Chapter 10
Kim
On the drive back, Neil gripped my thigh with possessive intent.
"I missed you," I said, and I had even though we had only been apart a day.
His fingers tightened on my leg. "But I'm going to make sure you never forget why you came back."
The promise in those words made me ache with anticipation.
When we reached the cabin, I started to open my door, but he was already around the truck, lifting me into his arms.
"Neil, I can walk."
"I know you can, but you don’t have to." He kicked the door open and carried me inside.
This was what I'd been missing in Boston. Not just his presence, but this feeling of being wanted so completely that practical considerations didn't matter.
He set me on my feet in the bedroom, and for a moment we just looked at each other.
"I thought you were gone," he said. "Thought I'd never get to touch you again."
"I'm here." I reached for him, needing to close the distance. "I'm yours. I'm not going anywhere."
That broke whatever restraint he'd been holding. He kissed me with an intensity that made my knees weak, backing me against the bedroom door. His hands were everywhere, relearning the shape of me, claiming what he'd thought he'd lost.
"Need you," he growled against my mouth. "Need to be inside you. Need to know you're real."
"Then take me. I'm real. I'm here."
He hiked up my skirt with impatient hands, his fingers finding me already wet for him. The evidence of my desire made him groan.
"So ready for me. My good girl, already soaked and I've barely touched you."
"I've been thinking about this since I left. About you. About how stupid I was to walk away."
"You're never walking away again." He freed himself from his jeans, the thick length of him making my mouth water. "You're staying right here where you belong."
He lifted me easily, positioning me against the door, and then he was pushing inside with one smooth thrust that made us both gasp. My body needed a moment to adjust to his size.
"Fuck, you're tight." His voice was strained, muscles rigid as he held still. "You were made to take my cock."
"I was," I breathed, wrapping my legs around his waist. "Made for you. Only you."
He moved, each thrust deliberate and claiming. The angle pressed him deep, hitting places that made me see stars.
"Mine," he growled with each movement. "Say it."
"Yours. Always yours."
"Never leaving me again."
"Never. I promise."
The emotion of it hit me suddenly. The fear I'd carried, the mistake I'd almost made permanent, the gift of his forgiveness. Tears started flowing even as pleasure built.
"I'm sorry," I sobbed against his neck. "I'm so sorry I left."
"I know, baby. I know." He kissed away my tears, his rhythm never faltering. "But you came back. That's what matters. You chose me. Chose us."
"I'll always choose you."
"Good. Because I'm keeping you. Forever. No take backs." He shifted the angle, grinding against me in a way that made coherent thought impossible. "You're going to be my wife. Mother of my children. The woman I wake up to every morning for the rest of my life."
The possessive declarations pushed me over the edge. I came hard, crying out his name, my body clenching around him in waves of pleasure so intense I couldn't breathe.
"That's it," he encouraged, his own control fraying. "Come on my cock. Show me you're mine."
His rhythm turned erratic, and then he was groaning my name, burying himself deep as he filled me. The intimacy of it, the lack of barriers between us, the knowledge that he was marking me as his, made fresh tears flow.
We stayed like that for long moments, both breathing hard, hearts racing against each other.
"I love you," he said against my hair. "Should have told you before you left. Should have fought harder."
"I love you too. That's why I came back."
He carried me to the bed, still joined, and laid us down without separating. "Not done with you yet. I need you again. And again. Need to make sure you understand what you mean to me."
"Show me."
THE SECOND TIME WAS slower. He took his time undressing me, revealing skin inch by inch like unwrapping something precious. His mouth followed the path of his hands, tasting, worshipping.
"You're all mine," he murmured, spanning my waist with his large hands.
"All yours."
He kissed down my body, paying attention to places that made me gasp. By the time his mouth reached between my thighs, I was already shaking with need.
"Going to taste you," he said. "Going to make you come on my tongue, then on my fingers, then on my cock. Going to spend all night reminding you why you belong here."
He was thorough, bringing me to climax twice before finally positioning himself over me. When he entered this time, it was slow and deep, maintaining eye contact the entire time.
"I want to fill you up," he said, his voice rough with desire. "I want to see you round with my baby. I want everyone who looks at you to know you're taken. That you're mine."
"Yes." The thought sent pleasure spiraling through me. "I want that too. I want everyone to know I belong to you."
"How many?" He thrust deeper, punctuating the question.
