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Somehow, he gets us to the chaise without breaking the kiss, without loosening his hold on me, without letting go of that raw,hungry need that’s been thrumming between us since I stepped out of his car.
He lowers me slowly to the ground, carefully, like my body’s sacred.
And then he pulls back, just a little, his breath heavy against my mouth. The look in his eyes tells me he’s holding himself in check by sheer will alone.
“Fuck,” he rasps. “I’m trying to be gentle, but you make me lose my fucking mind.”
“I don’t need gentle.”
“I know you don’t. But tonight, I want to take my fucking time.”
His fight for control iseverything.
It says I make it nearly impossible for him to keep his hands to himself, his mouth to himself, his body to himself.
It says I havethatkind of power over him.
And while I never want power over Gage, knowing I have it, knowing he would fall to his knees for me? It’s the most devastating kind of intimacy I’ve ever felt.
He turns and walks to a smooth panel in the wall, so discreet I wouldn’t have known it was anything, and presses his thumb to it. A hidden drawer opens, revealing a slim black jewelry box he lifts with care.
By the time he comes back to me, something’s shifted in him. His eyes are locked on me, molten and focused, and the look on his face? It’s not just heat. It’s hunger wrapped in intention.
My breath catches. My pulse stumbles.
Holy hell.
I’m going to need a minute.
But Gage isn’t giving me a minute.
No, this man is on a mission to completely wreck me tonight.
He opens the box, revealing a necklace.
It’s solid. A sleek, unbroken circle of polished silver. Minimal and modern. There’s no clasp. No chain. No visible hinge. I can’t even see how someone’s supposed to open it.
Nestled in the center of the box is a small silver pendant that’s circular, diamond-set, and obscenely elegant. The channel-set stones catch the light, and the rounded bale is designed to slide perfectly onto the necklace.
It’s understated luxury. And while it’s unlike anything I’ve ever worn, I’d wear this in a heartbeat. Not because it’s stunning and different, but because my heart already wants it. How could it not, when Gage is the one who chose it?
I lift my gaze to him, overwhelmed and a little undone, and suddenly unsure how to put any of it into words. “It’s stunning.”
Gage is watching me with silent intensity. When he speaks, his voice is rough. “Do you know what it is?”
I look down at the box again, searching for what I’ve missed becauseholy heckthat intensity vibrating from him tells me it’s something important. “A necklace?”
“No.” His voice is quiet. Weighted in the way a man’s voice is when he’s handing you his soul. “It’s an eternity collar.” He lets that hang there, thick with meaning. “It doesn’t come off unless I unlock it.”
My mouth parts, but no words come out.
Becausethis?
This is not a casual offer.
This is Gage Black handing me the keys to the kingdom of his obsession and saying,here, wear it around your neck where everyone can see who you belong to.
A rational woman might blink at saying yes to this after two months. Might think this is too much, too soon. But I am not that woman. Not with him.