Chapter 33
thirty-three
. . .
rupert
Imake love to Peony long into the night. With every fiber of my being, I show her how much she means to me, how my world turns because she’s in it. When she cries out my name, clinging to me as if she’s about to be whisked away into a storm, I hold on to her tightly—and I never plan to let her go.
Strange questions cross my mind as I lie beside her sleeping form, my arm curled under her neck as she uses it like a pillow.
Would she marry me if I asked her? She wants a family someday.
Sure, she said she would set that aside for me, but what do I want?
Is it even possible that I could succeed at putting a baby inside her?
That’s getting ahead of myself, but still, I consider it as I lie awake, playing with Peony’s hair. It feels like everything is suddenly possible. Our future is uncertain, but now I am surer than ever that I was meant to spend this life by her side.
I’ll do whatever it takes to keep her.
We agree in the morning to take a few weeks away from the manor and retire to my cabin, hoping we can get some peace from the vultures and, perhaps, they’ll get bored and move on.
Kellen asks if he ought to come with us, as used to taking care of me as he is—but I wave him off, suggesting he have Ignacio come stay with him while he watches over the manor in our absence.
He’ll bring us supplies every week or so.
He’s surprisingly sorry to see us go, but then Peony whispers something in his ear that must be dirty, because he turns bright red and waves us both away, scurrying back into the house.
It’s a few hours’ drive, and Peony falls asleep in the passenger seat on the way. The boot of the car is loaded with our belongings and enough provisions that we should have no trouble getting by for a month, perhaps more.
She awakens when the road gets rougher, and peers out the window into the forest. She gasps, sitting forward in the seat with wide eyes, as if she’s had a frightening dream.
“Are you all right?” I ask her as the 4x4 climbs the steep mountain road.
“Just thought… I was in Andy’s truck again.” She shivers all over. “I had to remind myself where I was.”
My poor Peony, who went through such a traumatic event. She may heal, but she will never truly forget it happened.
As we get closer to the cabin, the woods give way, revealing a crystal-clear mountain lake. Peony lets out a gasp as we drive around the edge.
“We get to stay here?” she asks, even though it will be frigid cold and we won’t be going out much. I pull up to a stop in front of the big house with its log cabin walls, huge windows overlooking the lake.
“We get to stay here,” I say. “For as long as you like.”
She oohs and ahhs as I show her around the property, hiking through the thick snow. It will only get thicker up here, but that means we can curl up in front of the fire together every night.
As the sun starts to set, we take our things inside.
I show her to the largest bedroom, which has its own fireplace and sitting area, with a big fur rug across the floor.
We unpack our things into our side-by-side dressers, and I marvel at how wonderfully normal it feels, as if we’ve just gone on vacation.
I can’t help pulling Peony down to the bed, tearing off her clothes in my eagerness to lick her silly. She giggles as I taste all of her body, then slip my tongue inside her to get her ready for me.
As always, my delicate woman takes time and love to bring to her finish, but she is eager and lusty tonight and asks me to fuck her harder, until the bed is shaking and I’m roaring my pleasure to the world. When she clamps down around me, milking my cock, I unleash it all inside her.
I know what I need to do.
While we lie together on the bed, both of us panting and tangled up with one another, I can’t help myself. I have to ask her now.
“Little flower?”
Peony glances up at me with half-lidded eyes, her expression like a cat that’s had plenty of warm milk. “Yes?”
“Would you…” I stop myself, unsure if I’m doing the right thing by asking her now, without a ring of any sort. “Would you ever consider marriage?”
She blinks away the fogginess in her eyes. “Wait, what? Rupert, are you asking me to marry you, or are you asking me if I’m open to marrying you sometime in the future?”
I know what I want now.
“I’m asking you to marry me.”
Without any preamble, Peony throws her arms around me, squashing her face in my mane. I roll over so I’m on my back and she’s astride me, my cum leaking out of her and onto my belly.
“Of course, Rupert!” she cries out, muffled by my fur. “Of course I’ll marry you.” She pulls away, sniffling, and rubs her eyes. “I want nothing more.”
I pull her in for a kiss, relishing this simple act of showing my affection to her.
“Good. Because I want to share everything in life with you. And I want to know that you’ll always be mine.”
“Always,” Peony says, nuzzling my nose with hers. “Just like you’ll always be mine.”
I chuckle. “Oh, everyone knows that already.”
