I chuckle, reaching out to pull her flush against me. Her head tilts as she looks up at me and I smile at her.
“Malia will be back, yes,” I say matter-of-factly, knowing in my black heart that my baby girl will be coming home to us no matter the cost; she has to. “But it’s not the garden she cares about, it’s the tranquility. So long as you stay away from the bench, she couldn’t care less if the field caught fire and was left in ash.”
This emotion I feel, it is not something I am used to after being in a loveless marriage for twenty-seven years. I’m not one to let people get a hold over me, but Chantelle did just that the night she yelled in my face.
I watch as her eyes go blank, lost in thought for a moment.
“Sunflowers,” she says while sheepishly rubbing her neck.
I nod, making a mental note to pass that to Elijah so I can give my Little Bird something of her own here on the estate.
Chantelle shifts her weight. I wrap an arm around her, bringing her body closer to mine, and cup her face with my free hand. If there’s one way to read someone’s strength and willpower, it is if they can hold eye contact. I force her gaze upon me, never wavering once in just the way I love.
“I want you to stay,” I say.
She snorts and rolls her eyes.
“So you’ve told me.”
I shake my head, brushing my thumb back and forth along her cheek.
“No, Little Bird. I want this to be your home by your choice. I want you to choose this life, as dark and dangerous as it is. Claim my name and carry it with pride, no matter how depraved its past or what the future holds. To keep my feet on the ground the rest of my life, the way you have since you’ve walked into it.”
Chantelle sucks in a breath, her eyes bouncing between mine as she dissects my words.
“Am I safe with you?” she finally asks, her voice a whisper. “My life and future. Is it safe, Nate?”
“You’re safest with me, Little Bird,” I whisper, dipping my head to drag my lips along the crook of her neck.
I smile when she shudders.
“Okay, but if I’m giving you all of me, Nate, then you have to give me all of you,” she breathes, reaching up when I pull back to look at her, and placing her hand on my cheek. “Protecting me isn’t keeping me shielded from your business and that side of you. Don’t hide from me. Don’t separate me. For every piece of yourself you’re willing to give to me, I will give you a piece of me in return. I want even the pieces with the jagged and sharp edges; the ones that hold together the man who built all of this.”
I slam her body closer to mine, crushing my lips against hers and stopping her words. Chantelle’s need wars with my desire. I slowly lower her onto the grass, her eyes locked on mine in anticipation.
“We aren’t fucking in the garden,” she shoves at me with a chuckle.
“Tell me ‘Just Chantelle’,” I said, slowly running my hand up the back of her thigh and along the curve of her ass.
“For someone who isn’t interested in getting fucked, your lack of panties”—I bring my lips closer to her ear as her body shudders under me—“is rather misleading, don’t you think?”
Chantelle whimpers under my touch, welcoming my body against hers, spreading her legs and wrapping them around my waist. Her small hands find my tucked shirt and pull it from my pants, hungrily finding my abdomen to trail her long fingernails against my skin.
“Should I stop?” I ask, while nibbling on her ear and grinding against her, causing her breathing to become more rapid.
“God no, keep going,” Chantelle pleads as I trail kisses down her neck.
She groans in need as I inch her leggings lower, forcing her to unwind her legs from me and giving me access to the gates of pleasure we both crave. I map her exposed stomach with my fingers. Her need grows while she tugs at my shirt once again, popping a button. I grab her greedy hands and shove them to the ground above her head, securing both wrists with one hand.
“Now, now, Little Bird,”—I lean down and kiss above her belly button, then run my tongue lower—“all you had to do was ask.”
I release her arms and unbutton my shirt the rest of the way, pulling it off as fast as I can while Chantelle urgently removes her leggings. I pause, all urgency leaving me as this amazing creature lies in the grass beneath me. Caught in the moment I am seizing for myself for once.
“See something you like?” she taunts, desire burning in her gorgeous green eyes.
“Oh, you have no fucking idea,” I purr, shooting her a wicked smile and watching her cheeks flush.
“Pants off,” she demands.