"Ryan." I growl this time.
"You. If you only knew of all the things I dreamed about doing to you, you might run." He rests his forehead on mine. The teasing smile drops away. "Paige, you're the only woman I've touched since I laid eyes on you. There was no way in hell I'd give someone else even a small piece of me, knowing what I felt for you. You've owned me for years. All of me."
I tilt my head up a little, giving him a soft kiss. Then I bite his lip, making him jerk. Before I know what's happening, I'm on my back with him looming over me. His big body hovers over mine.
"Just giving you a taste of what would happen if I get jealous. You know, so you make sure it doesn't happen," I say, raising my chin in challenge.
"Hmm. You might want to rethink that, kitten. I like your teeth on me, if you haven't noticed." He grinds his erection against me, and the friction is delicious. I wrap my arms around his neck, wanting to stay connected.
"I'm sorry. I'm finding myself very territorial with you all of a sudden. Maybe because I've never really thought of anything as mine but you. I think you're mine," I tell him, wanting to put it all out there. "I don't think I could bear to lose you. When I thought I did last night, for a moment-"
"You'll never lose me." His words cut me off. They hold so much confidence.
"It's wrong for me to let you get mixed into my mess with me."
"It's wrong for you to not let me," he throws back. "You think I'm going to let you kill him?" His words are low and challenging.
I thought about it for so many years. I've implied what I want to do, but the words have never come out of my mouth. They're always right there, but never slip free. It's like if I voice it, then I'm bringing them to life and becoming like him. The day my mother died, I just stood there. Then when I saw my father again, for the first time in ages, I stood there once more. Paralyzed. Maybe I don't have what it takes.
"You don't think I can do it." It's not a question.
"Paige, you can do anything you put your mind to. Your strength was one of the first things I noticed about you."
"Then why?" I ask, looking up at him. He looks like a warrior ready to go to battle for me. My warrior.
"You've had enough darkness touch you. I know you want your piece of payback, and I'm going to help you get it. But I'm going to shield you as much as possible while we do it. When it's over, it's over. And I'll spend the rest of my life filling that beautiful brain of yours with memories you'll want. There'll be so many, and they'll be so beautiful that they'll block out the ones you can't let go of. I'll give you so many you'll have no choice but to replay those in your mind."
"You're already doing that," I admit.
"You're going to let me shield you? Help you get where you're going? Be a team?" he presses, always wanting my words. He needs to hear me say what he wants. "Let me take care of you, kitten. Let me make everything right. I can give you everything you could ever want."
God, that sounds good. Not even my mother took care of me like Captain wants to. I was always the one taking care of her and picking up her broken pieces. The thought of a life where I have a partner, someone to stand beside me through the storm, is a welcome relief I didn't expect.
"If I let you do this, then you have to do something for me."
"Anything," Captain agrees, without a second of hesitation.
"I want you to make love to me while wearing the Captain America costume. Complete with shield."
The intense moment is broken as he smiles and puts his weight down on my chest. I can feel his body shaking with laughter, and I wrap myself around him and close my eyes. If this is what love feels like, then I never want it to end.
Chapter Twenty-One
Ryan
A KNOCK ON the door startles me awake, and I realize that I've somehow fallen asleep with Paige on top of me. I squeeze her lush ass with both hands and grind my erection into her stomach before I roll us over. I kiss her cheek and pull the covers over her, then grab my pants and tug them on.
I make my way to the front door, look through the peephole and smile. Mallory is standing there with a basket in her hands, so I unlock the door and swing it open.
"Morning," she says over her shoulder as she comes in. Miles is out in the hallway, talking on his cell, and he waves to me. I give him a chin lift in hello and leave the door slightly ajar. "I brought you guys brunch. Miles and I went out early and thought we would drop this off on our way back up."
"Do I smell food?" Paige walks out of her room with a blanket wrapped around her and her hair all on one side. She would look comical if I didn't want her so badly.