The rhythm I set is slow, tentative, controlled. But then she grasps my shoulders and moves against me. We groan in unison.

“I want…” Her peaked nipples scrape against my chest.

“Anything you want, baby, I’ll give it to you.” I’m going to give it all to her.

My hips snap forward, faster now. Again and again, harder and harder until her cries fill the space and mingle with the sound of our labored breathing.

My pace grows frantic, needy, desperate.

Pumping into her, the soft moans and pants of my name on her tongue drive me wild.

She’s possessing me as hard and fast as I’m possessing her. “You’re mine, baby,” I whisper against her ear as I feel how tightly she clenches around me.

She consumes me so thoroughly as my hips continue to move against hers. Until she explodes around me, her pussy clenching around me so hard. “Oh, Saint…”

“I know, baby. I got you,” I growl into her neck. The knowledge that I did this to her is nearly as intoxicating as the taste of her on my tongue.

“Saint…”

Maybe it’s the way she says my name, like some prayer on her kiss-swollen lips. Maybe it’s the way she clings and claws at me just as desperate for this as I am. Or maybe it’s just because it’s Emerald and no one has ever done to me what she has. But it pushes me over the edge.

My entire body tenses over her as absolute pleasure consumes me from the inside out. I give one more final pump into her, and I feel her tighten and shatter around me all over again, her pussy milking every last drop of cum out of me.

Panting hard, I brush the strands of hair from her forehead and temple, kissing it before I carry her to the bed. And I take her in—the soft sheen of perspiration, the flush along her neck and tits, the satisfied look in her green eyes.

That warmth inside me, that comforting sensation in my chest, soothes over my whole body. There’s no doubt in my mind now. I’m going to find a way to keep her. One way or another.

* * *

“You’ve got your brooding expression going on,” Emerald says the next morning. She’s still in her robe, and we’re sitting on the plush couches in the suite’s living room and drinking coffee.

“I’m just thinking.”

“About?”

“Everything. My mind never stops.” I scrub a hand down my face. Emerald shifts in the seat, and my eyes roam over her body, her luscious curves drawing my attention like honey to a bee.

She looks at me. “So, we just announce we’re engaged now, and then what? We just hope Carmine gets the message I’m off limits?”

“Oh, trust me, he’ll know. But from now on, you don’t go anywhere without me or my men to guard you. No one knows that this is fake except for you and me, so you need to be careful what you say in front of my men. We need word to spread fast, so we’ll have to be seen out and about. What man doesn’t want to show the world the woman he’s in love with, especially when she looks like you?”

Her cheeks heat, and she shifts a little. “Okay…”

“Okay?”

“I guess that’ll work.”

“You’ll have to give a little more conviction than that, Emerald.”

Her nose scrunches. “I’m not very good at lying. I mean, you’ve told me that yourself often enough. I’m just not sure if I can be convincing enough.”

I sigh. “You’re right. Youareterrible at telling lies. So, let me make this easy for you by laying down some rules.” Because this plan has to work. I have to keep her safe no matter what. And I don’t know why, but I want to see her smiling that beautiful smile of hers again…

“Rules?”

“Yeah, I’ve got three rules for you. One, when we’re in public, you do as I tell you and don’t answer back with any smart comments.” She frowns at me. “Two, you act like you can’t keep your hands to yourself around me.” Her jaw drops slightly. “And three, you let anyone else touch you, I put a bullet through their fucking brain.” And she snorts.Actually snorts. “Look, Carmine has to think you’re important to me. This isn’t how things usually happen, so questions are going to get asked. Which means making him think we’re hopelessly in love will only work if we make it look real. The outside world and Carmine only get to see the show we put on. Kissing, hands on the waist, fingers in the hair, arms around you type of stuff.”

“Okay, I need to make it look real,” she says slowly, although she still doesn’t look convinced by my plan.