the hem of her shirt and began tugging it over her head.
She clamped down an arm, her eyes flaring with alarm.
He waited a moment, staring intently into her eyes. “Baby, in that bed, there is nothing between us. No clothing, barriers, nothing. I said I wasn’t going to jump you, and that’s true. I won’t lie to you. But you aren’t wearing those clothes to bed. Besides the fact they don’t fit you worth a damn, anytime you sleep in my bed, you’re naked.”
“I’ll get cold,” she said with a frown.
He smiled at the quick excuse and her attempt to keep that barrier between them. She’d learn soon enough that he’d allow none between them.
“I’ll keep you warm.”
She bit her lip in consternation and then sighed, lowering her arm in a gesture of surrender.
“Remember,” he said softly. “You don’t come here beaten down and defeated. You hold your head up. You submitting to me doesn’t mean you’re anything less. I’m a demanding bastard. No doubt about that. But the very last thing I want is for you to be some mindless puppet.”
Confusion clouded her beautiful blue eyes. “I guess I don’t understand. Any of this. I’m confused, Jace. This is so . . . overwhelming.”
He kissed her nose and then slowly worked her shirt upward. “We have all the time in the world. I want you to trust me. As long as you can do that, everything will work out just fine. I’ll take care of you and I’ll never do anything to overwhelm you.”
“But I just said I’m overwhelmed!” she protested.
He grinned and tugged the shirt the rest of the way, baring her breasts—and the bruises—to his gaze.
“I just want you naked. Overwhelming would be if I was going to fuck you tonight. That’ll come tomorrow. Tonight is for you to adjust to being here.”
Her mouth fell open. “And you don’t consider that overwhelming?”
“Nope.”
“Evidently you and I have different opinions on what constitutes being overwhelming,” she muttered.
“Now that I like,” he said with satisfaction.
She lifted an eyebrow as he went to work on the fly of her jeans.
“You being sassy. You’ve got fire, Bethany. You haven’t lost that. You’re fucking perfect for me.”
“You’re crazy,” she muttered again. “Or maybe I’m crazy.”
“As long as we’re crazy together, I’m good with it.”
She threw up her hands as he worked the jeans down her legs. “You honestly do always get your way, don’t you?”
He smiled again and helped her step from her jeans. “I already told you that. Nothing worth having is ever easy, baby. And you don’t get things without fighting for them.” He leaned down and brushed his mouth across the bruise at her ribs. “Be warned. I’m fighting for you and I have no intention of losing.”
As he lifted his head, he saw hope flash again in her eyes and this time it stayed there. She stared up at him in awe, her entire body trembling. He could see that it was finally sinking in. That this was real and that he was deadly serious.
“Lose the underwear,” he said.
This time she didn’t offer any argument. There was only brief hesitation as she slipped her thumbs into the waistband of the silky scrap of material. A moment later, the panties fluttered to the floor and she toed them away.
“Get into bed and wait for me there,” he said in a soft but firm voice. “I’m going to shower and then join you. Get comfortable. And Bethany?”
She lifted her gaze to meet his in response to the address.
“Don’t try to go anywhere. I’ve locked the elevator and even if you managed to get to the lobby, they won’t let you leave here without me.”
“Am I a prisoner then?” she asked huskily.
He smiled. “Never that. But I’ll do what I have to in order to ensure your safety. Even if it means making sure you can’t leave while I’m in the shower. Now get into bed so you don’t get cold. I’ll adjust the heat.”
Leaving her standing there, he strode into the bathroom and turned on the shower. He purposely gave her the time to get into bed on her own and a few minutes to get over her nerves before he joined her.
Bethany was going to take a lot of patience—a lot more than he was used to giving a woman. Before, if the woman wasn’t fully on board, he cut ties quickly. He knew what he wanted and he didn’t have any desire to hook up with a woman who