33. Hayden

The first sliverof morning light cuts through the darkness, painting a lazy stripe across the room. It climbs up Cassidy"s bare shoulder and I want to trace it with my tongue. Her body is tangled with mine, the heat from her skin seeping into me, branding me with a possessive fire that roars in my veins.

"Morning," her voice is husky, a vibration against my chest that sends a jolt straight down to my dick.

I run my fingers up and down her arm, savoring the way her body shivers under my touch. "Morning, Princess."

She shifts, rolling over so she can face me.

I watch her face, searching for any sign of regret, waking up here with me, but all I see is a sleepy contentment. Satisfied, I kiss her on the forehead.

My girl. In my bed. In my house.

Our house.

"Sleep okay?" I ask, even though I know the answer. I didn"t let her go all night, kept her close enough to feel every breath, every soft sigh. Protection and possession, all rolled into one. Exactly what I"ve been craving since the second I met her. Before that, even.

"Like the dead." Her smile tugs at something primal in me. "Your bed"s dangerous."

"Good dangerous?"

"Very. I never want to leave."

I chuck the covers aside, and she playfully protests, but there"s laughter in her eyes, a spark that wasn"t there when Roman had her cornered last night. That hasn't been there since I met her. She deserves this. To be happy, carefree, and fucking loved like she deserves. And if I"m the one who can give those things to her, even better.

I lean over her, caging her body beneath me as I press my lips to hers. She tastes like mine. Her hands slide up my back, pulling me closer as she deepens the kiss.

I love the way she responds to me, like she can"t get enough of me either. I pull away and smack her on the ass. "Time to get up."

She groans and grabs my pillow, shoving it down on her face. "Nope. Too early."

"I"ll make you breakfast," I say, dangling my words like a donut on a string, trying to entice her.

She drops the pillow only enough for me to see her messy hair and a single green eye. "Will there be bacon?"

"Is this a negotiation?"

She grins, peeking out from under the pillow. "Maybe."

I roll off her and sit on the edge of the bed, stretching my arms over my head. I feel her eyes on me and turn to find her checking me out. I grin. "Nah, I don"t think you have any better offers. C"mon, Princess."

I reach down and pick her up, throwing her over my shoulder and slapping her once on the ass. She"s in one of my t-shirts and some underwear that look like a tiny pair of shorts. It"s sexy as hell and I run my palm over the curve of her ass while I walk us to the kitchen.

I drop her onto the counter, and she hisses as her ass hits the cold marble.

"Strawberry banana or mango blueberry?" I call over my shoulder while I reach for the blender. Anticipation tightens my stomach. I"ve got plans for us, for this morning, for the rest of our goddamn lives. And it starts with what I"m mixing into her drink.

"Never took you for a smoothie guy," Cassidy teases. I glance back at her, her hair a wild mess around her shoulders, and I"m hit with this intense need to spend every morning for the next fifty years this exact way.

"Yeah, well, can"t really argue with what works," I say, flexing and running my hand down my abs. "Are you gonna tell me what you want, or am I picking for you?"

It takes longer than I expected for her to tear her eyes off my six-pack and when she meets mine, her cheeks are pink. Fucking cute. "Uh, strawberry banana." She wrinkles her nose. "I hate mangoes."

"Full of surprises," I shoot back with a grin, dropping the ingredients into the blender. The fruit, the almond milk, the protein powder—they"re just for show. It"s the little capsules of Letrozole and prenatal vitamins that are my real focus. Sawyer gave them to me, his knowing look saying he didn"t need to ask why. He gets it.

This is about legacy, about claiming my territory, making something permanent between Cassidy and me.

"This doesn"t mean I"m going to start working out with you in the mornings," Cassidy warns, leaning against the counter, eyes bright with amusement.

"I don"t know, you might come around," I say, pressing the button on the blender. The machine whirs to life, a loud, satisfying growl that matches the hunger inside me. I pour the thick liquid into two glasses even though I"m not going to drink mine, handing one over to her. She takes a sip, her lips closing around the rim in a way that has me thinking of other things she could be doing with that mouth.

"Delicious," she murmurs, and I can"t help but wonder how she"ll taste later, when I have her beneath me again, doing my best to knock her up.

"Drink up," I urge, watching her throat work as she swallows. Each gulp is another step closer to what I want. A future where she"s tied to me, carrying my child, wearing my ring.

"Thanks," she says, setting down the empty glass. There"s a glow to her, a light that wasn"t there before she stepped into my world. It"s addictive, that shine. Makes me want to keep her lit up like this forever.

"Anytime," I tell her, and I mean it. I'll break every rule, defy every expectation to make her mine, to breed her, to wipe away any trace of Roman or anyone else who ever touched her before me.

Cassidy doesn"t know the full game plan yet. Doesn"t realize that every move, every touch, every word is me playing for keeps.

"You know what this makes you, right? Living here?" I ask, leaning against the counter and flexing my abs as I watch her gaze roam over my shirtless body, lingering on my black boxers and the ink of her name peeking out of them before sliding back up.

"What?"

"My girlfriend," I say with a grin. "At least until I can convince you to be my wife."

Her eyes widen, a flicker of surprise there, before she bites her lip, considering. "That"s... ballsy, just putting it out there like that," she says, but the way her body leans into mine tells me she"s not put off by the idea.

"Is it?" I challenge, letting my hand glide up to cup her chin, tilting her head for a kiss that"s all about telling her without words I"m fucking serious. Serious as game seven overtime in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. "I think it"s inevitable."

She doesn"t argue, melting into the kiss, and I can feel the shift, the silent agreement passing between us. It"s a win, another step closer to making sure she never walks away.

She jumps off the counter and tells me she"s crawling back in bed, so I dump my smoothie down the drain and rinse out the blender to make another before I meet Sawyer in the gym.

I bite back a grin as the blender whirs. It"s all coming together.

Soon enough, Cassidy will give me the one thing that"ll make our connection unbreakable.