“Never lettin' you go now,” I whisper.
"Good, because you belong with me, Maggie. Always."
Framing his cheeks in my hands, I stare deep into his eyes. "Love you too, Red," I say, lifting my legs to wrap around his hips, pulling him deeper inside of me.
My back arches, my breasts pressed tight to his chest, our movements turning erratic, and with just two more thrusts and his tongue in my mouth, my second orgasm washes over me.
He fills me to the hilt, and I cry out, the pleasure rushing through me from head to toe, taking over every limb, every nerve.
The moment he stills and groans as deep and as rough as I’ve ever heard, I sigh, committing the sound to memory. He continues stroking me as he rides the wave of his release, taking me along with him before his lips meld with mine as we drift back to reality.
Red rolls over onto his back and pulls me with him, draping my limp sated body over his. Our foreheads touch, his hooded eyes meeting my soft ones while his fingers draw lazy circles on my hip.
"Whatever magic that mountain has weaved, she can keep on weavin' it.” His expression turns intense. “I'm yours, Maggie, and you're mine. Ain't no life worth livin’ without you by my side," he drawls, and I swear my heart sighs with happiness.
After lying together enjoying the afterglow and each other, Red goes to the bathroom and returns with a washcloth, seeing to me with heartwarming care before walking his gloriously naked body across the cabin to blow out all of the candles and put another log on the fire.
Returning to our bed, he pulls me back into his side, our legs tangled, settling in for the night.
"We’re goin’ to live a long happy life together, Mags. You and me."
"And Wy."
"And Wy," he repeats.
"And the ranch family," I add.
"Don't forget the duck."
I snort. "Don't think the duck will let any of us forget about him.”
"You're right there," he replies with a chuckle.
"Love you," he says, staring deep into my eyes before giving me one last goodnight kiss.
"Love you too, Ernest." I dissolve into a fit of giggles at his responding growl.
Then, with the wind howling outside and the rain and snow pelting down against the windows, we quietly drift off to sleep, safe in each other’s arms. And you better believe, I do it with a smile on my face.
25
RED
I wake up with a huge smile on my face knowing that today is the start of the rest of my life, and it has everything to do with the woman sleeping soundly by my side.
She’s still my best friend and the woman who has been everything I needed in the past eight years. It’s just that now, we’re all of that and so much more. And despite all my protests in the past about not wanting the mountain spirit’s reward, I’m figuratively kicking myself for being so shut off from finding love again. I’d forgotten just how damn good it feels.
Then again, I didn’t exactly find it. In the end, it crashed into me like the storm that continues to wreak havoc outside right now.
Carefully slipping out of bed so I don’t wake her, I quickly take care of my morning business and move to the kitchen to start some cowboy brew.
While that’s boiling, I peek out of the kitchen window to see snow everywhere and more falling from the sky. Usually, being stranded would annoy me, but this time and with nowhere else to be until Friday evening, I smile.
With the coffee done and the food prepped to make us breakfast when my sleeping beauty wakes up, I stop resisting the pull of my One and slide back under the covers, needing to be near her.
Lying on my side, I watch her sleep–knowing she’d call me a creeper for doing it–but I can’t help it. I’m a sap and don’t want to be away from her. Something that might pose a problem when we get back home given that she lives in town twenty minutes away. Then again, it's not unheard of for me to hang out at the diner two or three nights a week. If I have to stake my claim and sit at the counter every night to see her, I will.
There's nothing I won't do for her. Whenever I've needed anything, she's always been there. We couldn't see it because we were too close, but I've always known she deserved love and happiness. She's always looked for her happily ever after and–as she puts it–always got it wrong. Not now.
