Planting my hips against hers, the tip of me as deep as I can get, I feel my stomach clench and my balls draw up. My mouth opens over her shoulder and I bite her against the tender flesh while emptying my release deep into her body. I lift my mouth when the last tremor shakes up my body and lick where there are indentions of my teeth.
“I love it when you’re bad with me.” She sighs.
“Did I hurt you?” I ask, panting and staring at the mark I’ve left on her flesh—a mark that only makes me want to put more all over her. Logically, I know it’s going to disappear before we wake up in the morning, but I can’t deny loving the fuck out of seeing it—wishing it was to stay.
“Hurt me? God, no.” She moans the last word when I start to slip free from her heat, that sound turning into a low whine when I pull the rest of the way from her body.
I glance down at my cock, the wetness of our combined releases covering every inch. She whimpers, the pitiful sound making me smile. She isn’t the only one who wishes we could keep our bodies connected. When I look back up at her, all flushed skin and bright eyes, I feel like the luckiest bastard in the world.
“Thank you.”
She frowns and searches my face. “For what, honey?”
I inhale and shake my head, feeling my lips move as I grin down at her. “For lovin’ me. For givin’ me you. For wantin’ me. Never thought I would have this, Linney, but now that I do, I know I’ll never be able to live without it. So”—I kiss her slack lips—“thank you, baby.”
Her chin wobbles and she blinks rapidly. “Clayton,” she hiccups. “Honey,” she sniffles. “Never, ever do you need to thank me for doin’ what I was made to do. You have no idea what you’ve done for me, do you?”
When I don’t speak, she gives one more sniff before giving up and letting the tears fall, smiling through them up at me.
“You, honey, you saved me. You healed me. You gave me purpose in a life that I had given up on. You’ve given me strength, confidence, and a fearlessness that only grows with your love. Don’t thank me for doin’ what comes as natural as breathin’ does, honey.”
“Linney,” I rumble thickly.
“You brought me back to life,” she continues.
“Stop, darlin’.”
“Showed me just how beautiful my days could be.”
“Caroline.”
“Offered your silent protection, my white knight, while I faced my demons.”
“Baby,” I try again, her words making my throat get thicker and my eyes burn.
“Loved me bad and gave me forever.”
“Fuck,” I grunt, my mouth covering hers so she’ll stop talking. I don’t even attempt to hold back the wetness falling from my eyes in tune with my pounding heart. Getting emotional because your other half loves you isn’t something I’ll ever be ashamed of. Not when I never thought I would have this.
I keep my mouth fused to hers while I strip her carefully of her dress and, with her silky-smooth skin pressed tightly to mine, love my wife slow. Our moans and pleading gasps are swallowed as we kiss. The slick silk of her chest rubs against mine as I continue the slow tempo of my hips.
With her words still echoing through my mind, the last thought I have before the sensation of loving her becomes too much is that she’s wrong. It was she who brought me back to life.
My ringing phone pulls me from a deep and sated sleep. Caroline curls into my side as the ringing continues and I pull her closer while burying my head in the crook of her neck, content to ignore whoever is calling. I groan when the ringing picks up not even a second after it stopped, but it isn’t until I hear Caroline’s phone join in that I move.
“Clayton?” she asks, confused.
I roll and grab my phone off the nightstand, jabbing the accept button. “Yeah?”
“Clay.”
“What, Mav?”
“The gazebo,” he starts, releasing an aggravated breath. “It’s gone, Clay.”
“What the hell do you mean, it’s gone?” Sleep instantly vanishes as my brother’s words wake me up as effectively as an ice-cold bucket of water tossed over my head.
“Trey was out on a late ride tonight. He does that shit after a long day—don’t ask me why he goes this damn late. He said when he went west, all was quiet. About an hour later, before he could even see where it was comin’ from, he noticed the glow of somethin’ burnin’. He tried, Clay. Rushed back to grab the extinguisher here, but by the time he got back up the hill, there wasn’t anything left.”
I swing my legs over the side of the bed with a heavy exhale. I click on the light and brace my elbows on my knees, looking down at the floor. I feel Caroline press against my back, her hands rubbing my arms in silent support. Fuck, I don’t want to tell her. I’ll rebuild it, no doubt about that, but it won’t be the same. I know that, even without telling her and confirming it.