I took the box he held out to me and opened it. My shaking hands trailed over the gold necklace and the sparkling green stone in the middle.

“Peridot,” Rowan explained. “Your and Ansel’s birthstone. I know that he was into crystals and things like that. Know you aren’t so much. But I figured this would be a way to carry him everywhere.”

My tears dripped onto the gorgeous emerald cut stone, the delicate chain. It was classy, definitely expensive, but subtle.

“Rowan,” I chastised. “I’ve already cried enough over Christmas gifts today.”

He was grinning when I looked up, and he reached over to wipe one of my tears away with his thumb. “Happy tears I’m okay with, cupcake. Can I put it on you?”

“You better,” I whispered, turning in my seat and handing him the box.

I lifted my hair up to expose my neck, then Rowan reached over, his fingers brushing the skin there. Even the simple act of putting on my necklace did something to me. Awakened my hunger for him that was never far away, the desire that hadn’t dulled, not even a little.

“Okay, since we’re doing our gift exchange right here on the side of the road…” I reached down into my purse at my feet, grabbing the wrapped bundle at the bottom.

I had come prepared, bringing my behemoth bag that seemed to have endless room.

I handed Rowan the gift, and he did his family proud by ripping the paper off it to reveal Stephen King’s The Stand. I had combed the internet to find it, a signed first edition.

Rowan’s hand carefully and reverently turned the page to reveal the signature.

“I know he’s your favorite,” I said shyly since Rowan had been silent for a long time.

He blinked up at me, and I will say, I was kind of satisfied I’d managed to shock Rowan Derrick, though I couldn’t read his face to gauge whether he was happy or not.

“Do you like it?”

“Like it?” he repeated, voice low, almost a growl.

I nodded slowly.

Rowan carefully and reverently placed the book on the center console—which was sparkling clean, not littered with strange crumbs or sticky with unknown liquids—unbuckled my seatbelt and yanked me over it.

This was no mean feat, even though the interior of the truck was larger than most vehicles. I wasn’t exactly small.

But Rowan did it, so I was straddling him in the driver’s seat, my dress bunched up at my hips and my silk panties rubbing up against the rough denim of his jeans.

I was instantly wet and wanting him.

Rowan clutched the sides of my neck and kissed me. Not just a kiss, a brutal, magical claiming. One that set my body on fire and had me grinding against the hard cock in his jeans.

“I’m gonna show my baby how much I fucking like the gift which is the most thoughtful, fuckin’ precious thing I’ve ever gotten,” he growled against my mouth, lifting my body with one hand so he could free himself from his jeans with his other.