Chapter 19 #2
"The mountains represent our home here on the surface," I continued. "The sky represents freedom—the thing we fought so hard to claim. And this stone—" I touched the turquoise gently. "It's the color of your eyes. The first thing I noticed about you."
"Ripplan." Her voice was barely a whisper.
"I know I'm not easy," I said. "I'm rough and blunt and I don't always know how to say what I'm feeling. But I love you, Tammy. You're my mate." I took a breath. "Will you bond yourself to me—marry me? Will you be my mate, officially, in front of my family and yours?"
For a moment, she just stared at me. Then tears spilled down her cheeks, and she was nodding, laughing and crying at the same time.
"Yes," she said. "Yes, of course I'll marry you. I'll be your mate. I'll be anything you want me to be."
Relief and joy crashed through me so powerfully that for a moment I couldn't breathe. I slipped the bracelet onto her wrist—it fit perfectly, like it'd been made for her, like everything about this moment had been inevitable—and then I was kissing her.
I kissed her like I was trying to pour every feeling I'd been holding back into her mouth.
Every moment of wanting her. Every night I'd spent beside her, terrified she'd realize she could do better than a rough Orc who didn't know how to do soft.
Every time I'd caught her scent and felt something primal and possessive rise up in my chest.
She kissed me back with equal intensity, her hands fisting in my shirt, pulling me closer. Her lips parted for me, and I tasted salt from her tears mixed with something uniquely her—that sweetness I'd been craving since the moment I first caught her scent in Craig's pharmacy.
When I shifted the angle of the kiss, she made a small sound against my mouth, and I felt the slight brush of my tusks against her lips.
For just a fraction of a second, I tensed—wondering if she'd pull back, if the reality of what I was would finally register as something other than acceptable.
But she didn't pull away. Instead, she leaned into me, her fingers threading through my hair, and there was nothing strange about the way my tusks bracketed her lips. Only rightness. Only home.
She tasted like tears and joy and promises, and I couldn't get enough of her.
When we finally pulled apart, she was still crying, still smiling, her breath coming in short gasps that matched my own.
"This is the most romantic thing ever," she said, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. "I can't believe you did all this."
"I watched some movies," I admitted. "Thurlee said I needed to learn how to woo a woman properly."
Tammy laughed. "What movies?"
"John Wayne films, mostly."
She burst out laughing harder. "John Wayne? Ripplan, John Wayne is not known as a romantic leading man."
"He gets the girl, doesn't he?"
"Well, yes, but—" She shook her head, still giggling.
"Who should I have watched instead?" I asked.
"Kevin Costner," she said immediately. "We've been watching Dances with Wolves together. He's romantic. Sensitive."
I did like that movie, but still I snorted. "Kevin Costner is a wimp."
"He is not!"
"He is. All that sensitive brooding." I pulled her into my lap, wrapping my arms around her waist. "I'm much more romantic than Kevin Costner."
"Oh really?" She was trying not to smile.
"Really. I made you a bracelet. I set up a picnic at a waterfall. I asked you to be my mate." I kissed her neck, feeling her shiver. "Kevin Costner never did that."
"Fair point." She turned in my arms so she was straddling my lap, her hands on my shoulders. "You are pretty romantic."
"Damn right I am."
She laughed and kissed me, and I felt the rightness of it settle into my bones.
Her lips met mine, and I noticed the way she adjusted to my tusks naturally, perfectly—her mouth curving around them like we'd been made for this.
There was no hesitation, no awkwardness.
Just the rightness of her against me, every part of her accepting every part of me.
This woman—brave and fierce and beautiful—was mine. And I was hers.
"I love you," she whispered against my mouth.
"I love you too." I stood, lifting her with me. "Now let me show you just how romantic I can be."
Her eyes darkened with heat. "Here?"
"Here." I carried her toward the trees, away from the blanket, to a spot where the grass was soft and the sound of the waterfall would cover any noise we made. "Right now."
"What about the picnic?"
"It'll keep." I laid her down gently, covering her body with mine. "This is more important."
She pulled me down for another kiss, and I felt her smile against my lips. "You're right. This is definitely more important."
Later—much later—we lay tangled together on the grass, our clothes scattered around us, the stars beginning to appear overhead.
Tammy traced the bracelet on her wrist, her expression soft and wondering. "I can't believe this is real."
"It's real." I kissed her forehead. "You're my mate."
"Your mate." She said it like she was testing the words. "I like how that sounds."
"So do I."
She shifted so she could look at me. "When do you want to have the ceremony?"
"Whenever you want. Tomorrow. Next week. Next month." I tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "As long as you're mine, I don't care when we make it official."
"I want my friends to be there," she said. "Jordan and the others. They'll want to see this."
"Then we'll wait until they can come." I pulled her closer. "I want them to see how happy you are. How well you're loved."
Her eyes filled with tears again. "I am happy. Happier than I ever thought I could be."
"Good." I kissed her softly. "That's all I want. To make you happy."
"You do." She smiled. "Even when you're being a grumpy, overprotective cowboy."
"Especially then."
She laughed, and the sound filled me with warmth. This was what I wanted. This woman, this life, this future we were building together.
"Come on," I said, sitting up and pulling her with me. "We should head back before it gets too dark."
"Do we have to?" She looked around at the waterfall, the stars, the peaceful clearing. "Can't we just stay here forever?"
"We can come back whenever you want," I promised. "This is our place now. Where I asked you to be my mate. Where you said yes."
"Our place." She smiled. "I like that."
We dressed slowly, stealing kisses between pulling on clothes and boots. I packed up the picnic while Tammy folded the blanket, and then we walked hand in hand back to where Starlight and Daffodil waited patiently.
As I lifted Tammy onto Daffodil's saddle, she caught my hand and squeezed.
"Thank you," she said softly. "For all of this. For loving me. For making me feel like I finally found where I belong."
"You do belong," I said. "Here. With me. Always."
She leaned down and kissed me, and I tasted salt from her tears and sweetness from the strawberries and something that was purely her.
"I love you," she whispered.
"I love you too." I swung up onto Starlight. "Now let's go home, mate."
She smiled—that brilliant, joyful smile that made my heart stutter—and urged Daffodil forward.
We rode back toward the ranch as the stars came out one by one, the bracelet on her wrist catching the moonlight, and I knew with absolute certainty that I was the luckiest male—Orc or human—in the entire world.