“You don’t have to argue with me to prove your strength, Piper. I know you are strong. Strong females, not weak ones, need a strong male, and I am here for you when you decide you are ready. So tonight we sleep, and you will sleep beside me.”
“Why do you want me to sleep with you?” she asked. What did he get out of her just sleeping next to him if it wasn’t for s*x?
He was still leaning close, his body heat warming hers. “Because it is a cold, old house, and you will want the heat my body can provide.” He brushed a thumb over her bottom lip, then feathered a hot, slow, seemingly innocent kiss on her lips.
“And if I don’t want to?”
He reached a hand above her head and freed her wrists. The silk tie slid against her skin and dropped away. She lowered her wrists, touching them, but she wa
