Chapter 16
Jude
The moment Em kisses me, I know I’m exactly where I should be. Where I always should be.
After talking to her this morning and sensing how sad and lonely she was feeling, there was nothing that could’ve stopped me from driving to Palmer.
I apologized to my family–even though they told me to go–and hit the road, not stopping until I was pulling into Em’s driveway.
Thankfully, I remembered where the spare key to her house was, which meant I could let myself in and get to work on an impromptu Thanksgiving meal.
Since it was short notice, I had to make do with what I could bring from home and grab from the gas station.
That left us with a menu of roast turkey breasts and vegetables from my garden back on the mountain, along with some boxed stuffing.
I also brought some of Isla’s bean casserole from the ranch to reheat and I managed to scrounge enough ingredients together to make two small chocolate lava cakes for dessert.
“I can’t believe you’re here,” she murmurs against my lips. “But I’m so glad you are.”
Moving my hands between us, I cradle her jaw, gently easing her backward to look into her shimmering blue eyes. “I needed to see you. Seems I can’t stay away for long anymore.”
I dip my head and kiss her soft and slow, relishing the experience as she melts into me.
In the end, we eventually tear apart to suck in some much-needed air.
Wrapping my arms around her back, I glide them down to her hips before lifting her off the ground, swinging her into the house and kicking the door closed behind us.
Resting her back against the wood, I press my body into hers and take her mouth again, unable to stop myself from kissing her again and again, loving the way her fingers tangle in my hair and hold me in place while she moans against my tongue.
When we pull apart again, I touch my forehead to hers and just breathe her in, feeling whole again after being out of sorts since I left.
Em’s hands go still on my back. I lift my head. “What’s wrong?”
“Did you cook?” she asks, her voice full of wonder.
“Yeah. Wasn’t goin’ to turn up empty handed and I figured you wouldn’t have planned to cook a Thanksgivin’ meal just for one.”
She cocks her head. “So you made one for two?”
“I vowed to look after my wife, didn’t I?”
Her eyes shine with happiness. “That’s so sweet, Jude. Nobody’s ever…”
I bend slightly so our faces are in line. “Now they have, wifey. And fair warnin’, you might want to get used to me doin’ things for you.”
The next realization should hit like a lightning bolt. Instead it’s more like a gentle rolling wave of certainty. I’m no longer falling. I’m a goner for this woman.
When her stomach chooses that moment to growl loudly, Em’s eyes grow comically wide, making me laugh. “C’mon. Dinner’s about twenty minutes away. Gives you enough time to clean up, get comfortable, and for me to pour you a glass of wine.”
Her mouth quirks up on the side. “Are you real? Maybe I fell and hit my head or somethin’? Cause this is a really good dream if I did.”
I lean in so my lips are barely touching hers. “I’m real, wifey. It’s you and me from now on.” I kiss her hard and fast, mainly so I won’t get distracted, at least not until I’ve fed my wife.
Stepping back, I hold my hand out for hers. “Let’s get our first Thanksgivin’ together started.”
She still looks as if she can’t quite believe I’m here. “Yeah, hubby.”
What she doesn’t know but will do soon, is that I’m not sure if I can handle leaving her again. Not when it feels so good being here. But that’s future Jude’s problem.
For now, I have a wife to feed and spoil, and that’s exactly what I plan to do.
After eating our make-do but surprisingly delicious dinner, we clear up the dishes together before retiring to the couch where I pull her into my arms the minute she goes to sit down.
Lying flat on my back, I maneuver her so she’s lying on top of me.
“Hey.”
“Hey, yourself,” she replies, gazing down at me. “Are you quite comfortable there?”
A Cheshire grin takes over my face. “Sure am. How ‘bout you?”
“Better now.”
She sighs and shakes her head with a smile. “That was kind of cheesy.”
“You complainin’ about me bein’ sweet, wifey?” I ask.
Em traps her bottom lip between her teeth and it takes everything in me not to reach up and free it. “Didn’t say that…”
“Good.” I wrap my arms around her and press down so her warmth cloaks me before tangling our legs together.
Getting comfortable, she rests her cheek on my shoulder with her face close to mine. “I truly am so glad you’re here. I know I said seein’ you this weekend would make up for it but I found myself really missin’ you today. I wasn’t lookin’ forward to comin’ home to an empty house.”
I smooth my hands up and down her back. “I was worried you’d think I was oversteppin’ by breakin’ into your house.”
She snorts. “Oh, sure. Like I’d be mad that my husband gave up dinner with his family to drive non-stop to see me just so I wasn’t alone and make me a delicious meal. So, so mad…”
The butter-wouldn’t-melt smile she shoots me short circuits my brain. In a flash, I’ve flipped us over so I have her spread out beneath me.
“Maybe I should kiss all that anger of yours away? Beg for forgiveness,” I say, soft and low.
“Oh, no. Please don’t do that…” Her rasping whisper as well as the challenging look in her eyes spurs me on.
I don’t miss the way her breath catches or the warm, sultry grin that greets me when I give her more of my weight and press her deeper into the couch.
“Much better,” she half-moans, dragging her hands down to my hips before going lower to grab my ass. She smirks as a groan escapes me. “Oh yeah, definitely better.”
“Em, there’s no rush–”
She flexes her fingers into my skin. “Sorry, but yes there is. And there’s no way you could ever make me do anythin’ I didn’t want to do anyway, but I’ve been thinkin’ about this all week.
” She lifts her head, gently nipping my bottom lip.
“I want this, Jude. I want you. We don’t have to go all the way, but I need—”
I swallow her words with my mouth, dipping my tongue inside and pouring everything I feel for her into the kiss. Her answering whimpers light my whole being on fire, even more so the moment she pulls us closer together.
