31. Michael
I smile every time I open the door to Dana’s coffee shop and it jingles.
I bought her a new bell as a grand reopening gift after months of renovations, which included buying the vacant building beside her shop and splitting the business into a coffee shop and a bakery.
Logan is not too happy about the last half of that, since he’s had to increase the frequency of training to counteract the amount of carbs everyone on base has been eating.
“So you’re good here?” Dale enters behind me and waves at Tyler, who grabs a couple of to-go cups and fills them with coffee.
“Yeah. Thanks for the ride in.”
We head to the counter, grabbing our coffees and replacing them with bills.
“Don’t mention it. I need to check in on the special project. We should be done this week.”
Once the town agreed to our terms, there were immediate jobs for everyone who wanted one.
The majority of the work is being done on our new base, to bring it up to code, and the men around town have been happy to work with their hands again.
A special team was created to execute a top-secret project: removing and disposing of a metric ton of cannabis.
It hasn’t been an easy feat, but thanks to their coordinated efforts, and the new sheriff’s department—led by Pete—looking the other way, we’re almost done.
Bonnie and Steven have been replacing the cannabis with strawberries, blueberries, and every other berry and fruit tree they can think of since they’ve decided to add jam to their product line.
“That should calm Logan down. I’ll let him know.”
“You sure you’re good here?”
“I am. Dana has my truck. We’ll be fine.”
His smile falters for a moment before he tips his head, motioning for me to join him, and I walk him to the door.
“That’s not what I mean. We’re busy now, but eventually the town will settle into its new way of life, and we’ll go back to being the sleepy little place we once were.”
I glance around the shop.
The Grayfords are seated by the window, as they always are. Soon Betty, Vi, and Marge will join them to update each other on the goings-on around town, at which point Geraldine’s husband will excuse himself and wander over to the hardware shop.
The monotony of knowing what comes next makes me smile.
“I’m looking forward to it.”
Then, as if hearing my confession from the back room, she appears.
Her blonde hair, returned to its natural vibrance, is down, and it flows in waves over her shoulders.
I’ve become addicted to her smile.
Dale waves and excuses himself with the jingle of the door.
“There you are.” She unties her apron and tosses it on a hook as she rounds the counter. She stops in front of me, then rises to her tiptoes to kiss me.
She means to make it a chaste kiss since we are in public, but she should know by now that ever since she’s made herself mine, there is no chance I won’t take to show everyone around us exactly what that means.
Wrapping my arm around her waist, I scoop her into me and press my lips against hers.
She just ate something sweet, and I devour the sugar from her lips before deepening the kiss and taking control.
Dana is not easily claimed or tamed, yet she’s allowed both with me, and she surrenders with a whimper.
She won’t hesitate to go toe-to-toe with the worst of us if she believes she’s right, but she has deferred to me more and more lately.
It isn’t an honor I take lightly. I have been earning her every day since we saved her out on that lavender farm.
When I break the kiss, she blinks up at me a couple of times in a daze before she composes herself. Her cheeks flush pink. “Is it time?”
She bites her lower lip as she waits for my answer, and the sight taunts my patience.
“It’s time. Are you sure you’re ready for this?”
Dana nods furiously. “I’m ready, Michael.”
She reaches into her pants pocket and hands me the keys to my truck.
“Okay then. Let’s go see our new home.”
* * *
“I can’t believe the house is done.” Dana glances out the window of my truck, looking up and down the street.
She has no idea where it is or what it looks like, and her curiosity is driving her batty.
I pull onto the road, heading toward Dana’s old cabin. We haven’t been back there since I cleared out her things months ago. Now we offer it to anyone on base who wants to get away and do some hunting or fishing in their downtime.
Dana’s eyebrows lift, wrinkling her forehead in excitement at the possibilities.
“Oops,” I chuckle. “Wrong way.”
I turn the truck around and head back toward the Miller cabin, where we’ve been staying for the last six months.
She smacks my chest with a grin on her face. “Not fair! No more wrong turns. You’re killing me here.”
I take the main road out of town and drive past the turnoff to our cabin. I’m lucky that Dana usually only ventures into town and to our new base, or she might have noticed the extra vehicles driving up the side road farther out.
It’s the same dirt road I turn onto. I can tell I made the right decision when Dana gets quiet. She looks out every window around us as she tries to keep herself from bouncing in her seat.
Each time I slow down to navigate a dip in the road, she perks up, scanning the trees around us as she clasps her hands in her lap.
Dana’s focus these last months has been on repairing the damage done to her shop, as well as setting up an entire bakery. When I told her I was going to oversee everything in our new home, she was hesitant but relieved.
I haven’t done it all on my own though. I’ve asked Dana questions every step of the way, further piquing her interest.
Over dinner, I would ask if she would rather watch the sun rise or set from our front porch. I’ve asked her how many rooms she wants and what is important to her in our yard. I’ve asked her if she would rather see the mountains from our bed, or the valley. I have a couple of surprises in store for her as well.
