“She didn’t want soft and gentle. She needed his rough possession, claiming her, branding her, taking her in a firestorm of heat and flame that would end the world around them, leaving them nothing but ashes, clean and fierce and forever welded together.” ~ Christine Feehan

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This is for him—the man that I will one day claim as mine.

Although I am hoping you will equally claim me, in determined sweet satisfaction—the truth is my love, I’m going to claim you just as hard.

Because I am the kind of woman that knows a good thing when she has it, and make no doubt about it—you’re the best kind of good.

You are the man that I want to claim—not just for today, or possibly tomorrow—but for good.

Because I have tasted enough half-hearted loves to know that my appetite won’t be satisfied by just anyone.

And I have kissed enough toads to know the difference between a prince and a true king.

I want to claim you, not because I need to own you and your affections, but because I take pride in the man that you are and the kind of life that you try to lead.

The thing is that maybe I had this all wrong—maybe I shouldn’t have been sitting around just waiting to be claimed.

Maybe instead, I should have found the guts to go after what I wanted sooner—not because you can’t take charge, but because it is okay for a woman to go hot for something that she truly wants.

It’s okay to pursue, as much as it is to sit back and be chased within the game of love.

And while I may love it when you take control—the truth is that I think we need to take turns calling the shots.

Because I don’t think you have ever been claimed in the way that I will claim you—the difference being I want to claim each and every delicious part of you.

I want to lick you down and eat up every ounce of your honest goodness—because for me, you are as good as it will ever get.

But my love, the biggest difference is that I don’t want to just claim your heart and your body—I want to inspire you, raise you up and make you want to be an even better man than you already are.

I want you to go after your craziest, wildest dreams, and I will be there helping you along the way and cheering you on from even the darkest of sidelines.

I hope to inspire you to live your life with integrity and honesty, paving your way with your own unique dreams and flavor, knowing that no one else will approach this journey quite like you.

And surely, no one will ever do it the way we could together.

Because when I say that I want to claim you—it means that I want to make a stake in your future.

I know that sometimes we are supposed to play coy games—and that as a woman, I am “supposed” to keep you at a far enough distance so that you feel the need to chase me—but the thing is, there are better things to do than waste our time with such foolishness.

And this time, I’m tired of running.

Because I want you in your realness and your confident sensual ways—I want you because of how you move within this world and shake up the universe with the electricity emitted from your brave heart.

I want you precisely because you wonder why it is you.

It’s not an issue of confidence, but in something greater.

All of these men who have stepped to me, telling me how much I need them and how much they could do for me—how they would cook for me and lick me until I am shaking—they are just making noise.

They mean nothing to me.

Because they haven’t ever really opened their eyes to see me—not just the woman I am, but the little girl too and the invisible part of me that most miss out on completely.

But it didn’t escape you.

As soft as I will be to complement your hardness, as much as my tender will alleviate your strength—I won’t hold back when I do finally stake my claim on you.

Because you need someone to be just as ruthless as you are when it comes to pursuing what we want.

Maybe that is part of the secret of us—that in each other, we have finally found someone who burns just as hot.

I have to tell you that although I will claim you, it doesn’t mean that I can predict the future.

I don’t know what tomorrow, or the day after will hold—I only know today, and so this beautiful day is all that I can promise you.

It’s a hard world for lovers to navigate—even once they have claimed one another, and while I can guarantee that you will be the only man allowed to touch my body, I can’t predict if anyone else will catch either of our eyes or not.

And so, the biggest promise I want us to make one another is to remain real—if we feel attracted to someone or if a stranger catches our eye—I want us to be able to put our egos aside and talk to one another about it.

If one day, we find someone who lights that same fire within us, I want to be able to discuss whether it’s the actual person we are attracted to, or if it’s a bump in our journey together that is causing us to start noticing other traffic.

Because the thing is, my love—although I will claim you more fully than any other woman ever has, I never want to own you.

I want you to be with me, not because you have to—out of the promises of rings or determined falsified loyalty—but simply because you want to.

In the end, it will be our honesty that will stake the biggest claim in each other’s lives and upon our fearless and independent hearts.

And that’s something that I’m not willing to give up for anything.

So while I haven’t claimed you yet my love—just know that it’s just a matter of time.

Because this time, I plan to go hot for exactly what it is that I want.

And this time—it’s you.

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Author: Kate Rose

Editor: Yoli Ramazzina

Photo: Flickr/senyorbond