Page 85 of Once You're Mine

And I love her for it.

“Please, eat, Callie.”

When I jerk up my head, I find Hayden watching me with curiosity swimming in his gaze. We eat in silence for a few moments, the tension between us palpable.

I know he means well, but why can’t he understand how much his proposal scares me? Maybe he does see it and doesn’t care since it interferes with my safety. However, the thought of relying completely on another person and giving them power over my happiness and security again is terrifying.

Yet Hayden sees his actions as him protecting me, his way of caring for what he considers is already his. Me. His need to possess and control everything around him will either break me or give me freedom in his embrace.

I take a deep breath and lift my gaze to his. “We want the same thing, but your methods need adjustment if this is going to work.”

His brow furrows. “How so?”

“If you want me to be in your life, this thing between us has to be a partnership, not you dictating my every move.” I set down my fork and hold his stare. “I can accept your financial security, but only if you promise to keep it in an account that’s separate from mine. I only want it there as a failsafe and nothing else. As far as living with you, I can agree to the bodyguard, but I want to continue working. And lastly, I want to schedule an end date.”

“End date?” he repeats, the words clipped. He tightens his grip on his fork until his knuckles lose their color. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t expect you to let me live with you forever, so we’ll treat our contract like a lease agreement. I’ll agree to stay for a certain amount of time and then at the end, I’ll have access to the trust fund you set up for me. That way I’m earning the money and not a handout.”

Hayden leans forward, his gaze narrowing infinitesimally. “Are you saying that you want me to pay you for living with me?” When I nod, he clenches his jaw. “That’d make you no better than a whore.”

The words hit me like an cold wind, knocking the breath out of me. His accusation lingers in the air, and I resist the urge to rub the chill from my arms. The anger in his eyes flickers when I bite my lip, quickly morphing into lust.

I shake my head. “I didn’t mean to imply our agreement is purely transactional or that I see myself as a whore. It’s more about finding a sense of security that ensures we both have a future beyond this temporary agreement.”

“There is no future without you in it.”

“Hayden…”

“You’re my life. That won’t change.”

I twist my hands in my lap. “What if it does?”

“You’re mine in life and death. There is no end when it comes to us.”

“I don’t believe that.”

He shrugs. “You don’t have to. I know it to be true. You’re looking for security in material things, so ask for what you want. Money, done. Abstinence, done. Only for a time anyway. A marriage certificate where you’d be my wife and therefore entitled to all my assets? Done. I’d marry you tonight if that’s what you wanted. Whatever it takes to get you to finally understand that you’re everything to me.”

I stare at Hayden, stunned into silence by his passionate declaration. Marriage and money? Just to prove his devotion and commitment to me? I don’t know whether to be flattered or frightened by the intensity of his feelings. They have always bordered on obsession, burning so fiercely they turn consume everything in their path. There are times when I worried they’d destroy me too, but now I’m wondering if the flames will keep me warm and ward off predators that are hunting me.

Perhaps I’ve been afraid of the wrong person. Hayden knows the darkest stains on my soul and still wants me. If this same man would move heaven and earth for me, how can that devotion be anything other than a gift?

He searches my gaze, taking in the look on my face and blows out a sharp breath. He runs his fingers through his hair, finally letting me see the uncertainty beneath his cool exterior. This man has always been sure of himself and me.

I don’t want that to ever change.

“What are you thinking?” he asks. “Talk to me.”

“Yes,” I say softly.

“What?”

“I’m saying yes.”

“To marriage?” When I shake my head, he jerks back. “Then what?”

“I’m saying yes toyou, Hayden.”

---