Page 26 of Taken By the Outlaw

This time, when I come to her, it's different. Slower, deeper, more honest than I've ever been with anyone. I worship her body with hands and mouth, drawing sounds from her that feed something primal in me. But it's not just possession driving me now—it's the need to give her pleasure, to show her with my body what I'm not sure I can say with words.

When I finally enter her, when her body welcomes me home, I keep my eyes locked on hers, letting her see everything I usually hide. The vulnerability. The need. The love I'm only beginning to understand.

"Mine," I growl against her neck, the word a promise now, not just a claim. "Tell me you're mine, Emilia. Not because I've taken you, but because you've chosen to be."

"Yours," she gasps, arms tightening around me, nails digging into my back as I drive deeper. "I'm yours, Clark. By choice. Always."

The admission pushes me closer to the edge, but I hold back, determined to bring her there first. I slide a hand between us, finding the spot that makes her arch and cry out. Her pleasure is my priority, her surrender all the more precious because it's freely given.

When she comes apart beneath me, my name a cry on her lips, I finally let go, emptying myself inside her with a groan that comes from somewhere deep in my soul. The pleasure is intense, but it's the emotional release that nearly undoes me—the feeling of barriers breaking, of letting someone in after a lifetime of keeping the world at arm's length.

Afterward, I hold her close, her head on my chest, her breath warm against my skin. I stroke her hair, marveling at how something so simple can feel so right.

"I meant what I said," I tell her, needing her to understand. "If you stay, it's forever. There's no walking away, no changing your mind. I won't let you go, Emilia. Not now, not ever."

She lifts her head, looking at me with those clear, honest eyes that see too much. "Good," she says simply. "Because I don't want to be let go."

I pull her closer, something fierce and protective surging through me. "I'll take care of you," I promise. "Your mother, your sister—I'll make sure they're provided for. You can see them when it's safe. I'll give you anything you want, everything you need."

She smiles, pressing a kiss to my chest, right over my heart. "I just need you," she says. "The rest we'll figure out together."

Together.The word settles into my bones, into the spaces that have been empty for too long. I've built my life around power, around control, around taking what I want and destroying anyone who stands in my way. I've never needed anyone, never wanted the complication, the vulnerability.

But I need her. Want her. Not just in my bed, but in my life. By my side.

"Yes," I agree, holding her tighter. "Together."

It's a vow, a promise, a new beginning. The Wolf has finally found his mate, and nothing—not rival gangs, not the law, not the darkness of my own past—will take her from me.

Emilia West is mine. Forever.

epilogue

Two years later

Emilia

I runmy fingers along the spines of my newest acquisitions, leather-bound first editions Clark surprised me with last week, still unable to believe this is my life now. Two years ago, I was shelving discount paperbacks at the local library, wearing cardigans two sizes too big and keeping my head down. Now I preside over a private collection that would make any university librarian weep with envy, all housed in the custom library Clark built for me in our sprawling home. The irony isn't lost on me—that being kidnapped by a dangerous man has given me more freedom than I ever had before.

He takes me to visit my mom and sister, and they both love him, so I didn’t have to abandon my family to be with him. And he helps them financially. They’re better off than they’ve ever been. He makes sure my mom gets the best care possible.

Yes, my husband is amazing.

Sunlight streams through the tall windows, warming the polished hardwood floors where I pad barefoot between the shelves. This room is my sanctuary, my kingdom—though everything here, including me, belongs to Clark. He made that clear from the beginning. What's mine is mine, and you're mine, so everything is yours. His particular brand of logic, delivered with that slight curve of his lips that still makes my heart skip.

I pause at the window, looking out over the grounds of our estate. Another surprise—that Clark's business dealings were lucrative enough to provide this level of luxury. The compound is still operational, still the headquarters of the Outlaw MC, but we live separately now, in this secluded mansion nestled against the mountains. Close enough for Clark to maintain control, far enough to give us privacy. Protected. Isolated. Perfect.

My fingers drift to the delicate gold chain around my neck—not the childhood book pendant I wore when we met, but something new. A wolf, cast in gold, with tiny diamond eyes. His mark, his claim, always against my skin. I never take it off.

I hear the distinctive rumble of his motorcycle before I see him, the sound triggering an instant reaction—my pulse quickening, warmth pooling low in my belly. Two years, and my body still responds to him like it's the first time. I move toward the front of the house, anticipation building with each step.

The door opens before I reach it, and there he is—my captor, my protector, my lover. My everything. Clark fills the doorway, larger than life in his leather jacket, dark hair slightly windblown, those ice-blue eyes finding me immediately. The coldness that used to make me shiver is gone, replaced by a heat that's only for me.

"There she is," he says, voice a low rumble that vibrates through me. "My beautiful girl."

I go to him without hesitation, without thought—like a magnet drawn to its opposite pole. His arms wrap around me, lifting me off my feet, his mouth claiming mine with a hunger that hasn't diminished with time or familiarity.

I melt against him, opening for him, surrendering as I always do. His kiss is possessive, devouring, a reminder that no matter how gentle he can be, there's always danger beneath the surface. It's that danger, that edge, that still thrills me after all this time.

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