Page 105 of Cautious Love

“I thought you said you liked it,” I mumble.

She nods and faces me. “I do, but … I’m sorry, I—”

I silence her with my mouth.

She surrenders to me immediately, and I tilt her face the way I want, making her whimper, and I swallow it. We explore every inch of each other already discovered, but I want her to feel how mine she is. Ring or no ring, there’s no going back for me. There’s no letting her go. We gave each other the deepest parts of ourselves, and it’s a done deal for me.

I pull back on a sharp inhale, and she gasps, holding my shoulder to steady herself.

“Stop apologizing for the actions of others, Shiloh. I knew what I was doing by covering for you, and I don’t regret it. Yes, what happened sucks, but all that matters to me is you’re safe now.”

“But I—”

Grabbing both of her thighs, I yank her into me so she can feel how much I don’t care about the house. I’m glad she’s safe.

We’re in a standoff. She pins her lips together and her lashes flutter.

I lift a brow, and her chest moves up and down with quick breaths.

“I’ll take that as a ‘you’re not mad’?” she asks, her beautiful hazel eyes glitter on me, and I don’t know how I could ever be mad with eyes like that.

“No, I’m not mad, but from now on we’re playing by my rules. Okay? I can’t have something happen to you.”“But you said Grey is gone,” she whispers.

I groan because I really don’t want to hear that sorry excuse of a man’s name roll off her tongue when we’re in this position, or really any position, clothes on or off.

“I did, but I need you to start checking in with me. I’m going to rearrange patrols to look for him. We’re short staffed, but we need to find him.”

The space between her brows scrunches together, and she tilts her head. “Just to find Grey?” she asks.

I nod. “I might even put up a wanted poster.”

“That’s very Wild West of you, sheriff.”

I grunt and kiss her cheek. “The Wild West still exists out here.”

She sobers and nods. Outlaw justice is still a thing. People still take the law into their own hands. Some of it is justified. A lot of it isn’t. Out here is not like the city folks, and the organized chaos — it’s truly wild.

“I have a question for you.”

She tilts her head and gathers the edge of my shirt. “The answer is yes,” she says, tossing the clothing to the side, leaving her naked in my arms.

I chuckle. “That was not even remotely close to what I was going to ask you, but I’m not complaining,” I say, trailing my gaze over her skin.

“What were you going to ask me?”

“I want to take you to Sunday dinner.”

“That’s not a question,” she whispers.

“No, it’s not. It’s more of what I want to happen, and I need to see if you object to it.”

Her lips twist, and she straightens, resting her head on my chest while her legs stay around my waist.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to go. My family can be a lot, and they know we’re married, but they don’t know why, so they’ll pepper you with questions left and right.”

“But they know about … my past,” she whispers.

I grab her chin and tilt it up so I can look her in the eye. “Shiloh, I hate to break it to you, but everyone in this town does, so that’s hardly an excuse.”