Chapter Twenty-Seven
“What kind of surprise? Did you buy bubble bath?” I asked, almost giddy at the idea.
“Maybe,” he said, laughing when I squealed with pleasure.
It really was the simple things for me, like sharing the tub on the nights he wasn’t on call, and then falling into bed and drifting off together.
“But I was referring to this.” He flipped on the light in the bedroom that he’d made his office.
There was a second desk in front of the window, along with a comfortable desk chair.
“You got a new desk for your office? It’s beautiful,” I said, walking in and running a hand over the cherry wood. That’s when I noticed the bin. “Wait, these are my art supplies.”
“They are. I cleaned out your desk at the cottage and brought it all over here. That’s your desk.
You should have a comfortable place to work when you’re here.
Since I’m rarely here during the day, I gave you the window to enjoy.
I thought it might spark some creative ideas to look at nature while you’re writing. ”
My mind’s eye shot to the sketches I’d done of him that I’d tossed in a drawer at the cottage, and my heart stuttered in my chest. Did he see them? Then I remembered I’d moved them to a portfolio folder when I needed space for all my other paperwork.
“I love it, Major,” I said, even if I was confused. “But it wasn’t a problem to work at the cottage.”
“It was for me because when you’re over there, you’re not here.”
“I know you were a colonel, but that was a very Captain Obvious thing to say.” My laughter was overtaken by his as he grabbed me and planted a kiss on my cheek before his lips wandered to my neck and then my ear.
He grasped the lobe in his teeth and sucked it between his lips to tease with his tongue.
When he released it, he blew a warm breath across it.
Goosebumps covered my skin, and heat swirled in parts of me that were always ready for a roll in the hay with this hot doc.
“Let’s finish our tour.”
“Tour?” I asked as he pulled me back into the hallway and stood facing the living room, motioning at the two bare walls.
“My house is boring.”
Try as I might, I couldn’t bite back the snort. “You mean the institutional white walls weren’t on purpose?”
“Smart aleck,” he said before brushing a quick kiss across my lips.
“Cold and sterile has been my life for so long that the last few places I rented came furnished and were just as cold and sterile, but even they had some paintings on the walls. I humbly ask for your help in finding a theme for the house that will make it feel less like a hospital corridor and more like a home. Maybe after Christmas, we can visit the Evergreen Acres store and see what they have for artwork or find a local artist who sells prints.”
Hugging his arm, I leaned my head on his shoulder. “I love that idea. There are so many artists in the area, and I know we can find things to make it feel like home.” If he was decorating, he was staying, and I was all for it.
He turned me and we walked back into his room.
“My other hope is that you’d have a few things in your storage unit that you’d like to hang up.
Things that would make you feel at home.
Maybe pictures of you, your dad, and Yaya Riba?
I haven’t even seen a picture of her, but I want to.
After all, she raised the woman I love.”
“I have so many pictures,” I said, the words laced with excitement. “I’ll be happy to show them to you, but why would you want pictures of my family in your home? I don’t live here.”
“What if I want you to?” he asked. “What if I want it to be your home too?”
“You—you want me to live like here here? Like, not in the cottage but here?” There was no way to hide the tremor in my words when I was so shaken. “Did you talk to Ivy?”
“Ivy? No, why?” I waved my hand as though it didn’t matter, but he took it and pulled me toward the closet. Smack in the middle was my suitcase. “Tell me you have more than that suitcase somewhere?”
“In the storage unit, yes.”
“Good, then this weekend we’ll collect your things and bring them over. There’s plenty of space in the basement to store what you don’t need in the house. No sense paying for a storage unit every month when there’s plenty of space here.”
“You brought my suitcase over?” I registered the ridiculousness of the question, but he just laughed as he pulled me into a hug.
“I did, because I want you to hang your clothes in my closet. If you don’t have a dresser, we’ll pick one up for you this weekend. You can share my bathroom or take the one down the hall for yourself. Whatever you want, but I want you here with me every day.”
“I love you so much,” I whispered, turning and wrapping my arms around his shoulders.
Rather than speak, he captured my lips for a kiss that heated quickly and had us stripping our clothes off in a flurry of arms and legs, until we fell across the bed.
