The pain was exquisite, only adding to all the other sensations I felt. “I love it when you take control,” I said. “When you tell me what to do and make me yours.”

“You are mine,” he said. “No one else’s.” He pulled out, turning me around so my ass was pressed against the desk, then hooked his arm under one of my legs. As he came back into me, we were face to face, nose to nose, eye to eye.

“You’re mine,” he said again.

And that, being claimed by Tyler, was everything.

“I’m yours,” I said, my voice shaking with an oncoming orgasm.

“Come with me, baby,” he said.

And I had no choice but to listen. My body would obey his every command. I held on to his shoulders as I tightened around him. He shuddered against me, filling me with the warmth of his come.

As we slowed, he kissed me, hard, then smiled against my mouth. “That was sexy as hell.”

I never thought those words would ever be used to describe me, or anything I did, but I agreed. “I think my office is better with you in it.”

Grinning, he released my leg and helped me stand, straightened my skirt and my blouse and buttoned his pants. Then he brushed back hair that had fallen from my ponytail, tucking it behind my ear. “We’ll have to see if that theory holds true everywhere else.” He held up his fingers, ticking them off. “My office, my truck, your car, my apartment...”

I couldn’t wait to find out.

49

Tyler

If I could only use one word to describe the last month with Henrietta, it would be...right.

Spending time with her, getting to know her and exploring how our bodies fit together… I’d never done anything that came so naturally but felt so electrifying at the same time.

We spent almost every day together, and a lot of nights, she stayed over at my place, quickly turning it from a temporary stay to a home. On Wednesday mornings, she had breakfast with the girls, on Thursday nights, I played poker with the guys, and on the weekends, we hung out with her friends or her family. Her family had ahugeparty when Cordelia came home.

But most of all, I couldn’t wait for her to meet my family, see my home. Because each day in Emerson felt like a grain of sand falling to the bottom of the hourglass on our relationship, and there was no way I could ever let her go.

I just hoped she’d be okay with spending Thanksgiving in Texas instead of California like she normally did. We were just a couple weeks away, and I needed to ask soon.

Wanting the request to be special—and to stack the odds in my favor—I printed out the tickets and had them wrapped in a beautiful box with a necklace that had a windmill charm hanging at the end of it.

I stashed the items in my office this morning so when she did her afternoon check-in at the build site, I could give them to her and ask her to come along. That would give us two weeks to prepare for the trip. And to meet my family. They could definitely be a lot.

The build was going along smoothly. We’d only had one permitting delay, and that was back on track now, thanks to a guy on my team whose wife worked at city hall. A few papers may or may not have been moved to the top of the review pile.

With the foundation poured, we were working on framing the first level. I liked this part, where it started looking more like an actual building and not like a big mess of concrete, metal, and broken ground.

I checked my watch again and saw it was about time for Henrietta to get here, but when I told the guys I was going back to the office trailer, I found her already standing outside the building, grinning at me. When we got out of earshot of the workers, she said, “You look sexy working like that.” She fanned herself. “Should I be worried that I like the sight of you handling wood?”

I snorted. “I like the sight of me handling you better.”

She giggled. “I enjoy that also.” The fall sun hit her hair, sending rays bouncing off her black waves.

“You look beautiful today,” I said, using all my restraint to keep my hands off her. We tried to keep things professional during the workday, but damn was it hard when I knew how hot she could get for me.

“Thank you,” she replied.

We stepped inside my office, and she said, “Is there anything I need to bring by city hall?”

“Not today. Our next checkpoint with the inspectors isn’t for another few weeks, so things should be light on your end until then.”

She pretended to pout. “Does that mean I don’t need to come visit you?”