“Please,” she begs as I drag my lips along her jaw to bury my face in her neck.
“Anythin’, Em,” I rasp, “anythin’ you want. Can’t deny you anythin’.”
She runs one of her hands along my back, her nails raking over my shirt, sending jolts of pleasure through me. When she tangles her fingers in my hair, gently pulling the strands, it sends a bolt of pleasure straight through my core.
Her hooded eyes lock with mine when I move back to her lips. “Kiss me, hubby. Don’t ever stop.”
Knowing I will never deny this woman anything, I take her mouth again, losing control as soon as our lips touch. With just a kiss, Em is already stoking a fire deep inside of me that’s threatening to consume me and speed this whole situation up past the point of no return.
Not wanting to rush this, I try to dial down my hunger for her, switching from scorching hot to soft, slow, and gentle. Yet even with me trying to draw this out, the taste of Em on my lips and the feel of her everywhere has already changed the makeup of my being forever.
I’m a livewire that needs her touch…her kisses… I just need her with me.
Any other time in my life, this would terrify me. With Em, it invigorates me.
“Jude?” she asks as we try to catch our breath.
Bracing myself on one arm, I run my knuckles ever so slowly over the soft skin of her cheek, loving the way her eyes flutter closed as a low-frequency buzz vibrates between us.
My heart has other plans as it beats against my ribs like a battering ram, seemingly fighting its way out of my body and into hers.
With her hand resting between my pecs, a slow-growing smile curves her perfect pink lips as she hums happily, pinning me with a stare so hot I swear it could incinerate me on the spot.
Then her grin turns mischievous right before she wraps her legs around the back of my thighs, locking us together and forcing a low guttural growl to claw its way out of my throat.
Slamming our mouths together again, I let go of that last single thread of self-control I was clinging to, wanting her more than ever before. I should’ve known there was no way in hell I’d ever be able to stop once we started.
“Maybe we should…” I try, one last time, albeit half-heartedly. She nuzzles my neck, peppering my skin with small sucks between her plush lips. “Take a breather...” I rush out though there’s absolutely no intention behind the words.
In fact, I couldn’t sound less certain if I tried.
“If that’s what you want,” she whispers, moving to my ear and raking her teeth over the skin.
“I’m thinkin’ you shouldn’t ask me what I want,” I say between pants. “If I had my way, I’d take you to your bed, strip you bare, and worship you from head to toe with everythin’ I’ve got.” The fact I managed to get those sentences out is a miracle in itself.
Her shoulders shake with a half-giggle half-moan before she relaxes back against the couch cushion, pausing her onslaught and gazing up at me.
I want to have her look at me like that for the rest of our lives together.
Already missing her lips on mine, I lean down and touch my lips to hers once more. “Kissin’ you is what dreams are made of. Every time, you turn me into a caveman who needs you more than my next meal.”
“Lucky for me, you give as good as you get, hubby. And just sayin’, if you were in the mood for neckin’ for a little while longer, I’m definitely on board with that decision.”
My lips twitch. “Oh you would, would you?”
“I must insist.” She squeezes her thighs tighter around me, holding me hostage…
though I’m more than willing to be kept by her.
Forever, if I had my way. “Because if you’re tryin’ to be a gentleman and thinkin’ we shouldn’t keep makin’ out, then I’m tellin’ you you’re wrong.
I want this, Jude. I want you. And I really want to–”
She doesn’t get any more words out because moments after I growl, “fuck it,” I growl, setting about not only giving my wife what she wants but also making sure she never has a reason to doubt just how much I want her. How much I’ll always want her.
So, for the rest of the night, in her living room bathed in flickering fire light, my wife and I forget the rest of the world exists and simply enjoy each other.
Touching and tasting. Loving one another without words.
And when the time comes she whimpers my name for the first time as she drowns in pleasure and I do the same just from the sight of her, I feel like the luckiest man in the world.
Afterwards, wrapped up together in a cocoon of blankets on the couch and with Em sleeping peacefully in my arms with a peaceful smile on her face, I know there’s nowhere else I ever want to be. Especially not away from my One.
I love my family and cherish all of the holidays we’ve spent together, but this year with Em is by far the best Thanksgiving ever.
Letter from Henley to Marion.
It may have only been a month but I know now more than ever that you and I are meant to be.
No other woman has captivated me, stolen my breath, and made me feel like I’ve been bewitched like you do. You’re all I think about when we’re apart. When we’re together, I feel like I’m the luckiest, most blessed man in all of Alaska.
I’ve never thought any farther ahead than a year or two. Yet every time I’m with you, it’s like more and more of our future life reveals itself. As if it’s already been mapped out.
Especially this afternoon when I kissed you for the first time and saw stars. More than stars, it felt like I was truly alive–and it was because of you.
I’ve even talked to Ma about needing a ring and wanting to call you mine and give you my family name.
I told her about wanting to build a life with you, about taking over the ranch once my parents are ready to retire.
About you and me working together, taking care of the land and all that lives on it until we’re old and gray.
I thought Ma would warn me away from settling down with the first girl to catch my eye. Except when I told her it’s only ever been you, she got this soft look in her eye that I’ve only ever seen when she thinks Dad’s not looking.
Now, I have our family’s heirloom ring in my top drawer and that’s where it’ll stay until the day it finds its home on her finger after I ask your father for your hand.
Until then, I’ll work hard to be the man deserving of a reward like you. And I’ll do everything I can to keep making you smile in that cute, sweet, heart stopping way you do.
Forever and always yours,
Henley.