“I didn’t know if you were finished looking at them.”
“So you kept them?”
“I knew you’d be back.”
The lack of human presence in the flat for the last six weeks means it’s chilly. “I should’ve sent someone to turn on the heat.”
“The cold is a good reason to snuggle until the furnace can heat the place up.”
“Right.”
Sterling appears at the door with our luggage. “Where would you like your bags?”
“There will be fine.” Sterling pushes our bags up next to the sofa out of the way. “Thank you. That will be all for now.”
“Of course, sir.”
Sin turns on the heat. “It shouldn’t take long to warm up. Are you tired?”
I’m beyond tired. Two flights and one layover. A sixteen-hour journey from beginning to end. “I feel like I could sleep for a week and the jet lag hasn’t even had time to kick in yet.”
“Let’s go to bed for a little while.”
I’m not sure that’s a good idea. “It’s nine in the morning. Our days and nights will for sure be messed up.”
“They’re already messed up, Bonny. It’s three in the morning to us.” He pulls on my wrists. “Come on. It won’t hurt if we rest a little.”
I’m not sure he has resting on his mind. “I will, but only to sleep and get warm.”
“We haven’t been here together in months. All I want is to lie next to you and sleep in our bed, in our home.”
Sounds like heaven.
* * *
I wake because I’m freezing. I’ve never shared a bed with Sin in weather like this but I’m learning that he’s a cover hog.
I’m a girl from the South. I’m not used to this degree of cold. It’s going to become bone chilling when December arrives in a few weeks so I need to make note of my husband’s linen-stealing tendencies.
He looks warm and toasty beneath our platinum bedding so I slide over to spoon him from behind. I place my ice-cold hand over his stomach and give the comforter a yank, but to no avail as it’s tucked snuggly around him.
“Cold?” he groans.
I wrap my leg around his body. “Mmm … hmm. Very.”
He rolls to face me and brings the bedding with him, spreading it over me. “I can’t have my sweet Bonny catching a chill.”
He’s holding me close, his chin resting on the top of my head. “Better?”
“Much. The climate change is a bit of a shock.”
“You were here during the long summer days. Winter is much different. Not only is it cold, but the days are very short. Don’t worry. You’ll adjust fine. After all, you are a chameleon.” He’s laughing at me again.
Chameleon. It’s true. I was taught from an early age to adapt to my surroundings but my husband doesn’t know the true extent.
I studied Sin for years. I stalked him with the purpose of using him for all I could get and then I’d toss him aside. I’m not sure he’s sorted out the depth of my plans, but it’s something I feel obligated to admit. “I watched and studied you for years.”
He’s rubbing his hands up and down my arms. “I know.”
He only thinks he knows. “No. I don’t believe you really do.”
He pulls away and looks at me. “What does that mean?”
Here goes. “I had to learn everything about the infamous Sinclair Breckenridge if I was going to infiltrate the brotherhood through you—your habits, your likes, your dislikes. I needed to understand your role within The Fellowship and how you functioned outside of it. I knew as soon as we met that I was up to my ass in alligators with the way you made me feel. I tried to tell myself you were a monster. I wanted to hate you so badly. I tried my damnedest but I couldn’t. That’s when I realized that pursuing you came easy because I wanted you desperately.”
The wrinkle between his brows forms a tight V. “You knew my habits with women before we met? And you used that knowledge to your benefit?”
I nibble my bottom lip and squint. “Yes.”
“What exactly was your objective?”
“To make you fall in love with me.” It sounds so much worse when I say it aloud.
“Because getting close to me meant getting close to my father?”
“That was the plan.” I can’t read his expression. “I’m sorry.”
“So the whole ‘want me, wait for me, can’t have me until you are dying to please me’ thing was all an act?”
“At first. But then everything changed because I fell in love with you.” He was supposed to be collateral damage. Until he became so much more.
“There were so many times I thought of telling you to leave without ever looking back. I knew I was no good for you.”
I’m so happy he didn’t. I would’ve been wrecked. “But you didn’t.”
“Because I’m a selfish bastard. I couldn’t let you go.”
Sin’s wrong. He was completely selfless. “A selfish bastard wouldn’t have taken a crazy-ass, near-death beating for me.”
I’m still amazed by his decision to offer himself in my place so he could keep me.
Isobel was right. I’m finally able to see his sacrifice as the beautiful show of love it was. I love him all the more for it. “Thank you, for what you did.”
“I’d do it again without a moment’s hesitation. That’s how much I love you.”
I believe him. “I love you with my heart, body, and soul.”
My favorite dimple makes its appearance. “I’m happy you love me with your heart and soul but I very much enjoy you loving me with your body.”
There hasn’t been much opportunity for any kind of loving since our wedding night. Things have been far too hectic, but I plan to remedy that now that we’re home.
“Me too. We have a lot of newlywed sexy time to catch up on.”
“Then we’d better get on it. Rodrick covered for me while I was gone but I’m the new full-time defender for The Fellowship now that I’m back. And believe me—the brothers will keep me busy with their fuck-ups.”
I suppose that means we won’t be taking a honeymoon. “I was hoping we’d have a few days to go away before you had to return to work.”
“Sorry, Bonny. There isn’t time. I resumed my place as defender as soon as my feet touched Edinburgh soil.”
He sucks air in through his teeth as his hand finds its way down between my legs. “So you see, Mrs. Breckenridge, there’s a chance I could be called away at any moment. It might be a good idea to christen our bed before the next summons pulls me away.”
I took my jeans off before getting into bed so only a thin layer of cotton shields me from his fingers. “Sounds like a very good call to me.”
He pushes me onto my back, covering me with his body, his weight pressing me into the mattress. He settles between my legs and his hand creeps down the front of my panties. His palm cups me as he glides a finger down my center. His mouth hovers over my ear and I can feel the warmth of his breath against my skin. “You have no idea how much I’ve missed being inside you.”
Inside me. Those two words are enough to make my insides seethe from the fire igniting deep in my groin.
I curl my arms under his and wrap my hands around his bare shoulders. “I bet I have some idea.”
He uses one finger to lightly stroke from top to bottom, over and over. His touch is featherlight. And maddening. “You’re killing me.”
“How so?”
He knows exactly what he’s doing. “You’re being an enormous tease.”
He flicks my clit in a downward motion using the tip of his finger. “It’s called foreplay, Bonny.”
“It should be called torture.”
“Tell me what you want me to do next.”
Oh, that’s the game we’re playing. He wants me to beg. Well, I’m not above it. “Make me come.”
He tsks against my ear. “You have to be more specific than that.”
His warm breath feels so good against my skin. “With
your mouth.”
“That’s better, but still not quite what I’m looking for. Put those two phrases together and tell me again.”
He’s enjoying this a little too much. “Make me come with your mouth.”
“That, I can do.” He pushes the front of my shirt up. “But first I want this off.”
I arch upward and he pulls my shirt over my head. “That’s better.”
His lips begin at the base of my throat before moving down my body. He stops in the center of my chest and takes a detour over to my left breast. The tip of his tongue grazes the edge of my nipple, causing it to immediately harden. “You’re in complete control. I’ll do anything you want. You only have to ask.”
Knowing what I want, and admitting it out loud are two different things. I’m not sure I’m brave enough to say what I really want.
“Roll your tongue around the tip and then suck it into your mouth.” He carries out my request.
“One or both?”
“Both.”