."

"Antagonize my brother later," Elizabeth said with a laugh. "When you can enjoy it more."

Samuel's expression froze for half a heartbeat before turning his attention to her. “Clearly, whatever is going on is important."

"We have a proposal," Elizabeth said as I tried to understand what had alarmed Samuel so much. "But my brother is the one giving it."

"Of course," I said with a sigh before launching into the explanation. It wasn't like it took long to explain what we intended, or rather, what we were asking, and to his credit, he listened without interrupting.

"This is...what you want?" he said after a long pause.

"You're the first on my list," she said without hesitation, but Samuel's eyes turned to me, and maybe Elizabeth couldn't see it, but I could see the wariness. A wariness he had only when he was being given expanded trust. It had always confused me since Iwould think a potential con man and slick talker like him would like an opening to wriggle his way into.

Except...I didn't think that as much anymore. I had seen the way he’d acted in the past. I had seen the way he'd spoken when his mask slipped, and the true him had come out. He was a survivor through and through, and that made him dangerous in many ways. He was also a man who craved freedom but peace at the same time. There was no real cruelty in him, and his attempts to pretend he didn't care could be genuine, but sometimes, they could be ways to hide how much he did care.

He was hopeful and scared of the trust we showed him, but more so me, which carried so much weight I had a hard time finding the breath to respond.

"I...trust it," I managed to get out and then sucked in a breath to give a better response. "I trustyou...to do what you're supposed to do."

The last part was said in a rush, and I almost regretted trying to mitigate my feelings on the matter. At the same time, it wasstrangetelling this man, who I knew I shouldn't trust as much as I did, that I trusted him...to the degree that I did. I wanted to admit it, but admitting it was also incredibly uncomfortable, so all I could do was avert my eyes.

"I...see," he said, and I could hear the slowness in his response and the way he seemed to taste his words, or maybe just the feel of the conversation.

"So, is that fine with you?" I asked with more stiffness than I might have otherwise.

He stared at me for a few heartbeats before the familiar, almost comforting presence of his smirk returned. “And why not? Her presence is...lovely."

"I can't say I'm all that won over by the hesitancy in his voice," Elizabeth said, but even I could tell she was teasing as sheeyed him. "You really don't know how to give a straight answer, do you?"

"If I knew how to do anything straight, do you think I’d be here?" Samuel asked with a snort.

Even I had to snort at that. “I guess he's alright with it probably because it saves him from having to do anything backbreaking. But if he thinks tryin' to keep an eye on you is an easy job, I look forward to how disappointed he's going to be."

"You do love testing my limits," he said, his eyes falling on me and staying steady. I wasn't sure what I'd done to test his limits, but the intensity of his stare made me think it was something neither of us would dare bring up in company, let alone Elizabeth's.

Which only made me ache to reach out and touch him. To grip him by the muscles in his shoulders and pull him close, knowing it would make him laugh to see me be so forceful, but also knowing it wouldn't last long. All it would take would be for me to kiss him fiercely and push him against the wall, using my larger size to pin him in place before he found himself groaning, back arching, and more than his body hard.

From there, it would just be a case of leading him to the nearest surface, holding him to it, or bending him over it. For all his actions to the contrary, he loved when I took control and took him as I saw fit. He would tease and taunt, but when I was inside him, taking him as deep as possible, he was a writhing, moaning mess that drove me to go even deeper, pushed me to be even firmer, and to see just how far we could?—

Okay, maybe I did understand what he meant after all.

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