Charlotte
Ididn’t stand a chance against him. The moment his mouth covered mine again, everything inside me went
loose and warm, like my very bones had decided they weren’t necessary anymore. I could feel how much
he wanted me, how much he meant every word he’d just said, and it sent a de ep, overwhelming wave of
something through me that I wasn’t ready for.
But I wanted it. God, I wanted him. More than anything else, exc ept for his safety. That was the one thing
I’d give him up for if I had to, to ke ep him and everything he’d worked for safe.
“Trent,” I managed, though I had no idea what I was trying to say. We can’t do this unless you’re willing
to have all your dirty laundry hung out in public. Countrywide.
He kissed me before I could figure out how to tell him, slow and coaxing, like he was trying to erase every
doubt I’d ever had. His hands slid down my sides and I arched into him without thinking, needing to just
be close to him.
I wasn’t used to being held like I mattered, but Trent held me these days like I was the only thing in the
world he cared about.
“You’re not a burden,” he whispered against my jaw. “Not to me.”
I pressed my forehead to his, breathing him in and letting myself feel everything he was saying without
swallowing it down or pretending it was nothing. Because it wasn’t nothing.
It was him. It was this. He wanted me to have it. To have us. Every kiss and every touch suddenly felt like
some new truth I wasn’t brave enough to say out loud. His weight settled over me on the bed and I writhed
under him instinctively, wanting more. Wanting all of him. Always.
All my fears blurred and then disappeared when his hands framed my hips and his body pressed closer. He
moved with this fierce, focused tenderness that made my chest tighten, my pulse trip, and my thoughts
scatter.
Trent wanted me in his life, and not for my name, or my usefulness, or my potential value. He wanted me
just for who I was. I’d believed him when he’d said that, but I was really struggling to acc ept that it would
be true if he knew what Gregory was threatening to do.
Yet, he hadn’t told me everything about his meeting with Alex either. I knew that and somehow I doubted
Gregory was only threatening to tell people about Savannah. There was more. I knew it all the way to my
marrow, but Trent wasn’t kissing me like he was scared.
Instead, he was kissing me like he was over all the drama and ready to just be us. A suspicion that was
confirmed when he whispered against my throat, low and rough, and punctuated the words with these rolls
of his hips that sent a full-body shiver through me.
“You’re not leaving this bed again until you know I’m never going anywhere, Charlotte,” he murmured.
“I’m serious. About this and about you. We’re canceling on your brothers and staying right here until you
know that nothing anyone can do is going to scare me away from you.”
He dragged his hands along my sides, his palms hot against my skin as he pulled my shirt off, and the
entire universe shrank to a single point of heat. My shirt and bra hit the floor. He sealed his lips back over
mine, and I lost track of time.
I lost track of everything but the way he held me together even while it felt like the whole world was trying
to pull us apart.
Breathless as I snuggled into him, my leg was thrown over his and my head was on his chest. His arm
wrapped around me, strong and protective, holding me against the steady rise and fall of his breathing.
Neither of us said anything, but I pressed a kiss to his skin, right over his heart, and felt him exhale like
he’d been waiting for it. His fingers stroked my spine lazily and I melted de eper into him, sinking into that
perfect space where my body felt heavy, safe, and completely his.
I fell asle ep in his arms just like I had every night recently, and as always, I woke up alone. For a second, it
didn’t even register as strange. Just routine, but then my brain caught up.
We weren’t on the ranch. There were no predawn chores calling his name. No horses, no cattle, and no
responsibilities waiting to drag him out of bed before the sun had even risen. So why isn’t he here?
I pushed up on my elbows, squinting around the dim room, but there was no trace of him. A ripple of
unease ran through me and I got up, pulling on Trent’s shirt that was huge on me and running a hand
through my hair, trying to make myself look slightly less like someone who’d spent half the night wrapped
around her husband.
I padded out of his bedroom expecting quiet, maybe coffee brewing and to find Trent on the couch or at the
table, flipping through something ranch-related even though we were miles from it. What I didn’t expect
was voices, low, tense, male, and familiar.
I stopped dead when I st epped into the kitchen and found Trent, Alex, and Nate standing around the island.
The air was tight, charged with the kind of atmosphere that told me I’d just walked into the middle of
something serious.
All three turned at the sound of my footst eps. Alex’s eyes hit me first, widened, and then narrowed in
irritation that practically radiated from him like a laser beam.
I glanced down at myself, still wearing Trent’s shirt. It hung halfway to my knees, but somehow, it
suddenly felt more revealing than a silk slip.
Oh. Okay. Right. Clearly, that was the face of a big brother processing the fact that his best friend was not
only married to his sister, but had also spent the night thoroughly acting like it.
Beside him, Nate choked on a laugh, immediately swiping a hand over his face like he could hide the grin
stretching across it.
“Oh, boy,” he muttered under his breath. “Morning, Lottie. Good night?”
Trent’s jaw clenched briefly in a motion that was both annoyed and protective before he crossed the
kitchen toward me. His palm brushed the small of my back and I leaned into him before I’d even thought
about it. He didn’t hesitate to pull me closer, not looking at all embarrassed about this.
Instead, he looked straight at Alex with zero apology on his features or in his voice. “Did you not truly
understand what you were signing us up for? She’s my wife. Of course, we share a bed.”
The silence that followed was delicious. Alex’s jaw flexed and Nate outright snorted, but he’d never been
the type of older brother who thought that protecting me meant ke eping my virtue intact. He’d bought me a
box of condoms the day I’d turned sixteen and told me never to trust men. That I had to protect myself if I
wanted to stay safe.
He and I had talked about it once, agreeing that Alex and others could play the role of controlling big
brother. Nate had just wanted me to trust him and take his advice rather than his orders.
Meanwhile, I was stunned, but not because of Nate finding all this hilarious. Rather it was because of how
easily those words had left Trent. There had been no awkward clearing of the throat or it’s not what it
looks like speeches. Just truth.
It was surprising because for so long, the stupid bro code had been this invisible wall between us, a loyalty
he’d clung to with exhausting stubbornness. But not anymore. In fact, right now, it felt like he was
choosing me fully, making no half-hearted attempts to hide it, no excuses, and no pretending.
Trent even angled himself toward me slightly and I looked up at him, searching for some hint of doubt, but
all I found was steadiness. Confidence. A softness he tried so hard to hide from everyone exc ept me.
He guided me toward the fridge with a warm, easy touch at my back, like claiming me in front of two of
the most important men in my life was the most natural thing he’d ever done—and maybe it was.
Because it suddenly became painfully, beautifully clear to me that when Trent Sh epard committed to
something, he didn’t do it halfway. And he really was committed to me. No matter how it had started or
what threats we were facing, he’d been telling the truth.
He really was all in. Maybe it was simply time I figured out how to acc ept that without constantly feeling
so damn guilty about it.