Steal Vows

Chapter 12 ~ All In Pt.1

"Yeah," he said quietly, as if it cost him something to admit it.

"I'll come. But we do it right; your daughter needs to know what to expect. Your family needs to know who I am and what I do, at least up to a point."

He picked up his drink and took a sip.

"When do we leave?"

"Thought you wanted me to stay a week?" She chuckled. "It's been like 3 days, and I don't know. I haven't even looked up flights yet."

He leaned back; a slight smirk crossed his face. He was caught between wanting her gone and not wanting her gone at all. The contradiction played out in real time.

"Three days works. Then we drive."

He cut another piece of fish, his last one, savoring it to its fullest.

"Nightmare has a truck we use for different things. We load your s**t, haul it down. Easier than having to rent a truck. I'm not leaving you alone on the road with that much cargo anyway."

He glanced at her. "Besides, I want to see where you come from. See your daughter's face when she realizes what you're getting into." He smirked, knowing damn well she wasn't going to be very happy. Her daughter wasn't that much younger than him, really only about 10 years; he couldn't remember.

The fire crackled between them. His thoughts wrapped around the practicality of it; he was solving a problem while claiming territory in her old life simultaneously. "We can leave in three days, like you wanted in the morning... Early," he said while he smiled at her across the table.

She looked at him with wonder as she said, "Oh… that's fast. But ok. I guess it's settled then. I have one more question to ask you."

Adrian set his fork down, giving her his attention completely. The question hung unasked between them, and he was waiting patiently in the way he only was with her. The fire reflected in his dark eyes as he leaned forward slightly, elbows on the table. Knowing that this might be a tough one since it took her so long to ask.

"Ask," he prompted her. His voice was low and certain. Whatever it was, he would answer it. That had become the unspoken agreement between them. No bullshit, no deflection, just the truth, even when it costs.

She looked down at her plate, then into his blue eyes, and took a sip of her drink. Needing the liquid courage, and with a hint of intrigue, she said softly, "Are you staying?"

Adrian didn't break eye contact. Her question sat between them, not what he thought was going to happen, yet it was a simple, loaded question that was asking everything at once. Is he staying tonight? Is he staying with her? Is he staying, period. But he knew what staying meant. It meant that he was hers and she was his, no halfway in between.

He stood, moved around the table, and pulled her up from her seat. His hand found her jaw and tilted it up to meet his gaze.

"Yeah."

No grand speech, no big gesture, just a simple, honest one. He pulled her close, his forehead nearly touching hers. He was just present in the simplest yet most honest way he had ever been with anyone.

Tess blushed as she pulled away and said, "I just needed to know if that was what you wanted or if we were going to date for a while; that's all I meant." Suddenly she felt the weight of the question; she didn't realize how much power it truly had on both of them until she saw it in his eyes.

"Dating."

The word sounds foreign coming from him, almost absurd. Adrian "Knox" Cross doesn't date. He claims, he owns, and he decides. But looking at her now, genuinely uncertain, asking him what he wants. He understood what she needed. The reassurance in language that made sense in her world… not his.

"I'm not the dating kind of man, Tess." His hand moved back to her jaw, turning her face back toward his. "But with you. I'm trying something different. So no, we're not dating for a while. We're building something real. And I'm all in, whatever that means and wherever it leads us."

He kissed her forehead, a small gesture surprisingly gentle from him.

"You're mine... and I'm yours. That's settled. That is, if you want me?"

She nodded and blushed slightly, smiled, and said, "I guess then you should have a prospect bring you some clothes and a toothbrush." She chuckled, "Cause you're not using mine." She laughed as she started to gather the dishes off the table.

Adrian watched her move around the table, clearing plates, gathering utensils, and other things like someone who has done it a thousand times. A smile played at the corner of his mouth, the first genuine one in years, probably, he thought. She's laughing at him, at the idea of sharing a toothbrush. The domesticity of it all made him laugh as well.

He pulled out his phone, texted Marcus a single line: Bring clothes, toothbrush. Tomorrow morning.

Then he set the phone down and moved to help her, taking the plates from her hands despite her protests. His movements were deliberate, close enough that she felt his presence but not crowding her, yet he was taking over.

"You always this bossy about your space?" His voice carried amusement.

The fire continued to burn behind them as it cast long shadows across the property.

"Yeah. It's kinda a girl thing." She chuckled at herself as she walked into the trailer. "Besides, I've been single for over five years now, so it's been a while since I've had any help with anything really." She shrugged… and he understood her statement about how she's always alone… and said, "Well, now you have me."

