Page 29

29

FORD

I stare at Harper from behind the mask, letting her panic bloom.

Her breath hitches, eyes darting over me as she silently assesses me, her pulse thrumming against her throat.

I tilt my head slightly—slowly and deliberately.

She freezes.

A single moment of hesitation before the rage takes over.

“I can’t fucking believe this!” she screams, pacing back and forth in front of me.

She stops, jerking at the cuffs, glaring at me. “I seriously thought I was going to die tonight. All these regrets started running through?—”

“Regrets?”

She glares at me for a moment before continuing her tirade. “I thought some masked madman was gonna kill me!”

She faces me, blasting me with the full fury of her wrath. “And it was you! ”

“What kind of regrets?”

She shakes her head slowly, eyes wide with disbelief. “Are you serious right now?”

“Incredibly.” I take a step closer to her, and she freezes.

Another step and her lips part.

A third and her tongue darts out, sweeping over her bottom lip.

My eyes bounce from it to her eyes.

Dilated pupils stare at me as I stop right before I’m touching her.

Close enough to feel the vibrations of her body as she stares up at me, hunger all over her face.

My hand shoots out, wrapping around her neck.

My thumb slides over her erratic and frantically beating pulse, reminding me of a trapped hummingbird slamming against its cage.

She swallows, her breath hitching.

“Tell me, Harper. What regrets?” I enunciate each word slowly and clearly, my gaze burning into hers from behind the mask.

She swallows audibly. “Ummm… I-I can’t?—”

“Yes, you can.” I take another step closer, my body pressing against hers.

A slight squeak comes from her lips before she takes a step back.

I let her, controlling the scene, predicting her every move correctly.

I step forward and she takes another back.

We do this dance twice more before the back of her knees hit the bed.

Her eyes dart around, and for the first time, I see the realization of all she’s missed, slamming her right in the face.

The cabin is full of candles, their flickering flames swaying and dancing, creating an intimate atmosphere.

Trails of rose petals lead to the bed covered with them.

I’ve placed vases full of roses and tiger lilies, her favorite flowers, around the room.

“You knew…” her voice shakes.

She clears her throat, her gaze going around the room again while my thumb skates over her thrumming pulse.

It reminds me of hummingbird wings.

“I knew what?” My voice is deep, somewhat distorted by the mask.

She shivers from the sound, her pulse kicking up another notch.

“You knew I would run.”

I cock my head, staring at her, not saying a word.

Waiting for her to come to the correct conclusion.

“You… you… knew.” Her eyes stare into mine.

I see the truth in them, but she needs to get there.

Her breathing is rapid, nearing a panic attack.

I give one single nod.

“Breathe, Harper. In… and hold. Now, slowly out.”

Slowly, her breathing steadies, the pace syncing with mine.

A smile lights up my face behind the mask.

Further proof that she belongs with me.

“You knew I was going to run. Y-You planned this.”

I nod again. “Very good, Harper.”

“Ford, this is crazy. What you did tonight?—”

“Is it?” I step closer, pressing myself tightly against her. “Look at you, Harper. The flush of your cheeks. Your bright eyes. The way your pulse pounds fast and erratic.”

My hand slides to her heart. “The way it frantically beats.”

She swallows hard, slowly shaking her head.

But her eyes say something different.

She wants this.

She likes it.

But she thinks she shouldn’t.

That it makes her abnormal.

My hand cups her pussy through her sweatpants, feeling the warmth of her through the material. “Don’t deny it, hummingbird. I can see it.”

Her breath rasps from her lips. “We shouldn’t.”

“No?” I raise my brows, massaging her in gentle circles.

She automatically widens her stance.

The denial is waning.

She’s close to caving.

Releasing her throat, my hands lower to the waistband of her sweatpants and tug them to her knees.

She gasps, her hands clinging to my shirt, holding onto me.

I massage her through her panties.

Her whimper of pleasure makes my heart pound faster.

I’m so close to getting her to cave.

She’s teetering on the edge.

“Give in to what you want.” My masked face is so close to hers.

I’ll remove it soon, but not yet.

“Take the pleasure. Take everything I have to give to you, Harper.”

A flash of fear in her slate blue eyes.

Her lip trembles slightly. “I-I’m s-scared.”

“Of what? I won’t hurt you, hummingbird. I’d never hurt you.”

She closes her eyes, but I refuse to let her hide.

“Open your eyes, Harper. Tell me. I’m not going anywhere. I’ll never, ever fucking leave you.”

Her eyes fly wide. “I-It’s my m-mom. I’m s-scared…”

She bites her lip as a tear slips down her cheek.

I kiss it, tasting the saltiness of it.

The agony in it.

She’s torn between her desires and fears.

“You’re not her, hummingbird. You’re nothing like her.”

Hope flares in her eyes before it dims.

She’s still resisting, but I’m making progress.

I slide my hand into her panties, cursing when I reach her opening. “Jesus Christ. So fucking soaked for me.” I massage her opening, teasing her.

A frustrated groan escapes her lips.

“I’ll give you what you want. What you need.” I stare into her eyes, still wearing the mask. “After you reveal the truth to me.”

