Page 19 of Adrian

Her voice is weak when she speaks. “I came here to prove that I’m capable of surviving on my own. That I don’t need a man or my parents to help me. I have plans to build a house, live off the land, and learn survival skills.”

“Who did you want to prove that to, baby?” I ask softly. “Yourself or everyone else?”

Her breath hitches. “Both?”

“If you want to prove to yourself that you’re capable of anything you put your mind to, I’ll help you achieve that. It’s not weak for you to take advice and assistance from another person when it pertains to a topic you’re not familiar with. And trust me, baby, you’re ill-prepared to tackle this mountain on your own.”

She narrows her gaze at me.

I slide my hand up to her face and press my body into hers so that she can’t miss the erection that’s now poking her in the stomach. “That isn’t meant to be insulting, Blair. I’m just stating facts. How much do you know about gardening?”

She bites that lip again. It’s fucking cute when she does so.

“That’s what I thought. You were just going to Google your way through the upcoming winter, weren’t you?”

She nods.

“That would have given me a daily heart attack, Blair. Abandon your plan. Move in with me. Marry me. Start a family with me. Put yourself first and do this because it feels right in your gut.”

The longer I state my case, the more convinced I am that I’m doing the right thing. Blair is mine. I’m going to slide a ring on her finger in the morning and make it permanent. Then I’m going to fill her with my seed and make it indisputable.

I’m going to make her happy. In a few months, she won’t even remember what it was like to live with the constant stress of her parents telling her what to do.

In the silence, the storm continues to rage outside. We’re cocooned from it, though, in our own little world.

Seven

Blair

* * *

It’s hard to swallow, but when Adrian finally backs up and hands me my glass of wine, I down it in just a few sips. Married?

This is so preposterous. I feel like I’ve fallen down a rabbit hole. Surely this man, whom I just met this afternoon, wouldn’t really marry me to save me from the boring, prearranged life my parents have in mind. Who would do such a thing?

He’s adamant that he doesn’t want a divorce, either. Madness. He doesn’t know me.

“Come.” Adrian takes my hand and leads me from the warm living room toward the hallway. He releases me at the entrance. “Wait here.”

I watch as he banks the fire and turns out the lights. And then he’s back, my hand in his, the two of us shuffling toward his bedroom. Along the way, I happen to glance in one of the rooms we pass, stopping in my tracks.

Grabbing the doorframe, I stare into the room. “You have a nursery?” It’s not fully furnished, but there’s a crib filled with girly bedding and a changing table.

Adrian wraps his arms around me from behind and sets his chin on top of my head. I don’t think I’ve ever felt this…safe. Loved. Cherished. This man pays more attention to me than anyone I’ve ever spent time with, including my own parents.

“I told you I watch my nieces sometimes. They sleep here occasionally.”

My hand comes to my chest because, again, I think this aspect of Adrian is the single most compelling reason to marry him out of all the things he checks off the list. The man loves his nieces. He has fucking toddler toys in his tub. That alone is reason enough to say, “I do.” I might be inclined to do so even if I didn’t need rescuing from a crazy family.

I’ve never thought for a single second about having kids. I’ve actually been rather repulsed by the idea. I would never raise a kid in the environment I grew up in, and that’s what would happen if I let my parents dictate who I marry.

Hell, they would probably buy the house next door and insist we eat dinner with them. They’d also likely openly discuss our sex life to make sure I was doing my best to procreate. Gross.

But Adrian… He wakes up my dormant ovaries. The man makes my pussy quiver and my nipples hard. And since I’m not wearing panties, my thighs are embarrassingly wet.

He doesn’t rush me. His hands rest on my shoulders while I stand in the doorway to this nursery and find myself thinking about what it would be like to have a baby with him. I don’t even know him. Do I?

When a flash of lightning is immediately followed by booming thunder, I jump in my spot and cry out.