Always an unhurried lovemaker, he wanted to take his time and kiss every square inch of me, but not tonight.
Tonight, he vibrated with a pent-up emotion that was difficult to describe.
I suspected it was the reminder he got in surgery that tomorrow isn’t promised.
He spooned me into him and slid inside, stilling.
He held me to him, one hand on my belly and the other across my breasts as he kissed and nuzzled my neck from behind.
Soon, my skin was covered in goosebumps, and my groin ached from the pure pleasure of being locked together so tightly with him.
I wanted to move, to offer him pleasure, until I realized I already was.
He was taking what he needed and offering me something even better in return.
Trust. Honesty. Vulnerability. Slowly, his hand slid down my belly to where we were joined, and with the precision of a surgeon, our slow and deliberate lovemaking reached a crescendo that probably woke the neighbors, but I wasn’t even ashamed.
Laughing, he rolled atop me, kissing me as though I was the most beautiful woman on earth. “So, that long, loud yes I just heard was about moving in, right?”
I swatted at his arm playfully, laughing at his silly grin. “As though I can say no to you about anything, Major. Though I will say, you didn’t mention where I’d be sleeping. Are you picking up a bed for the guest room?”
“Woman, don’t mess with me postcoital. I’d hate to have to fire that bad boy up again and remind you that you’ll only be sleeping in one bed from now on.”
“Am I supposed to be upset about you threatening to fire up that bad boy again because, spoiler alert, I’m not.”
His nip to my lower lip was playful before he kissed the sting away. “Why would I talk to Ivy? That’s a question I can’t stop thinking about.”
The sigh that escaped likely told him that I didn’t want to talk about it, but he was laser-focused on my lips, waiting for an answer.
“Hazel called to say that she would likely have an apartment open on the first of February. I told Ivy, and she said that I shouldn’t commit to renting it until I talked to you.
In fairness, I was going to. She was worried you might be hurt if I moved out of the cottage when you were kind enough to offer it to me free of charge for as long as I needed it. ”
“It’s like she’s clairvoyant,” he said dryly. “I just made a mental note to make a large contribution to New Beginnings so that they won’t rent you an apartment.”
“Hazel called me about it today, so I wasn’t keeping it from you, but I didn’t want to assume that you wanted me here long term.”
“So long term,” he promised, kissing me softly this time, his tenderness kicking back in now that he was confident I wasn’t going anywhere. “You’ve changed my life, Jaelyn Riba, and now I can’t live without you in my house or my bed. Say you’ll stay and make a home with me.”
“I’ll stay,” I promised, running my hands through his hair. “The haters be damned.”
“They’re just jealous,” he whispered, bracing his only knee between mine as he made love to my breasts.
“Good thing you came along and locked me down,” I teased, arching my back when his teeth teased my nipple.
He tangled his fingers with mine and raised my hands above my head while he pressed a kiss to my chest. “It only gets better from here.”
Then he took my lips and showed me exactly how good it could be.
Tomorrow night was Christmas Eve, which meant Major was off for the night and all day on Christmas.
I was looking forward to introducing him to the traditions of Bells Pass, including the event in the park tomorrow night and the community center dinner on Christmas Day.
Yesterday, we wrapped up the final Saturday family day at the farm.
Although it was still open for people to pick up trees until noon tomorrow, the school-to-work kids were on hiatus until the school year starts again in January.
I finally had a few days off, which gave me time to finish Major’s present.
The trick was doing it when he wasn’t around, so I had taken everything to Ivy’s house. I was headed there now to finish it.
Walking down the hallway, I straightened a picture that we’d hung a few days ago.
It was of me and Yaya Riba when I was about twelve.
I don’t know what we were baking, but there was flour everywhere, including on us, but the smiles we aimed at the camera said we’d never been happier.
That was just one of the pictures Major had found when we emptied the storage unit.
That had been a day-long ordeal, and I was glad it was over; however, it was nice to have all my personal items here now, instead of just a few outfits.
I even had a dress picked out to wear for Christmas Day, and when Major saw it hanging in the closet, well, let’s just say he gave me a sneak peek of what we’d be doing after the community Christmas dinner.