He followed her into the trailer; he watched her move through the space with the kind of comfort that's grown since she's been here. Five years alone. The weight of that settled on him like a stone, not pity. He understood that kind of loneliness. He hadn't let anyone close in longer. But he wasn't a monk. The recognition that she had been carrying everything by herself for a long time bothered him deeply.

He set the dishes down on the counter and moved behind her; his hands found her waist. The contact was deliberate and sent a message that he was here… that he wasn't going anywhere.

"Well, now you don't have to do it alone anymore." His voice was rough against her ear, low enough that only she could hear it. His thumbs brushed the soft skin at her hip where her shirt rode up slightly. "You're going to need to get used to that, I know. s**t, so will I." He chuckled lightly.

"Yeah. It will definitely take some getting used to," she said softly as she put more things away.

His grip on her waist tightened slightly, acknowledgment rather than pressure. He understood well that both of them were going to be in uncharted territory. The loneliness that the years have given both of them and years of independence didn't dissolve overnight, just because they've decided to stay. Trust isn't built in a night, even when bodies already know each other.

He turned her to face him, his dark eyes steady on hers. "I know." His thumb traced circles on her lower back. "But we're going to get used to it together. Because I'm not going anywhere and neither are you."

He leaned in and placed his forehead against hers for a moment, not moving to kiss her, just existing in the space between them. The trailer was quiet around them; the only sound was the gentle lap of water against the dock outside.

"We'll figure out as we go."

"Okay then, let's get these done and then we can go to bed," she said softly with a slight blush on her cheeks.

He nodded, releasing her to finish the dishes. He moved back out to the table and finished gathering the rest of the things from dinner. He put out the torches, closed the grill, and snuffed out the fire. As he carried in the last of it, he could hear a lonely owl hooting nearby, and sighed in complete contentment.

He stepped back into the kitchen without needing instruction, as he stepped up and helped her. The simple rhythm of it all felt strange to him, but not unwelcome. His large frame took up most of the space; his shoulders were nearly brushing hers as they worked together quietly. There were no more big questions or hidden agendas; all was out in the open now. A quiet peace had settled between them.

When the last plate was dried and stowed, he followed her toward the bedroom; the trailer settled around them, the sound of wind gently flowing through the trees as night settled in for its rest. He closed the door behind them, the outside world sealed away.

His eyes found her in the low light filtering through the windows as the moon's beams lightly filled the room.

"Come here."

"I'm right here," she smirked as she slowly took off her shirt, and to his surprise, she looked even better in this light in what was now their room. Yeah, their room, he thought to himself.

His breath caught as he watched her. He didn't move at first, just watched her, the curve of her shoulders, the way the fading light caught the soft landscape of her body. She was right; she was better here, in their space, with intention behind the reveal. No self-consciousness, no deflection in her movements, just Tess… his Tess.

"You're beautiful."

The words came out rough, almost angry in a way, like admitting what he saw left him in awe and that it cost him something. His hand found her face; his thumb brushed her cheekbone as he pulled her closer. His body was already responding to hers.

She chuckled softly as she said, "You're crazy." And she shook her head. She closed the distance between them; the final space evaporated as she pulled off his belt.His breath hitched as her fingers worked the leather free; the belt slid through the loops with a soft whisper. His hands moved to her shoulders, steadying himself against the pull of the belt being pulled through the last loop. He wanted to take control like he always did, but this felt… different, more intense, and he wanted to see where it would go.

He kissed her hard, possessively, as his tongue tasted the softness of her mouth. His shirt followed and dropped carelessly onto the floor. The scar tissue across his chest and shoulders felt her fingers slide across them as she explored his body boldly.

They fell toward the bed aggressively as the passion ignited between them. He latched onto her breast, tasting her flesh as if it was a delicacy made just for him, and she moaned softly as she said his name like a prayer. He groaned against her skin, the sound primal and unfiltered. Her voice saying his name like that, like some kind of worship, did something to him. He had never felt like he was being worshiped before. Never wanted it before, not until now.

His hands gripped her hips, pulling her closer. Every touch was a claim, every kiss a brand; he moved down her body with a single-minded focus, tasting the soft curve of her belly, the inside of her thighs. She was trembling beneath him, and he felt the power of it, not the cold power of dominance that he had always known before, but something hotter, something that burned through you with an intensity that consumed you.

He pulled back just enough to look at her, eyes dark and hungry, as he said,

"Mine."