"As many as you want to give me."
"Five." Another thrust. "Six." Deeper still. "I want this house full of children. I want you barefoot and pregnant and so thoroughly claimed that you never doubt where you belong."
The possessive fantasy should have felt overwhelming. Instead it felt right, like this was what I'd been searching for all along without knowing it.
"I want everything with you, "I gasped as he hit that perfect spot inside me.
"You'll have it. You'll have me. Forever."
We came together this time, both of us crying out, clinging to each other as pleasure crashed through us. He collapsed beside me, pulling me against his chest, and I could feel his heart hammering.
"Marry me, Kim. Let me love you properly. Let me give you everything."
"Yes." No hesitation. No doubt. "Yes, I'll marry you."
The smile that broke across his face was devastating. "When?"
"Whenever you want."
"Tomorrow."
I laughed. "We can't get married tomorrow."
"Why not? We can drive to town, get the license, find someone to marry us. I don't want to wait. Don't want to give you time to change your mind."
"I'm not changing my mind." I kissed him. "But maybe give me a week? I'd like your family there. And I should probably have a dress."
"Fine. One week. But you're wearing my ring starting tomorrow." He rolled us so I was on top, still joined. "And you're sleeping in my bed every night between now and then."
"Where else would I sleep?"
"Nowhere. You're never leaving this bed. This room. My sight." He gripped my hips, starting to move again. "In fact, I think I need to make sure you understand that right now."
WE MADE LOVE TWICE more before hunger drove us from the bed. Neil pulled on jeans but left me in nothing but his flannel shirt.
"I like seeing you in my clothes," he said, watching me from the stove where he was making scrambled eggs at two in the morning. "Marking you as mine even when I'm not touching you."
"Possessive."
"You have no idea." He set a plate in front of me at the kitchen table. "But you're going to learn."
I took a bite, suddenly ravenous. But before I could finish, Neil was pulling me up, turning me to face the table.
"What are you doing?"
"Can't stop thinking about bending you over this table." His hands were already pushing up the shirt, exposing me. "About claiming you on furniture I built with my own hands."
"The food will get cold."
"Don't care. Need you again."
He entered me from behind, one hand gripping my hip while the other pressed between my shoulder blades, keeping me bent over the table. The position let him go impossibly deep, and I had to grip the edge to steady myself.
"We’re going to christen every surface in this cabin," he promised, his rhythm hard and claiming. "Kitchen table, workshop bench, living room couch. Everywhere. So you can never forget who you belong to."
"Neil." His name came out as a moan. "I already know. I'm yours."
"I’m going to make sure anyway." He reached around to touch me, fingers working in rhythm with his thrusts. "I’m going to keep you pregnant. Keep you full of my cum. Keep you so satisfied you never think about leaving again."
"Not leaving. Never leaving."
The combination of his words and his touch pushed me over, and I came with a cry that echoed through the kitchen. He followed moments later, burying himself deep with a groan of satisfaction.
Afterward, we actually ate the eggs, though they were lukewarm by then. I sat in his lap, his arms around my waist, feeling thoroughly claimed and deliciously sore.
"I should call the Vermont Historical Society tomorrow," I said. "And figure out the logistics of it all."
He kissed my neck. "What else do you need to figure out?"
"Student loans. Insurance. My things should arrive from Boston in a few days." I paused. "And I guess we should talk about the wedding. Do you really want to do it in a week?"
"Yes. Don't want to wait. I don't want to give the universe any chance to take you away from me again."
"The universe isn't taking me anywhere. I'm exactly where I want to be."
"Then marry me soon. Let me make it legal. Let me put my ring on your finger and my baby in your belly."
"What if I'm already pregnant?" I asked. "We haven't exactly been careful."
His eyes lit up. "Are you?"
"I don't know. It's too soon to tell. But it's possible."
"Good." He pulled me closer. "I want you pregnant. I want everyone to see you carrying my child. Want to watch your belly grow with my baby inside you."
"You really want kids that badly?"
"I want kids with you that badly. I want to give them everything I never had. A home. A family. Two parents who love each other and love them." His voice got rough with emotion. "I want to build something that lasts. Something real."
I turned to face him, straddling his lap. "We will. We'll build it together. Kids, family, a life on this mountain. All of it."
He kissed me, and it turned heated quickly. Before I knew it, he was carrying me back to the bedroom for round five.
Or was it six? I'd lost count.