Seth nodded and quoted, “‘And I said: I will cull my own sweet rose—Some day I will claim as mine the priceless worth of the flower that knows no change, but a bloom divine—The bloom of a fadeless constancy that hides in the leaves in wait for me!’”
He stood rooted to the spot as she whispered the last few words with him. A rivulet of tension rippled up his spine, and his cock rose to full attention, reacting to her soft-spoken voice. Her acceptance of what he’d created made a cold, dark place in his heart crack open and let in a little light.
She turned her luminous blue-green eyes on him and her smile lit the room. “It’s perfect. I want it.”
* * * *
Jayne sat at the library checkout desk the day after her visit to Seth’s tattoo studio and pulled the photocopy from her purse. She recalled again his searing blue gaze when he’d made eye contact with her after showing her the design. As he’d read the lines of poetry to her, she’d felt like a magnet being drawn to steel.
He was like a Greek god with his intense features, the strong black slashes of his eyebrows, over eyes that seemed to see inside her, and kissable lips that were bracketed by a jet-black moustache and goatee. Her heart was moved once again as she gazed at the drawing after checking to make sure no one else would see.
It’s perfect!
Jayne fought the prickle of tears as she read the beautiful script again. The roses, in various stages of blooming, were delicate with just a hint of blush to their tips. She hadn’t been sure about a colorful design and knew this fit the bill perfectly. A secret thrill went through her at the thought of having Seth’s hands on her body in such an intimate way. That he was so intensely handsome, and yet seemed interested in a studious wallflower like her, blew her mind.
Since meeting Seth, her cousins, Grace Warner and Charity Connors, had filled her in on his status. Grace described him as a bit of loner, but had been hasty to clarify that he wasn’t antisocial. She’d also told Jayne about Seth’s part in helping to rescue Lily Cook, when she’d been abducted by her abusive ex-husband. If it hadn’t been for his quick thinking, Clay, Del, and local law enforcement might not have found her until it had been too late. “Hero material” had been the expression that Grace had used. Maybe that was one of the reasons Jayne trusted him with such an extensive tattoo design.
The scope of the tattoo was large enough to be intimidating but not so much that she was having second thoughts. This tattoo was just for her to enjoy. The part of the design that covered the expanse of her abdomen didn’t even concern her. She could never have children, so she wasn’t worried about the tattoo being harmed by pregnancy and stretch marks. And being a thirtysomething virgin confirmed that she might well be the only one, besides Seth, who ever even saw it.
As a library patron walked past the checkout desk, she folded the drawing and slid it back into her journal for safekeeping. Rowena Booker, the elderly assistant librarian, was on an errand, so Jayne was posted at the desk, eating her lunch while she worked on the story she’d begun writing the day she’d met Seth. It was old-fashioned to write by hand but Jayne didn’t mind. She drifted away into the storyline, the scratch of her pen on the paper the only sound in the otherwise quiet library.
…Riveted by his blue gaze, Alissa teetered on a precipice, on the verge of finally giving in. Stephan’s broad shoulders vibrated with tension beneath her grip as he waited for her answer. Dusk settled across the horizon outside her bedroom window, as storm clouds gathered in the distance. If she gave in to him, would he cherish her? Or would he be gone at the first hint of trouble on the ranch?
“Alissa, if you say yes, there’s no going back. You’ll be mine from this point forward. I keep what is mine. Are you sure?”
His deep voice was a sweet caress against her throat as he pressed the hot, hard ridge of his denim-covered cock against her trembling, untouched, but embarrassingly damp flesh. Instinctively, she could tell by his soft groan that the wait for her response was an agonizing one.
What about love?
She wanted more than just protection from her late father’s enemies. She wanted more than just help with the ranch.
As if sensing her hesitation, Stephan breathed slowly and withdrew his bodyweight from her pelvis, where he’d had her pinned to the bed. “Alissa, are you afraid? Honey, I wouldn’t hurt you for the world, but it may hurt this first time.” The sincerity in his blue eyes made her heart lurch with need for him.
“But you said—”
“I know what I said. You’ll be mine from this point forward. Mine to love and take care of, make love to.”