But it does mean one thing. Having a wedding means bringing together the people we care about.
“I’m going to call my mum tomorrow,” I tell her as we climb into bed together, and I reach over to turn off the light. “Invite her to come and meet you. And, well, for the wedding, of course.”
Peony wriggles with delight. “I get to meet your mom? Oh, I’m so glad you’ll talk to her again. She must be worried sick.”
“As your father must be worried about you.”
Peony falls silent at that. She turns her head so she doesn’t have to look at me and curls her hands close.
“What if he hates me, Rupert?” she asks miserably. “I couldn’t bear to hear him say no.”
“I suppose that is always the risk we take with those we love. But I think you might be surprised.”
“All right.” Her voice is quiet and meek. “I’ll call him and see what he says.”
“That’s all I ask.” I pet her hair, sniffing it and reveling in her scent before I fall asleep.
peony
I put off calling Dad for a little while.
Rupert and I get settled in at the cabin, making grand meals together in the huge, open floor plan kitchen and having mind-blowing sex on the couch in front of the massive windows that look out onto the falling snow.
Then we go on adventures in our heavy coats, investigating the forest and testing the thickness of the ice on the lake.
There’s a massive stack of firewood by the shed, but we have to dig our way to it through the snow.
Our days are simple, and we spend a lot of time playing checkers and watching Rupert’s favorite shows on the “telly.” It’s a good, easy life, but I know that soon, I’ll want more again.
I can’t be holed up forever, as much as I enjoy the time alone with Rupert.
We’ll eventually have to return to civilization.
One day, a few weeks after arriving, an unseasonable warm spell melts some of the snow. The sun shines down, bright and warm despite the crisp air, and that’s the day I finally work up the nerve to call Dad and tell him the big news.
Rupert’s mom took everything incredibly well. She was just grateful to know her son was all right after so many years of silence. She knew when she saw him on the television, she said. “That’s my son.”
She’s eager to come to the States and meet me. I hope I can say the same about my dad.
The phone rings and rings. Rupert stands nearby making dough, keeping one eye on me as I wait for Dad to answer. Just as I think the call’s about to go to voicemail, and I take the phone away from my ear to hang up, I hear my father’s voice.
“Hello?”
I bring the phone back to my mouth. “Dad?”
“Oh, Peony!” He gasps like he’s overwhelmed with emotion. “I’m so happy to hear from you!”
“You… you are?”
“Of course I am! Where are you?! I saw all over the news—”
“I’m okay, Dad. I’m up in the mountains right now.” Just hearing his voice again brings tears to my eyes. It’s been so long, I didn’t realize how much I missed it.
“The mountains?” Dad asks quizzically. “Are you with the… the monster?”
“His name is Rupert. And yes.”
I can hear his disapproval as he says, “He took you off to some remote place alone?”
I know what he’s thinking, how Andy did the same thing.
“We had to get away from the press,” I explain gently. “We’re just lying low for a while.” Now I know I need to rip off the bandage. “And he… he just asked me to marry him, Dad.”
The line goes completely silent.
“Dad?” I say after a few seconds.
“I’m here,” he says quietly. “I’m just processing. I haven’t heard from you for years, and then I saw that video, Peony!” His voice cracks, revealing his fear. “I’ve been so worried about you, and now I find out you’re marrying this, erm, ‘Rupert’?”
I can hear him shaking his head, disbelieving.
“I’m sorry for waiting so long to call you.” I clutch the phone tight in my hand as I sink onto the couch. “I just… after what happened with Andy, I didn’t think you would want to hear from me.”
“Of course I want to hear from my daughter!” Dad sighs heavily. “I thought the same thing about you. After I called your boyfriend a ‘dirty, puckered asshole,’ I assumed you’d never want to speak to me again.”
This breaks my heart. I wish I could just hug him through the phone.
“You could always come by if you want to meet him,” I venture. “The road is plowed. It’s beautiful out here.”
There’s a thoughtful pause on the other end, and then my dad says, “All right. I’d like that.”
I could just jump for joy. We plan a time, and Rupert helps me give him directions in case his GPS stops working on the way up.
When we say goodbye, Dad tells me firmly, “I love you, Peony. I never stopped loving you. And I can’t wait to see you again.”
By the time we hang up, I’m radiating relief, and I jump into Rupert’s waiting arms.
rupert