by Jenna Elliot
She eyes me skeptically. “You aren’t mad I broke your rules at the shop?”
“You were awesome at the shop. I had no clue you’d be such a good salesperson. Okay,” I concede. “A month ago, I would have been annoyed. But not now. Now I appreciate you. You, baby doll, have helped me learn to live again.”
“What are you saying, Ethan? That you don’t have to be in control all the time?”
“Certainly not at work.”
I was going for a smile. She lowers her voice instead. “Just when we fuck?” she asks.
“Make love. Not even all the time then. I like vanilla sex with you as much as I like spanking your sweet ass.”
“Shh.” She darts her gaze around nervously.
I don’t give a damn who hears me. But for her, I lower my voice. “We’re good together. I know. You know. Why fight it?”
Silence. My whole damned life on the line. And the longer I wait, the more the tension stretches.
“What we do together scares me.” She holds up her hand to stop me from saying more. “I like it.”
“I like it, too.” Still, she is not telling me what I want to hear. “You like the sex. You like me. So what’s the problem?”
“I don’t know how to accept this side of myself.”
Ah. My Mia isn’t quite as innocent as when we first met. I decide that’s a good thing. “Change is a process, babe. No one knows that better than me.” I hesitate. “I’d want us to make the journey together.”
“To Europe?”
I press my mouth to her knuckles, meet her gaze above our joined hands. “I want a helluva lot more than Paris, babe. I want every day that comes after. The past has haunted me for too long. It’s time to let Callie and the boys rest in peace. I want you, Mia. I want a future for us. Together.”
She still doesn’t say anything, just looks into my face as if she’s trying to see inside. I will her to trust what she feels. She has to feel how much I want her.
“Dirty said you enjoyed working at the shop. I want you to come back as a business partner. And I want us to live together. See where it goes. I want you to discover what you love in my arms. I want you to be all you can be.” And here it is, my life on the line. If she doesn’t give me what I want, I’m going to die. “Don’t be afraid, Mia. Give us a try.”
Everything inside me stills. My breath solidifies in my chest. My pulse slows to nothing.
She considers me. When she bites her lip, I know she’s wavering. “My fucking knight in shining armor, hmm?”
“If you’ll have me.”
Her expression softens before my eyes. I know she’s going to give us a chance before she even opens her mouth.
And my heart starts beating again.
With a grin, my sassy and independent girl melts into my arms and whispers, “Want to join the mile high club?”
The End
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