The moment I saw our plot of land, I knew I would be building our home here.
Being in our line of work, we come across many beneficial connections. I was able to hire a construction company we work security with on some of their higher-end projects to design and build our place. Everything is to code, and everything Dana has asked for has been incorporated.
We clear a group of trees, and Dana’s sharp inhale is all I need to know that she loves it.
I pull up to our home and park, then glance at Dana.
Tears rim her eyes, a sharp contrast to the smile on her face.
“Is this?—”
“Home.” I get out of my truck, circle to her door, and open it.
“Are you okay?”
Her chin trembles as she looks from me to the back of our cabin, then back to me again.
“Michael, this—this is beautiful. I never imagined—” She glances at the cabin once more.
I reach out, taking her hand to help her out of my vehicle, then square myself to face her.
“It’s all done, but there isn’t much furniture. I had hoped you would choose most of those things. I want to come home every day and feel you everywhere, in every room. Can I show you around?”
She answers me by squeezing my hand, and I lead her toward the cabin. We could go in the back door, but I tug her to my side and walk around toward the front.
I get the reaction I was hoping for when she clears the building. She freezes in her spot and glances off in the distance and down into the valley, cocking her head to listen because the view is blocked by the trees on our land. Then she looks at me before she rises onto her toes to get a better look. “Is that?—”
I point at our cabin behind me, and she follows my finger to the large deck off the second floor. “You can’t see it from down here, but we have a perfect view of the larger waterfall from up there.”
“How did you find this place?”
A chuckle escapes me at her question. I had Logan get me a list of all the government land for sale in the area, then I spent the better part of a week driving around until I came across this plot.
“It wasn’t easy, but I got it for a steal. Logan made the purchase of this land a condition of the land we bought for Cypher, and the government was more than happy to accommodate him. We own the land we are on, as well as the surrounding fifty acres, so no one will ever build near us or encroach on our view of those falls.”
“We?” She looks up at me with wide eyes.
“Yes. It’s in both of our names. Did you think I was doing this without you?”
“No—I—it’s just?—”
I pull her into me, hugging her tightly against my chest. “You’re not doing any of this on your own ever again. There’s no more running, no hiding…especially from me.” I lean back to get a good look at her, and I twist her blonde locks around my fingers. “You are Dana Granger, and this is your life. It’s our life—together.”
When I pull her in for a kiss, she braces her hands on my shoulders and I bend down, cupping my hands under her ass and lifting her until she wraps her legs around my waist.
The kiss is all-consuming, sucking the air out of my lungs and forcing all of the blood from my brain into my cock.
We gasp for air as we break apart, and I trek up the path toward our cabin, fumbling with the keys in my pocket.
“The rest of this tour is going to go very fast.”
I kick the door shut behind us and cross the room as I speak. “TV area, library, and games room are to your right. Laundry is through that door. There is an office for me to work from home over there, and that door leads to a storage area.” I walk in a straight line to the spiral staircase as she kisses up my neck.
Once we’re on the second floor, she lifts her head long enough to look around. Since this floor has all of the stunning views, I planned it out for our enjoyment. I point around the open space. “Fireplace and sitting area. Bedrooms are back there. The wraparound deck is there.” I spin her around. “And there’s the kitchen with an eating area just past it. We can eat inside or out.”
I head straight to our bedroom.
“Wait. The kitchen is huge. Is that a chef’s station in the center?”
I knew she would be awestruck. I worked with a friend of mine who happens to be a chef to design a kitchen that would make the place feel like Dana’s very own mini restaurant. But I have more pressing matters on hand at the moment.
“Not now, Dana. We have some urgent business, you and me.”
“Is that so?” She squeals when I tickle her sides and crash my lips against hers.
I push through our bedroom doors and throw her down on the bed. She bounces a couple of times before propping herself on her elbows and looking at me with a wicked grin. “I thought you said you didn’t buy any furniture.”
I stalk toward her as I unbutton my shirt. “I said I didn’t buy much. The bed was a necessity, because there is no way we’re not christening this place a few times today. I’ll show you your new kitchen while I fuck you over the countertop later.”
She turns to scamper up to the headboard, and I reach for her ankle to pull her down the bed and under me as I prowl over her.
Her hair splays across the mattress like rays of sunshine around the brightest light in my life.
I box her in with my arms and nuzzle my face into her throat, kissing along her neck until she giggles and surrenders.
Then I draw back and look deep into her eyes. “Are you happy?”
She considers me for a long time, then lifts her hand up between us to cup my face before scratching her fingers into my facial hair. The sensation makes me groan as I grind myself into her.
I won’t last long like this.
With watery eyes, she smiles at me. “I have you. Of course I’m happy. All of this is just a bonus. I love you, Michael.”
My heart soars. I am whole when she smiles at me like this.
“I love you too, Dana.”
As I close my eyes to kiss her, I mentally list all of the things I shouldn’t have done where Dana was concerned, and how thankful I am that I did them all.
* * *
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