Chapter 37 #2
He lifted one of her legs over his shoulder, changing the angle to drive even deeper. The new position let him hit spots that made her vision blur with pleasure. She could feel him everywhere, filling her completely, claiming her body with each powerful thrust.
“Touch yourself,” he commanded, his voice strained. “I want to feel you come around my cock.”
She slid her hand between them, fingers finding her clit. The dual sensation—his thick length stretching her open, her fingers circling her sensitive bud—had her racing toward the edge again.
“That’s it,” he encouraged, his pace growing erratic as his own release approached. “Come for me, Trouble. One more time.”
Her third orgasm hit like lightning, her body clenching around him as pleasure crashed through her in waves. She cried out his name, her back arching off the bed as every muscle in her body tensed.
With a guttural groan, he slammed into her one final time, his cock pulsing as he came deep inside her. She could feel the hot spurts of his release, and the sensation triggered another small aftershock of pleasure that had her moaning.
He collapsed beside her, careful not to crush her with his weight, and pulled her against his chest. They lay there for several minutes, their breathing gradually slowing, bodies cooling.
“Holy shit,” she finally murmured, nestling closer to him. “That was worth the wait.”
He chuckled, the sound reverberating through his chest against her ear. “Definitely.” His fingers traced lazy patterns on her back. “You okay? I didn’t hurt you?”
She rolled her eyes, though she secretly loved his concern. “I’m better than okay. I’m fantastic.” She propped herself up on one elbow to look at him. “Though I might need another round soon. Just to make sure everything’s working properly.”
His eyes darkened with renewed desire, and she felt his cock twitch against her thigh. “Is that so?”
“Mmm-hmm.” She leaned down to kiss him, tasting herself on his lips. “But first, I have something to tell you.”
He tensed slightly beneath her, wariness creeping into his expression. “What is it?”
She took a deep breath. This was it—the moment she’d been building toward since her conversation with her parents. “I’ve been thinking about what you said at Takahe Station. About wanting more than just this.” She gestured between their naked bodies.
“Rue—”
“Let me finish.” She placed a finger over his lips. “I was scared before. Scared that loving you meant giving up who I am. But I was wrong.” She smiled, feeling lighter than she had in weeks. “So I’m proposing to you. Let’s make this fake engagement real.”
His eyes widened, and for a moment, he seemed completely speechless. Then a slow smile spread across his face, lighting up his features in a way that made her heart skip.
“Are you sure?” he asked, his voice rough with emotion. “Because I don’t want you to feel trapped or?—”
“I’ve never been more sure of anything.” She leaned down, pressing her forehead against his. “I love you, Elliot Wilde.”
His arms tightened around her, and he rolled them so she was beneath him again, his eyes burning with an intensity that took her breath away. “I never thought I’d hear that from you.”
“I know. I’m sorry for that. I should’ve been saying it all along.” She reached up to cradle his face, stoking his stubbled cheek. “I want to build a life with you—a wild, adventurous, completely unpredictable life.”
His smile was slow. “How about a somewhat predictable life?”
“Is that a yes?” she asked, suddenly feeling vulnerable in a way that had nothing to do with her physical nakedness.
“Yes,” he said, capturing her lips in a kiss that conveyed everything words couldn’t. “God, yes. Rue Bristow, I would marry you in a Waffle House at three in the morning if you’d let me.”
When he pulled back, his smile was blinding and a little bit mischievous. She loved this playful side of him.
“I was thinking more like a mountain summit at dawn,” she replied, laughing. “But I’ll take the Waffle House if there’s whipped cream involved.”
His hands slid down her sides, tracing the curve of her waist. “I am not against whipped cream.”
She caught his wrist, suddenly serious. “I need you to know something else. I’m not giving up my expeditions. I still want to climb mountains and explore caves and do all the things that make my heart race.”
“I know.” He kissed her forehead. “I wouldn’t ask you to.”
“But,” she continued, “I want you with me. By my side. Not just waiting at home for me to come back.”
His eyes brightened with understanding. “Partners in adventure?”
“Exactly.” Relief flooded through her. He got it—really got it. “We’re better together. Your planning, my spontaneity. Your caution, my recklessness.”
“Your death wish, my survival instincts,” he added dryly.
She smacked his chest. “I do not have a death wish.”
“Says the woman who jumped in front of a bullet.”
“To save your life!”
“And nearly gave me a heart attack in the process.” He rolled onto his back, pulling her on top of him. His hands settled on her hips, thumbs stroking the sensitive skin there. “But that’s why we work. I keep you alive, you keep me living.”
She nuzzled against him. That thought sent a warm flutter through her chest, settling somewhere between her ribs and her heart.
She traced lazy circles on his chest with her fingertip, marveling at how right this felt—not just the sex, though that had been incredible, but this easy intimacy afterward.
The way he held her like she was precious but not fragile.
The way he looked at her like she hung the moon but still challenged her when she was being ridiculous.
“So,” she said, propping her chin on his sternum to look at him. “When do you want to do this? Get married for real, I mean.”
His hand stilled in her hair. “You’re serious about this. You really want to marry me.”
The wonder in his voice made her chest tighten. Had she really been so guarded, so resistant, that he still couldn’t quite believe she meant it?
“Elliot Wilde,” she said firmly, “I have never been more serious about anything in my life. I want to marry you. I want to wake up next to you every morning and fall asleep in your arms every night. I want to fight with you about your obsessive need to fold everything and laugh when you inevitably win me over with your logic. I want to plan adventures together and drive you crazy with my impulsiveness and let you take care of me when I inevitably get hurt doing something stupid.”
She paused, suddenly feeling shy. “I want to have babies with you. Little Wildes who inherit your strategic mind and hopefully my sense of adventure.”
His eyes went wide, and she felt his sharp intake of breath beneath her. “Babies?”
“Eventually,” she said, suddenly nervous about his reaction. “I mean, if you want them. I know we haven’t really talked about?—”
He silenced her with a kiss that was soft and reverent, so different from the hungry passion they’d shared moments before. When he pulled back, his eyes were suspiciously bright.
“I want everything with you,” he said quietly. “Adventure, marriage, babies, growing old together—all of it.”
Relief flooded through her, warm and sweet. “Good. Because I’m pretty sure I’d be a disaster trying to raise little humans without your organizational skills.”
He laughed, the sound rumbling through his chest. “Are you kidding? You’d teach them to rappel before they could walk. They’d be the most fearless kids on the planet.”
“And you’d make sure they wore helmets and had backup safety equipment,” she countered. “They’d be fearless but not stupid.”
“The perfect combination.” His hands slid up her back, fingers tracing the ridge of her spine. “Though I reserve the right to have a complete nervous breakdown the first time one of them wants to climb Everest.”
She grinned. “Deal.”