Just the two of us.
“I love you,” I whisper, sliding my fingers through his beard before moving in for a kiss. “Take me, Daddy. Make me yours. I’m afraid I’m going to wake up and find out none of this is real and—oh God!” I scream when he pulls out and drives hard into me, sending pleasure rolling through my core and spreading to the rest of me. “Again!” I claw at his back, tearing at his shirt as I beg for more.
And he gives it to me.
One arm stays locked around me as he starts moving, each thrust stealing my breath. My eyes glaze over as he picks up the pace, tossing my head back when his lips move down my neck, nipping my jaw and licking the line of my throat.
It’s bliss.
I feel him against me, his chest rubbing against my aching nipples and his breath hot against my skin.
“You’re mine,” he growls possessively into my ear, slamming harder and faster into me. “Mine, little bird. Always.”
“Yours,” I sob, right on the edge of an orgasm, wrapping myself tighter around him as I move to meet his thrusts, my breathing growing choppy. “Close,” I whimper, scratching at his back as my thighs begin to tremble and the pressure in my core climbs and climbs before exploding into a billion pieces.
I cry out as my sex squeezes around his thrusting shaft, crying out at the pleasure that rolls through my body, spreading warmth through my core and exploding at the tips of my toes.The sensation seems to last forever, the pulsing growing instead of ebbing. I cry out when he pulls me through another wave of pleasure, and this time, I bring him along with me.
“Fuuuck!” he roars, his muscles bunching against mine before releasing in violent shakes. I whimper into his shoulder as he floods my womb with his warm seed, painting my walls and marking me as his. “I love you, baby. I love you so fucking much,” he pants, continuing to drive into me until I’ve milked him to the last drop. Then he collapses against me, dropping his head against mine, his breathing as labored as mine.
“Look at me, little bird.” I lift my gaze to his.
A slow smile tugs at his mouth. “That’s my girl.”
Warmth floods my cheeks, and his smile widens. “Yeah,” he murmurs, brushing a kiss to my forehead. “I like hearing you call me Daddy, little bird.”
It’s overwhelming, the emotion swirling through me, and for a moment, I don’t say a word. Instead, I bask in his heat, the scent of our lovemaking mixing with that of blooming jasmine. I turn my head and stare up at the blue sky, and for the first time in a long time, I allow myself to relax, truly relax.
“We can take it slow,” I whisper, running a soothing hand over his back. “Kristin and I will look for another place, and we can take it slow until you’re—”
“No, you’re not moving in with me.” His words are firm, final. “Your friend can stay here until she recovers and gets back on her feet, but you’re not leaving my sight, Rosalie.” He pushes back, taking my chin so our eyes are locked together. “I’ll drive myself insane if you live anywhere else. Stay.”
I watch his face for a long moment, not entirely convinced that this isn’t some kind of dream. That maybe I lost my footing that night in the desert and hit my head or something.
It’s real. These feelings are real, and so is the man.“I’ll stay,” I whisper, brushing my lips over his jaw. “For as long as you want.”
“Forever. I want forever.”
“Then I’ll stay forever.”
Epilogue
Three Years Later
Beau
The humid air hits me square in the face when I step outside, balancing three glasses of ice-cold lemonade on a tray despite the heat. I stop to catch my breath, questioning once more the wisdom of staying outdoors on an afternoon as hot as this one.
But then my eyes find her, and the weather suddenly doesn’t matter. Not when it seems to suit my sun-hugging wife.
She’s seated on the porch swing, the gentle creak of the chains humming through the quiet afternoon. Curled up on her lap is our son, who seems to have fallen asleep in the time it took me to walk inside and grab us some cold drinks. It’s not like I had to harvest the lemons and make lemonade from scratch. I couldn’t have been gone longer than five minutes, but it was enough for him to fall asleep.
My eyes shift from my wife and our son to the two dogs engaged in a game of chase across the lawn, while the rest of them lounge in the shade near the swing.
My whole world, right here in this yard.
I take a mental picture of the scene, wishing my hands weren’t full so I could capture the moment on camera too. It’s not often that I stop to take a look at the family we’ve built over the past three years. A small, perfect universe in our corner of the world. The sheer, overwhelming beauty of it all, this quiet domesticity, leaves me breathless.
And it’s mine.