They spoke more, but I didn’t even hear them. I’d lost my ability to focus. I was too exhausted. Too stunned. Too stressed.
I hardly noticed Clint hustling me into his truck. He held up a granola bar, and I nodded. My stomach had settled, and it would stay down. After he opened it for me, I devoured it as we drove toward the canyon. I didn’t ask where we were headed. I didn’t really care. I just knew Clint would take care of me.
We drove through the Wolf Ranch gates, past the main house and up into the hills. He parked in front of a cabin, similar in look to Audrey and Boyd’s, but when he carried me inside and set me on the couch, this time I didn’t complain. It wasn’t until he carried in a plate of grilled hamburgers that I started to come back to life. I reached for one and shoved in my mouth like I’d been months without food.
“Oh my God, I was so hungry,” I moaned around the bun.
“I know. I’m so sorry, sugar.” After I’d eaten about half the burger, I became more aware of my surroundings. The lines of worry in Clint’s face. The way he ran his hand over it like he was trying to scrub something away.
“I can’t believe he’s dead,” I said. “I feel bad that I don’t really care.”
Clint nodded. “Understandable.”
I glanced down, picked at my bun. “I thought… I didn’t think you’d want to be with me anymore.”
His eyes widened then narrowed. “Nothing will keep me away from you, sugar. Nothing. You’re mine. Start getting used to it. I’m not giving you or the baby up.”
“Clint, I don’t want you to feel obligated.”
His eyes changed color. I was sure they did, but I didn’t have long to notice because he grabbed my plate, set it on the coffee table and yanked me into his arms. His mouth was on mine before I could even gasp.
He settled me, so I was straddling him, his hand on my ass pressing me firmly into him. Into the blatant hard on beneath his jeans. “You think this is an obligation? What I feel for you? How my body craves yours?”
He was breathing hard, his voice ragged. I’d never seen him so out of control, even when Todd was under my window. And yet, his touch was firm but gentle. I felt bound to him in so many ways.
“Clint.” I licked my lips.
He growled.
“Fine, not obligation. I want… love. I need it in a relationship. I won’t have a life like my parents’ lives. The child is the one who suffers. I don’t want to be with someone again without it. I know what it’s like to be stuck. Trapped.”
His hands cupped my face, and I had no choice but to look at him. Only him.
“What the fuck do you think I feel for you?”
“I… I don’t know. You’ve never said,” I whispered, my heart beating so loudly in my ears.
“Sugar. I love you. You. Yes, it’s crazy. Insane. I know without a doubt you’re mine, and I want you forever.”
“Clint.” This time when I said his name, it was with tears in my eyes. With reverence. “This is insane, but… I tried to push it away. To push you away because it’s so intense. So fast.”
“Say it,” he growled.
“I-I love you.”
He stood suddenly and carried me down the hall to the bedroom.
“Clint! What are you doing?”
“The other night, I claimed you.” He set me on the bed, crawled over me and tugged at the drawstring of my scrub pants. “You just didn’t know it. I’m going to fuck you, so you forget your own name, so you scream mine and know just who you belong to. I’ll do it every day of our lives if you need reminding.”
18
CLINT
“Wait, wait, wait,” Becky said, and my wolf nearly howled in disappointment.
The need to satisfy her—to make her feel good after everything that went down today,everything that was my fucking fault—was crippling.
“I need a shower first, cowboy. I have to wash this day off me.”
Relief filled me, and I smiled. My dick… and my wolf were happy, too.
“I’ll help,” I offered, picking her up from the bed and carrying her, this time to the bathroom. The cabin had been my grandparents, and they’d given it to me. Rand had inherited a place of his own from our other set of grandparents. We’d said we’d move in when we found our mates. I came to mine on occasion when I wanted to be alone. Living in the bunkhouse was fine most days, but a guy needed room to roam alone sometimes. That was why the place had fresh sheets and had been cleaned recently. I was a bachelor but a tidy one.
The bathroom was small though. It was the first time I’d ever brought a female before, and I looked at the space differently now. Becky would live here, too, and she’d want to make changes. Rustic was fine and all, but not for every day.