She swayed a little as she clutched a handful of my shirt. “Your woman? We’ve only known each other for just over a week.”
My eyes searched hers. “You don’t believe that two people can meet and just know they’re meant to be together?”
“I don’t know…. I’ve never put much thought into that. I guess I’ve never met a man who fit that category.” Her words stumbled out in much the same way I figured her thoughts were stumbling all over each other. I’d caught her off guard, and it was a fucking beautiful place to catch her.
From what I knew so far, Hailee wasn’t a closed off person, but when she was open like this, she was even more beautiful than usual.
It all affected me. The way she chewed on her lip, and the way her thoughts caused her to waver between being a little lost and being completely there with me. Also, the way she smiled at me like I really was the only person in the world. And how she gave me her complete attention. She made me feel like whatever I had to say was important enough for her to consider.
Hailee had this kind of gentle yet spirited soul I’d never known in a woman before. Not that I knew her that well yet, but even if she tried to hide from the world, she’d never be able to. Her inner beauty shone just as brightly as her outer beauty.
“You’ve never met a man who fit that category because I’m that man for you.”
She processed that for a beat. “I don’t know that I believe in knowing someone is the person for you straight away. I thought the last guy I was in a long-term relationship with was the one for me. Turned out that after two years of living with him, I didn’t know him at all. And instead of giving me a lifetime of happiness, all he gave me was self-doubt and a fear of falling for the wrong man again.”
Her gaze had drifted to the ground as she spoke, and my gut told me this asshole had fucked her right up. Tilting her chin up, I said, “What did he do to you?”
Her eyes met mine and she swallowed hard. “I don’t really want to talk about this tonight,” she said in a half whisper.
I moved closer to her. “Hailee, what did he do?”
She blinked a few times and her body stilled. I wasn’t convinced she was going to give me what I wanted, but then she opened her mouth and shared a piece of her soul with me. One of the many pieces I’d be fighting to own from here on out. “He started to change just after we’d been together for two years. Like, he’d lose his shit if I came home from work late, or he’d pick a fight with me after dinner and then go out for the entire night, not coming home until the morning and refusing to tell me where he’d been. His moods swung all the time until the point where I didn’t know what to expect from one hour to the next. He would go from him telling me how much he loved me to him belittling me and telling me I didn’t deserve anyone in my life and that I should be lucky he chose to stay with me. It got to the point where I decided we needed a break. I wasn’t sure if I was going to leave him all together, but I did need some time away from him to think straight.” She paused for a moment and took a few deep breaths before continuing. “That day… the day I told him I needed some time away… he beat me so badly I couldn’t go to work for a week.”
“Motherfucker,” I swore. Pulling her into my arms, I kissed her head and said, “Men like that don’t deserve to breathe.”
She clung to me for a while. When she pulled away, she said, “No, they don’t.”
“You left him after that?”
She nodded. “I called my brother for help. I was living in the UK at the time and had no money to fly home. He flew to me, sorted Mickey out and then brought me home. And while I’ll always be grateful for what he did for me, he’s been a pain in my ass ever since. He’s so damn overprotective now when it comes to men I date that he scares most of them off.”
“I like him already. That’s exactly what I’d hope a brother would do for you.”
She raised a brow. “Yeah, you wait until you meet him and then tell me what you think. I bet you’ll agree with me soon enough.”
“Okay, so let’s get one thing clear here. You’re my woman.”
She smiled. “Is that your way of telling me you don’t want me to see anyone else?”
“It is. It’s also my way of telling you that from here on out, I’ll be picking you up from work every day and dropping you off, too.” I placed a finger against her lips when she attempted to argue with me. “And that Sundays are to be reserved for me. I don’t care what we do so long as we do it together.”
Her eyes widened. “Umm, no, that’s not gonna happen, bossman.”
“Which part of that?” I had to work hard not to grin at her reaction. I fucking loved going head-to-head with her.
“All of it.”
“Uh, yeah, it is.”
“No.” She shook her head emphatically. “There’s no way a guy I’ve just met is gonna tell me what I can and can’t do.”
“So you’re saying that after we’ve known each other for some time, you’ll allow it?”
Her forehead scrunched her disapproval of everything I was saying. “Don’t try and twist my words.”
I grinned. “Okay, try and word it again. At which point in our relationship do you think it’d be acceptable for me to demand a few things?”
“Never!” Fuck, I was working her up. And in turn, she was working my dick up more than she already had on the way over here.