Page 70 of Spark
The truth of my thoughts washes over me. I don’t know what would have happened between us if my circumstances had been different when we met. I can’t predict what a different me, in a different universe, would have felt. But even if part of the reason I’m here is because of what he can offer me, I’m in his bed because of him and not because I’m trading myself and taking advantage of him.
While the hockey game continues to play in the background, I focus on the steady beating of his heart beneath my cheek and the relief I feel at not being as big of an asshole as I thought I might be.
SEVENTEEN
WARRICK
Idon’t know what she’s thinking, but I try to give her the time and as much space as I can to work through whatever has her tense and tearful. My instincts are screaming at me to smother and coddle her. To promise that she doesn’t need to ever think again if it’s going to upset her. But I can’t do that. I can’t take away her autonomy.
Slowly her muscles start to relax, and I feel my heartbeat slow in response. I love this woman, and even if I freaked her out by telling her that, I needed her to know. I needed her to understand how important she is to me.
When she softly nuzzles her cheek against my chest, I exhale a huff of relief. Since the moment I walked through the door yesterday morning, I haven’t given her an inch of space because it’s what I needed. But it might not have been what she needed. A tiny pang of guilt tugs inside of me, but my amore mio is too scared, too broken, and I couldn’t fight the desire to take care of her.
But I don’t want to fight it. She’s mine, and part of belonging to me is her letting me take care of her in every way she needs, whether she wants me to or not. Her body is mine now. I’ve licked, touched, and fucked every inch of her, and I won’tapologize for that. Finding her in my bed set off a catalyst in my head, and all thoughts of giving her time and letting her set the pace went out the window.
As much as I want to keep her naked and in our bed for the next two days, I know that her world has to be bigger than me and this house. If she is pregnant, then she’ll need support and to realize that my friends and family just want to get to know her and aren’t just checking up on her.
By the time she starts to stir, I’ve reasoned that even though I don’t want it, I’m going to have to try and share her with the world a little. Keeping her on the mountain and away from any means of escaping me felt necessary six days ago, but even if I wish I could lock her down with me forever, I know I won’t be able to stop her from leaving if she wants to. I just have to trust that she won’t.
Waking up, she makes a sexy little kitten mewling noise, unfurling her arms from where they’ve been folded beneath her cheek. “Amore mio,” I coo, stroking my fingers through her hair.
“Hey,” she says sleepily.
Dragging her up my body, I palm the back of her neck and pull her in for a kiss, sliding my tongue into her mouth and tasting a little of myself as I devour her.
“Shall we take a ride into town today? You need new clothes, and I need to grab some things.”
“I don’t need new clothes,” she quickly denies, her cheeks heating pink.
“The moment you meet Cora’s mom and she starts picking things out for you, you’ll change your mind,” I say with a soft laugh.
Shaking her head, she pulls out of my hold and slips off my body and down to the mattress. “Warrick, you know I’m broke. I don’t need anything, and I can’t afford new anything.”
“Amore mio, we’ll check the post office once we’re in town. Your card should be there, so you have money.”
“I’m not spending your money,” she protests.
“It’sourmoney and I fucking expect you to spend it.” Pulling her back on top of me again, I palm her neck and slam my lips against her, kissing her until she relaxes and melts into me. It takes every ounce of my self-control to pull away from her and not to spread her legs and make her ride my dick. “Jesus, Verity, we need to get dressed, or else we’re not going anywhere.”
“That doesn’t sound too bad,” she pants, her pupils blown wide, her full pink lips swollen and wet from our kisses.
“I’ll fuck you until you’re a dripping, boneless mess later, but first we need to take a trip into town.”
Watching my woman put on clothes is a lesson in patience and control. By the time I take her hand and lead her out of the front door and into the Jeep, my dick is rock-hard, and I can’t think of a single reason why I’d ever want her to wear anything other than my cum or my shirt ever again.
Opening my Jeep’s passenger door, I help her inside and close it behind her so I don’t change my mind, throw her over my shoulder, and carry her back upstairs. Neither of us speaks as I drive down the mountain and toward town. It’s not as busy here as it will be at the peak of the summer season, but there’s still plenty of tourists milling around in their shiny hiking boots and brand-new backpacks.
Instead of taking Verity straight to Cora’s family’s clothes shop, I park my truck outside the post office and lead her inside. The postal carriers won’t come up to the ranch, so we all have boxes here at the main office. When I open mine, I have a handful of junk, a couple of bills, and a letter addressed to Verity Sanders.
Seeing her surname and not mine after her name burns like a phantom pain in my gut. This woman is mine. She’s not aSanders anymore, she’s a fucking Meyer, and although marrying her didn’t feel crazy important when I woke up, now I feel almost as driven to give her my name as I did to claim every one of her firsts.
“Here,” I say gruffly, handing her the letter and folding the others in half and putting them in my pocket.
“I can’t take this,” she immediately says.
“You haven’t opened it yet.”
Looking up at me with big doe eyes, she slips her finger under the edge of the envelope and runs it across, then slips the letter and the debit card attached to it out. “Warrick,” she says shakily.
