Page 147 of Bucked Hard

"I'm not going to apologize for this," I tell her between kisses, my hands mapping every inch of her. "Not to your father. Not to anyone."

"Good," she breathes, arching against me. "Because I won't either."

The possessiveness that surges through me is primal, unstoppable. I've never felt this way about any woman—this bone-deep certainty that she belongs with me, to me.

"Look at me," I command softly, waiting until those green eyes lock with mine. "From this moment on, there's no going back. You're mine, Callie. Mine to protect. Mine to love. I love you, little girl."

The word slips out before I can stop it. Love. The truth I've been running from for too long.

Her eyes widen, filling with tears that catch the moonlight. "Say it again," she whispers.

I cup her face in my hands, all pretense gone. "I love you. Have for years. Tried to tell myself it was wrong, that I was just watching out for you because of your father. But that was a lie."

A tear slips down her cheek, and I catch it with my thumb.

"You're not walking away after this," I tell her, my voice low and certain. "You'll be here when the sun comes up, and every damn day after."

She smiles then, bright as a sunrise. "Promise?"

"On my life."

“Fuck me again,” she purrs like a prayer, and I’m powerless to deny her.

I’ve got her on all fours this time, slapping her sweet ass and tugging her hair back like I’m breaking a mustang and she’s here for it all.

Nothing I seem to do or say is too much. It’s fucking beautiful the way her tiny body spreads to take me. Her virgin blood still tinting our combined juices and I commit every sensation, sight, sound and feeling to a memory book that’s titled ‘Our Forever’.

“Papa loves you baby. Always has.”

“I love you, Papa.” She whimpers, a catch in her voice making my heart feel like it’s trapped in barbed wire. “So much.”

We move together, finding a rhythm as ancient as time itself. Every touch, every kiss, is a declaration of what we've both been too afraid to say. I watch her come undone beneath me, her pleasure the most beautiful thing I've ever witnessed.

And when I follow her over the edge, her name on my lips like a prayer, I know with absolute certainty that nothing will ever be the same again.

I was a man adrift, anchored only by routine and obligation. Now I'm tethered to her—this woman who's become the center of my world.

As we lie tangled together afterward, her golden hair spread across my chest, I make silent promises to her. To protect her. To cherish her. To never let her doubt for a single moment that she's the most precious thing in my life.

Chapter8

Callie

Callie

Daylight filters through Buck's curtains, painting golden stripes across his chest where my head rests. His heartbeat, steady and strong, echoes beneath my ear—the most comforting sound I've ever known.

His large hand strokes my hair, fingers gently untangling the knots he put there. I've never felt so completely cherished, so thoroughly claimed.

"You still with me, sweetheart?" His morning voice is even deeper, rougher around the edges.

I press a kiss to his chest. "Nowhere else I'd rather be."

He shifts, tilting my chin up to look at him. Those hazel eyes, usually so guarded, are open now—letting me see everything he feels.

"Last night wasn't just..." He hesitates, a furrow appearing between his brows.

"Just what?" I trace that furrow with my finger, smoothing it away. "Just the best night of my life?"

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