Page 42 of Defending What's Mine

Secondary objective: make Charlotte mine.

The weight of it hits with ballistic force, knocking the air from my lungs. I’m not just protecting her… I’m tethered to her. Falling? No, free-fall has already happened. Somewhere between the first time I carried her out of danger and the moment she whispered “sir” with that wicked little smile, gravity shifted. Now there’s only one undeniable, full-spectrum truth…

I love her—recklessly, completely, to hell with the consequences.

I fist my dick in my hand, zeroing in on the distance between us. I need her floats through my mind over and over. “Charlotte,” I whisper as her grip on my hair tightens.

“Oh, Asher. I’m coming!” Her body spasms around me, and I keep the flat of my tongue pressed against her clit, letting her hips ride out her orgasm on my face.

A breathtaking sight. Committed to memory.

Her orgasm keeps going, her body not slowing down. I worry for a fraction of a second about what the harm of coming too hard can do to her body, but then I keep my face pressed close to her sweet spot.

“Asher,” she calls out, her orgasm cresting.

I press tiny kisses along the inside of her thigh as her body calms, her heart rate returning to normal. “You’re beautiful.” Imove up her body, letting my dick settle between her spread thighs. “You’re gorgeous.” I kiss up her neck. “You’re so fucking sexy, and now you’re going to do as I say, right?”

Her eyes flutter closed before opening slowly to look at me. “Yeah,” she says in a breathy whisper.

“Good girl.” I reach between our bodies, fisting my cock with one hand. I’m hard. Probably harder than I’ve ever been. The mission horizon narrows to a single vector—one shot, one route, the only way to close the loop. The only way to handle this desire burning deep inside me.

“I want you,” she whispers.

“Birth control?” I ask, wondering about her cycle. Could she get pregnant? I should have brought condoms. But why would I?

I never could have prepared for this.

“Yes, I’m on birth control.”

I blow out an exasperated breath. “Thank fucking god,” I breathe out in relief.

She laughs lightly. “You should have seen your face after you asked. Like you were trying to map out the probability of if I’ll get pregnant or not.”

I nod. “I was.”

“You’re always so analytical. Just let go for tonight. Don’t worry about me, I want you to enjoy yourself.”

I gaze down at her. “I am.”

She lifts up slightly, and I move so I don’t crush her. “No, I really want you to enjoy this.” She moves off the bed, and I stalk her as she crosses the room. She stops at my tactical bag.

“What are you doing?”

“Do you have anything fun in here?” She unzips it, and I fly across the room so she doesn’t grab something that might hurt her.

“Define fun.”

“Handcuffs, rope, … I don’t know.” She kneels beside the bag on the floor.

“I have both of those. I’d never use the handcuffs on you, however. They’ll dig into skin.” I grab her wrists. “And your skin is too soft for that.”

“You could tie me up,” she offers, and I think about that for a full ten seconds.

Charlotte at my mercy. Charlotte tied up for me to have my way with her.

I make a snap decision. “On the bed. Now,” I bark out.

She hurries across the room, bounding onto the bed until she’s on her knees, waiting anxiously. I see she’s into this probably more than I am.

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