Until You Were Mine

Emeline Smith moved to Chicago to build a life that was finally hers.

New city.
New job.
New apartment.
No more small-town expectations.
No more overprotective family.

She's twenty-one, determined, and brave enough to miss home without running back to it.

She just didn't expect her brother's best friend to show up at her door.

Zane Moore is older. Quiet. Controlled. The kind of man who doesn't speak unless he means to. The kind of man who watches more than he talks. He says he's there to "check in." To keep the peace. To make sure she's safe.

But safety has never felt like this.

The longer he stays, the closer he stands.
The more he looks at her like she's something fragile-and something claimed.

There's something in his eyes that turns cold when another man's name is mentioned. Something possessive beneath the calm. Something dangerous wrapped in restraint.

And the scariest part?

She doesn't feel afraid.

She feels chosen.

In a city that finally feels like hers, Emeline is about to learn that some men don't just fall in love.

They claim.

And Zane decided his claim a long time ago.