Page 47 of His to Keep
“You shouldn’t have done that! What if he reports you? What if—“
“He won’t. He’s scared shitless, baby.”
“But it’s so unnecessary! You said it yourself, he can’t hurt me anymore.”
He tilts my face up to look at him. His brown eyes are dark and liquid. “It was absolutely necessary,” he murmurs. “That guy was an asshole to you. He hurt you. And he’s been doing it long before today. He needed to know that I will always fight for you.”
Something warm trickles into my chest. It’s the same feeling I got when I was exploring this room before. A peace that comes with the certainty that this is real.
“Always, huh?” I whisper.
“For as long as you’ll have me.” He kisses me. “For longer. Even if you kick me out on my ass, I’ll still be fighting for you.”
“Luke,” I whisper, overcome.
“Tell me that you’re in this with me,” he says earnestly. “Tell me that you want what I want.”
I allow a smile to spread across my face. “There’s one problem—I really don’t know that much about you.”
He holds out his arms. “I’m an open book. Ask me anything.”
I nod at the wall behind his head. “Who’s in all the pictures?”
“My sisters Lizzie and Kate,” he says without pause. “The older lady is my mom. She raised the three of us on her own when my dad took off. We didn’t have much. Mom supported us working as a waitress. It was my job to keep her and my sisters safe. I didn’t know the first thing about tech when I got started—but I realized pretty quickly my upbringing made me uniquely qualified not to take anyone’s shit, and that’s half the business world right there. My first deal was taking over a failing software company and I never looked back.”
He brushes a strand of hair behind my ear. “When VistaTech took off, I bought the diner where my mom worked and fixed it up for her. Now she runs it. She could have retired, but she says she’d get too bored. Liz is a children’s psychiatrist. Kate is the youngest, she’s still at school. She wants to study art history but mom and Lizzie keep telling her to find something more practical. I don’t give a shit what she does as long as she’s happy. It’s not like she’ll ever be in need of anything.”
I just gape at him, completely taken aback. “What?” he asks.
“That was a lot of detail,” I say, shaking my head. “Most guys I’ve dated aren’t so keen to spill all their secrets.”
He narrows his eyes. “One, let’s not ever talk about the guys you’ve dated unless you want me to hunt them down and kick their asses for ever touching you.”
I roll my eyes. “You’re such a caveman.”
He ignores me. “Two, I told you I’m an open book. I’ll give you all the details you want.” Then he grins. “On one condition.”
“What’s that?”
“You reciprocate. I want all your secrets, too.”
That warmth is spreading throughout my whole body now, filling me right up from the bottom of my toes. “I can do that.”
He stands suddenly, still holding me in his arms, and begins to walk out of the room.
“Where are we going?” I ask. “I wanted you to explain more of those pictures! What’s with the Mickey Mouse ears?”
“Later,” he growls into my ear. “There’s something we need to take care of first.”
“What’s that?” I whisper, even though I have a pretty good idea just from the tone of his voice.
“You rolled your eyes at me earlier,” he says, striding into his bedroom. “I think I need to show you what happens to naughty girls who do things like that.”
My heart rate is already picking up in anticipation. I can think of a dozen things I’d like him to do to teach me my lesson, and I can’t wait for him to get started on each and every one.
Epilogue
Rebecca
