“I don’t have?—”
“The canine one. Turns a quarter centimeter. Listen, I wouldn’t have noticed. But Big Country saw it one day. Don’t worry, we both love it.”
“Montana, you’re crazy.” I shoved him away as he opened the blanket between kisses. I muttered, “I’m cold andsnaggletoothed.”
“Mm-hmm, but I love your snaggletoothed behind,bébé.” He wrapped the blanket around us, nipping the pulse at my throat.
He snatched me onto his lap, hands pressing at my face. Hot. Callused. Rough and firm. “Chère.” His voice was hoarse. “I need you.”
The gazebo became our world. Night wrapped around us, a blanket pressing out everything but our intertwined bodies. His hand traced my hips, while mine slid over the strength of his brown skin.
As I straddled him, he leaned in, low and deliberate, his breath warm against my neck, teasing before claiming. “Zuri, I love andcherish all of you …” Every nip along my throat made me shiver and melt all at once.
“Love the way you …”
His affectionate words made me moan softly as they resonated within me, finding a home in the deepest parts of my heart.
“You protect yourself. Makes me want to protect you forever,” he murmured against my lips, voice rough and sexy.
“You l-love me?” I moaned, sliding my palms against him in shock.
“I love you,bébé.” He pulled me so close that oxygen didn’t exist between us. And then an unexpected fierceness with which he nipped my lip took me by surprise.Ouch.
“Chère, if you don’t sayI love you too, I’ma …”
My chest heaving and falling against him, I quickly spoke the words. “I love you, Montana.”
The vow fell out like I’d tripped over every syllable. And for a second, I wasn’t sure my words even reached me. My heart thudded so loud it drowned everything else.
After a brief pause—when my own words seemed to jump-start my brain—I repeated my avowal, this time slower, steadier, less … awkward. “I love you so much. I never imagined I would love like this.”
The confession trembled between us, but his powerful arms held me steady. God, he’d become my anchor. His gaze softened, and the quiet fire in his dark eyes said he saw every scar, every jagged piece of me, and that he loved me. Montana Babineaux loved me.
I was in a daze, unable to fully process, but at least he heard me. Really heard me.
I swallowed, smiling through tears, while my thighs tightened around his waist, and I hoped this drove home how much I cared for this man. “I love you.”
His lips found mine again, soft and warm against the pain he’d caused. My body eased closer to his frame, rough, powerful, familiar in all the ways that made me feel safe.
My pulse fluttered as the warmth of his body seeped into mine and the blanket clung around me from behind. Every touch entwined with his declaration of forever. His hands traced the path of my spine. The quiet strength in his grip pulled me closer until I melted against him.
We moved in unison—slow, sure—wrapped in something that felt infinite. That would expand longer than every hour. I felt a thudding fear deep in my throat. Longer than forever. Our soft moans and whispered names mingled in the night air.
The river moved below, the stars sparkled above, but the way he made me feel? Loved, protected. Desired.
Eventually, we tangled beneath the blanket. Somewhere between breath and heartbeat, my legs, light as air, danced around his waist, each touch electric with pure exhilaration. I rested my head against his chest, counted his heartbeats.
“Since we out here being messy, nullifying contracts”—Montana’s baritone voice caught my attention as his fingers slid over my slick flesh—“I gotta tell you something,chère.”
“What?” I whispered against his powerful chest, my voice barely audible.
“I leave for Camelback Ranch on February 15th.” He cleared his throat. “Spring training.”
“Whatdid you just say?”
montana
. . .