A pitiful whine comes from her lips. “S-She was so d-dependent. M-My dad was c-cheating on her.”

She blinks, and more tears course down her cheeks. “S-She was afraid h-he’d leave her.”

Aha.

The pieces click into place.

There has always been a bitter, almost irrational anger that she harbored for her mother, but she refused to tell me why.

Now, it’s all making sense.

“You’re not her. And I’m not your dad.” My lips cover hers, and I slowly slide a finger inside her, moaning at how tight and wet she is.

Her hands grip my shirt harder, like she’s afraid she’ll fall.

She needs to learn to trust me.

I’ll never let her fall.

I rub the mask against her face.

She sighs, her eyes full of adoration.

“Take it off. I need to see your face.”

I don’t move.

Not yet.

“Tell me why.” My voice is dark and controlled.

She swallows, her eyes flicking up to mine. “Because… I need to see the man I love.”

My chest tightens.

Only then do I slowly, deliberately remove the mask.

Her breath shudders as her gaze drinks in my face.

Her eyes are full of everything I’ve always wanted.

“There’s the man I spent most of my life loving.”

My lips press against hers, teasing her with my mouth, showing how much I adore her.

Obsess over her.

Cherish her.

Love her.

I insert another finger, steadily pumping it in and out, feeling her surrender to me.

Her leg lifts, wrapping around my hip.

Her muscles relax as she sags against me.

Her grip on my shirt loosens, trusting me, allowing me to support her.

I reward her by deepening the kiss, my fingers moving faster.

The sounds of her wet pussy fill the room, making me fucking desperate for her.

But I can’t give in yet.

I need her full surrender.

Pulling back, our heavy pants fill the cabin.

She whimpers as her dazed eyes open, locking with mine.

“We aren’t your parents, Harper. We never were, and we’ll never be them. We’ve always been us .”

Her eyes are soft as she nods.

I wait, but the fear doesn’t come.

Progress.

I cup her face. “I want you for the rest of my life, Harper. Only you.”

“I-I realized something. When I was being chased, I thought…” She sucks in a breath. “I thought I was going to die.”

Her bound hands lift to my mask. “And the one regret I had was that you didn’t know…” tears fill her eyes, streaking down her cheeks. “You had no idea how much I loved you. How much I still love you.”

I crush my mouth against hers, wiping her tears with my thumbs as I inhale her.

Devouring her.

She surrenders to me completely, her mouth showing me how much she means those words.

I keep moving my fingers inside her as we kiss.

Pulling away, she whines as my fingers leave her.

I grab the key and unlock the cuffs.

I remove them, my eyes on her. “I want all of you, Harper. I don’t want you holding anything back.”

She nods, a smile curling her lips. “I’ll give you all of me… my soon-to-be husband.”

My dick throbs inside my pants.

I grab her face, crushing my lips against hers.

We fall onto the bed in a tangle of limbs.

Our hands desperate as they impatiently push away and remove our clothing, tossing them onto the floor.

Our lips ravenous as we devour one another.

I beam down at her as I yank her sweatshirt off. “You know I’m going to propose to you soon, right?”

A wide smile curls her lips. “I wouldn’t expect anything less. Psycho.”

I chuckle. “I want to get married soon. No waiting.”

She nods. “Maybe I’m as insane as you. But kidnapping me and chasing me through the woods worked.”

Her arms wrap around me, pulling me closer. “I want to marry you, Ford.”

“Good. Those towels I asked Gram to monogram our initials on won’t go to waste.”

She snorts out a laugh. “As if they would’ve. You would’ve held me captive until I fell in love with you.”

“You’re a fast learner.” I kiss her again as she giggles against my mouth. “And the matching bathrobes I ordered that have our initials on them. Your new initials.”

“Harper Brooks. HB.”

“HEB. Harper Elizabeth Brooks.”

She laughs, shaking her head. “What else did you do?”

“Well, in addition to my bathrobe, that has FEB on it?—”

“Ford Edward Brooks.”

I grin, nodding. “And the rest… you’ll just have to wait and see.”

“You’re an obsessive psycho.”

She kisses me again before pulling away.

“I am.” I give her a sexy smirk, pulling her to her feet.

I yank her pants and panties from her feet, then kick my jeans away.

Grabbing the mask, I put it on. “That’s why I’m going to give my soon-to-be wife exactly what she wants.”

She swallows hard, her breathing kicking up a notch.

“I’m going to give you a ten-second head start.”

I step back, grabbing the cuffs in my hands.

“If I catch you, I’m cuffing and fucking the hell out of you.”

She shrieks and takes off running.

I don’t move at first, letting her get a head start.

I want her to think she might escape me.

Her wild breaths echo as she barrels out the door, her bare feet slapping against the porch before they frantically shuffle through the leaves on the sidewalk.

She glances over her shoulder as I step into the doorway.

Tall.

Unmoving.

My mask gleaming beneath the candlelight.

“Ready or not, hummingbird….”

I crack my knuckles and take my first slow step out the door, the cold night air washing over me.

“… Here I come.”