Chapter 19
With Braun’s comments still hanging in the air, Emberly was squirming as she settled onto the couch, even though she didn’t normally embarrass easily.
Of course, Max didn’t seem bothered at all as he added wood to the fire.
He was her husband. How wild was that?
He’d been so doting and sweet all throughout the wedding ceremony, reassuring her of how much he loved her and wanting to kiss her frequently. She’d loved every moment.
While he wasn’t a McQuaid and would never be exactly like Dad in his love for Mom, Max was proving himself to be a man who wanted to love deeply and passionately and intentionally.
Maybe he was that way because of his age and maturity.
Maybe he was that way because of all he’d learned from previous failed relationships.
Maybe he was that way because he was taking seriously the need to be love-crazy.
Whatever it was, she had no regrets about marrying him so quickly and pledging her life to him. He was the kind of man she’d never believed she’d ever find. And now he was hers.
She could admit, even after their conversations, that she was still nervous about him being royalty.
If she’d been able to choose who he was, she wouldn’t have picked him being a prince.
Even the CEO of the world’s richest bank was a bit much for a woman like her.
But his training to be a prince and an investment banker had shaped him into the man she’d fallen in love with, so she couldn’t separate out those things about him, not when they were important to him.
Instead, she would have to work at accepting who he was and all that entailed. Her own mom had done that when she’d married into the McQuaid ranch. She’d started a new life as a cowgirl and rancher’s wife, and she’d eventually adjusted.
Emberly wanted to adjust too. But she also didn’t want her identity to disappear.
She liked her family’s heritage and history.
She was proud of all that her ancestors had accomplished, and she knew she would need to find ways to stay connected to her family and her past, even though she was moving away.
Regardless of what her new life would bring, nothing else really mattered as long as she was with Max. Not only was there so much substance already to their relationship, but the chemistry between them was flaming hot and had only been growing hotter all day.
At the moment, it flickered in the air, shooting sparks over her and heating her. She wanted to be close to him and hold him and not have to ignore her attraction to him any longer. But the cabin and the situation weren’t very romantic, not with two other grown men there.
Max closed the stove, then straightened, the glow from the fire outlining his magnificent body—his long legs, lean torso, and handsome face. He held himself with such confidence and determination, as if he could battle the whole world and remain strong.
Love for him rushed through her like the gusts of wind that had blown against the mountainside all day. She held out a hand, beckoning him closer.
He didn’t move and instead watched her, as though he couldn’t get enough of her. “You are so beautiful, you make my heart ache,” he finally whispered.
“You know you don’t have to say anything,” she whispered back. “You’ve already won me over.”
“I plan to keep winning you every day.”
The phrase was similar to how her dad often described his efforts to show Mom love. The winning didn’t just happen once on the wedding day. That was only the start of the winning that was intended to be an everyday occurrence.
“Then what are you waiting for?” She couldn’t keep her voice from turning sultry. “Come here.”
His lips curled up into a sexy half grin that made her stomach do a series of flips. He crossed to her, and as his fingers connected with hers, she tugged him down.
He dropped into the spot beside her and wrapped his arms around her as she pressed against him.
Their mouths collided at the same time with an explosive need that had been growing all evening.
His rhythm was powerful and hungry, and she loved it.
She joined in the kiss just as powerfully and hungrily, eager to be kissing him again so passionately.
With his arms tightening, she could feel his wildly beating heart and guessed he could feel hers beating just as hard for him.
This love between them was intense, probably because they were both intense people who felt things deeply.
It would mean incredible highs, but would it also mean they might go through difficult lows?
She didn’t want to think about that tonight, not on their wedding night.
It. Was. Her. Wedding. Night. How had she gotten to this point, and what was she going to do about it?
Her kissing came to a halt.
He immediately tamed his passion and broke the kiss. He rested his cheek against hers, his scruffy jaw grazing her and his heavy breathing filling her senses.
Was she scared? What was going on?
“Are you all right?” he whispered.
She nodded. She was all right. She really was.
But . . . she wasn’t sure that she was ready to do more than just kiss.
All that really mattered was being close to him, even if that meant just curling up beside him.
They would have their whole lives for everything else, which meant they didn’t have to rush and could wait to be more intimate until they were alone.
“I think we need just a little more time before . . .” She struggled to find her next words. “Before we, well, you know.”
“Yes, I know.” He smoothed a hand over her hair. “I should like the first time I make love to my wife to be special and beautiful and meaningful, not something rushed and hushed.”
She breathed out the tension that had started to build, and she let herself relax against him. “I love you even more for that.”
He reclined onto the couch and pulled her down into the spot in front of him, the same way they’d slept the previous night. After he situated the blanket over them, he wrapped his arms around her and pressed a kiss to her head.
She snuggled back into him. “Max?”
“Yes, darling?”
“Just because we’ve agreed to wait on making love doesn’t mean I want to wait on kissing you.”
“Do not worry, my love. I do not want to wait on that either.” His fingers combed back strands of her hair, and in the next instant, his lips were upon her neck, hot and hard and heavy.
She gasped her pleasure and arched into him. If this was what she had to look forward to tonight, she would not complain in the least.