Page 28 of Bronson

His gaze locks on mine. “To me.”

“Oh.” My arms fall to my sides. My limbs feel weak.

His gaze holds mine. “Is that alright with you?” he asks. The words he speaks are clear, each one enunciated individually.

He’s asking my permission.

For what, I have no idea.

I have the feeling this is the only time he would ask for it. I can read it in the features of his face. If I say yes, I’m unsure what I’m committing to, exactly, but I know I’m making a commitment that I will be held to.

His guidance? His care?

His discipline?

He asks me one more time. His voice is softer than before. “Is that alright with you?” His hand reaches out as if to touch me, then falls back down beside him on the desk.

I utter the word that changes my life. “Yes.”

CHAPTER FOUR

Bronson

Brauny?

Where did that come from?

And why did I… enjoy it so much?

It was… cute. Adorable. Such a… Paige thing to say.

I can’t get her out of my mind.

When I saw her walking down that sidewalk, shivering, I had half a mind to take my belt to her. Yes, she looked like a goddess in that dress, but where was her coat?

I remember the look on her face when she told me she didn’t have one. Pain ripped through my heart.

I want to care for her.

I want to taste her. Kiss her. Have her.

Make her mine.

Needing her is the easy part. I wanted her from the moment I saw her. The obsession grew with every interaction.

But obsession is not possession.

And asking her to enter my world is something else entirely.

Paige has spent her life caring for vulnerable people. I come from a family whose name opens doors, closes mouths, and sometimes leaves blood behind.

She sees a jeweler. A businessman. A man who visits an elderly woman every Sunday.

She does not yet see the whole of me.

Once she does, she may look at me with fear.

Or worse, disappointment.