losing him before I could tell him what he means to me terrifies me.
“I love you, baby,” I tell him. “I know this all happened so fast, but I know what I feel for you. I won’t force or compel you to be with me. I want it to be your own free choice, and—”
“Yes,” he says as he stares into my eyes.
His certainty takes me aback. “Did you hear what I said? I need this to be—”
“My own choice, yeah. I’m beat up, not deaf, Ty.” He smirks. “I love you, too.”
The tsunami-like rush of relief flooding into me makes tears prick my eyes. “I need you, baby. I need to know you’re by my side, and safe. I’ll even build you your own bakery, if you want. Whatever you ask, it’s done.”
He rakes his fingers through my hair. “You don’t have to do that, big guy.”
“But I want to.”
He arches an eyebrow at me. “I don’t know how to be a kept man.”
I pull his body tightly against mine. “You’ll learn,” I growl. “Because I’m taking care of you from now on. Because you’re mine.”
“You sound determined.”
“That’s because I am.”
He rests his head against my chest. “Can we go home, please?” he quietly asks. “Your home, I mean.”
“Our home,” I tell him. “You’re now living with me.”
He nods without lifting his head. “Yes, Sir.”
I bury my face in his hair and deeply inhale so his scent fills my lungs again. “Good boy.” One of the men groans. “Hold that thought, baby.” I set him on the counter again and have just turned to finish them off when Baker grabs my arm, freezing me.
“No, Ty.”
“No?” I look at him in disbelief. “Uh…” I indicate his wounds.
“It’s my father and uncles.”
“How’d they find you?”
He sounds disgusted with himself. “They saw my postings on one of the bakery sites I frequent. I was stupid and went by Cameron on there. They had someone track me by my IP number on the posts. I mentioned in one of my posts where I work, so they followed me home.”
That fuels my anger even more. “So I can throw them out the window, right?”
He shakes his head. “Do you really love me?”
“Of course I do, baby.”
“Then use that power you have to make them forget about finding me, and to make them never look for me again. And to stop telling lies to our family, stop forcing people to marry—all that bullshit. Everything. Their cult ends here and now. Use your powers to end it.”
I study him. “Seriously?”
He nods. “That’s what I want.”
“You’re kidding, right?”
“Tyyy—”
“Okay! Fine.” I drag the men into the center of the room and shake them awake.
This is definitely the weirdest use of my powers ever. It would be much more satisfying to drain them and leave them in an alley somewhere.
I grab them all in my thrall and, with my boy narrating, I do exactly as Baker says.
Once the freshly reformed polygamists have stumbled out the door twenty minutes later, I turn to Baker. “Happy?”
He smirks. “I’m not unhappy, big guy.”
I scoop him into my arms. “You didn’t text me back earlier.”
“I went into work. I was thinking.”
“About what?”
He pokes me in the chest. “You. And giving you a chance.”
“Did I pass?”
He kisses me. “Is that a good enough answer?”
I smile. “It is for me.”
Chapter 17
My first Halloween.
At Club Toxic.
Wow.
I stand at Ty’s side and watch the festivities with his arm securely draped around my shoulders. Taylor’s here, with a different date, and already pissing off one of the other vampires. It’s a masquerade party, and Ty’s introduced me to most of the vampires who are here tonight.
Yes, I’ve processed the whole ‘vampires are real’ news pretty well this past week.
Oh, and shifters are real, too. Among other brain-breaking revelations.
It doesn’t matter, though. I have Ty, and he’s spent this past week talking with me and showing me how he feels. Yes, that’s included a lot of sex, but even more talking.
As much as I wanted.
This is real.
Life isn’t just worth living now—it’s better than I ever dreamed possible.
He wants me as much as I want him.
Ty nibbles the side of my neck. “Ready for your coming out, baby?”
I shiver in a good way. “Yes, Sir.” He gave me the option not to do this, but I want to.
There were other collarings tonight, but he wanted to wait until later in the evening to do ours. When he leads me out into the middle of the floor and raises his