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Every selfish part of me wanted to tell her she was already mine.

But I refused to use the worst day of her life to decide the rest of it for her.

“Then you stay,” I said. “For as long as it’s what you want.”

“But what does that make me?” she asked. “Someone you have to take care of now? An obligation?”

“No.”

“Because you promised Rafael—”

“No.” The answer came before she finished the question. “Rafael didn’t make me choose you. I chose you before he asked. He put honor behind the decision. He didn’t create it.”

Her breathing deepened between us.

“When you told Marcela I was yours to protect, what did you mean by yours?”

“No one owns you. But anyone who comes for you answers to me.”

“That sounds a little like ownership.”

“You can walk away from me once you’re safe. There’s a difference.”

“I don’t think I mind being yours in that way.” A hint of amusement warmed her voice.

She gave a small shiver as the night air cooled around us.

Then another.

That settled it.

I slid one hand from her waist to her shoulder and rolled us onto our sides, taking her with me until her back was tucked against my bare chest. I bent my lower arm and tucked my hand beneath my head, leaving the curve of my bicep beneath hers as a pillow, then wrapped my free arm around her waist and pulled her snug against me.

Every soft inch of her fit against me far too well.

Her back rested against my chest, her hips nestled into mine, and her hair tickled my skin. Beneath the blood, sweat, and mountain dirt, that faint orange-blossom scent was still there.

My body responded to her closeness immediately.

I hardened against the curve of her ass and eased my hips back. She was warm, beautiful, and tucked against me as if she belonged there. Couldn’t exactly blame my cock for noticing, but I wasn’t going to turn that into something else.

So I held her.

Wanting her was mine to deal with.

Isabella went still for a second.

Then instead of pulling away, she caught my free hand and drew my arm tighter around her waist. Her fingers threaded through mine before she pulled our joined hands up against her chest and held them there.

“Comfortable?” I asked.

“More than I probably should be.”

“Me too.”

Her breathing hitched a few minutes later, followed by a quiet sniff.

I tightened my arm around her.