Page 27 of His to Command

"And now?" His fingers tangle in my hair, tilting my face to meet his gaze.

"Now I think maybe it's just how some people love." I smile, watching his pupils dilate at the implied confession. "Completely. Eternally. Obsessively."

His answering smile is like the sun breaking through clouds—rare, brilliant, transformative. "Yes," he agrees, pulling me closer. "That's exactly what it is."

And in the circle of his arms, bound not by silk but by something far more permanent, I finally understand what I've been running from all along. Not Hudson's intensity. Not his possession. But the terrifying, exhilarating certainty that I'm exactly where I belong—claimed, seen, cherished in a way I never thought possible.

Not just his. But his forever.

epilogue

. . .

Three weeks later

Hudson

I watchRobin move through my penthouse—our penthouse—with the easy familiarity of belonging. She's left her mark everywhere: books stacked on my previously pristine coffee table, a fuzzy throw blanket on the leather couch, her favorite tea in the kitchen cupboard. Three weeks of her living here, and the sterile space I once occupied has transformed into something warm, alive, inhabited. Just like me. But it's not enough. Not nearly enough. I need more. Need all of her. Not just sharing my home, but sharing my name, my life, my future. Until there's no separation between us at all.

She's working at the dining table, brow furrowed in concentration as she reviews acquisition documents. I've promoted her again—Special Projects Director to Chief Strategy Officer. Not because she's warming my bed, but because she's brilliant. Because the board was stunned by her analysis of theEuropean market expansion. Because even my most cutthroat executives defer to her insights now.

It should bother me, watching her carve out her own empire within mine. Instead, it fills me with a pride I've never felt before—not for my own accomplishments, but for hers. For us. For this strange, perfect unit we've become.

"You're staring," she says without looking up, a smile playing at the corner of her mouth.

"I'm admiring," I correct, moving behind her chair, hands settling on her shoulders. "My view. My right."

She laughs, tilting her head back to look at me. Upside down, those remarkable eyes still captivate me completely. "Your obsession, you mean."

"Yes." I don't deny it. Never will. "My everything."

I massage her shoulders, feeling the tension of a long workday beneath my fingers. She sighs, leaning into my touch, trusting me implicitly now where once she'd have pulled away. Progress. Victory.

"Dinner?" I suggest, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

"I thought we were reviewing the Stevens portfolio tonight." She gestures to the stack of documents before her.

"Later." I close her laptop, ignoring her sound of protest. "I have plans for you first."

Her pupils dilate slightly, a flush creeping up her neck—the now-familiar signs of her arousal that I've cataloged like the collector of rare artifacts I've become. "What kind of plans?"

I take her hand, leading her away from the table, toward the terrace doors. The sun is setting over Manhattan, painting the sky in colors that can't compete with the gold flecks in Robin's eyes.

"Hudson?" Curiosity tinges her voice as I guide her onto the terrace, where I've had my staff prepare without her knowledge.

White roses in crystal vases. Champagne chilling in a silver bucket. The small black box placed precisely in the center of the glass table.

She stops short when she sees it, one hand flying to her throat in that unconscious gesture she makes when overwhelmed. "What is this?"

"What does it look like?" I turn her to face me, needing to see every flicker of emotion cross her expressive face.

"It looks like..." She swallows hard. "Hudson, we've only been together a month."

"Twenty-nine days," I correct. "And your point?"

"That's not long enough to?—"

"It's been long enough for you to completely reorder my existence," I interrupt. "Long enough for me to know with absolute certainty that I want you in my life. Permanently."

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