Max reached for Emberly, and she came to him eagerly, falling against him. He wrapped one hand around her, then dipped her backward and gave her another kiss, this one full of tenderness and desire and promise for the future.
As they straightened, she laughed with delight, a laugh that filled his heart with the assurance he had done the right thing in marrying this woman as hastily as he could so that she couldn’t slip from his grasp the same way Ava had. Now she was his, and no one could change that fact, not even his father.
After the wedding was done, they opened the bottle of wine in the hutch and ate the four cookies they had saved from their lunch yesterday. Braun insisted on giving a toast and rambled for a good five minutes, but it was full of his loyalty and love for Max. When he finished, he cajoled Winzig into giving a toast too, which lasted all of three seconds: “Long live the prince and his princess.”
Finally, with a loud yawn, Braun stood and stretched. “It has been an exhausting day, and Winzig and I can barely keep our eyes open.”
Winzig had just finished his glass of wine and was wide-eyed. He raised his brow at Braun.
Braun fluttered his hands. “Come on with you now. Off to bed you go.”
Winzig rose reluctantly.
It was rather early to retire, especially because the day had not been exhausting in the least, since they had sat around for most of it and not exerted themselves much.
As Braun hustled Winzig into the bedroom, he paused in the doorway. “Enjoy your night, Your Highness. I promise we shall close our ears and allow you to have all the privacy you need with your new bride.”
Beside him, Emberly stiffened, clearly catching Braun’s insinuation that they would spend the night togetherconsummating their marriage. Braun was only suggesting something that was entirely appropriate and even necessary for a royal marriage such as his.
But... as much as Max desired Emberly and would take great pleasure in kissing her all night long, he refused to subject her to a romp on the couch in a musty cabin with his people on the other side of a paper-thin wall. He cared about her too much and wanted their first time together as man and wife to be special so that he could properly convey just how much he adored her.
He could not say so to Emberly at the moment, but as soon as they were alone, he would share his thoughts on the matter and assure her that he would not pressure her now or anytime.
19
With Braun’s comments still hanging in the air, Emberly was squirming as she settled onto the couch, even though she didn’t normally embarrass easily.
Of course, Max didn’t seem bothered at all as he added wood to the fire.
He was her husband. How wild was that?
He’d been so doting and sweet all throughout the wedding ceremony, reassuring her of how much he loved her and wanting to kiss her frequently. She’d loved every moment.
While he wasn’t a McQuaid and would never be exactly like Dad in his love for Mom, Max was proving himself to be a man who wanted to love deeply and passionately and intentionally. Maybe he was that way because of his age and maturity. Maybe he was that way because of all he’d learned from previous failed relationships. Maybe he was that way because he was taking seriously the need to be love-crazy.
Whatever it was, she had no regrets about marrying him so quickly and pledging her life to him. He was the kind of man she’d never believed she’d ever find. And now he was hers.
She could admit, even after their conversations, that she was still nervous about him being royalty. If she’d been able to choose who he was, she wouldn’t have picked him being a prince. Even the CEO of the world’s richest bank was a bit much for a woman like her. But his training to be a prince and an investment banker had shaped him into the man she’d fallen inlove with, so she couldn’t separate out those things about him, not when they were important to him.
Instead, she would have to work at accepting who he was and all that entailed. Her own mom had done that when she’d married into the McQuaid ranch. She’d started a new life as a cowgirl and rancher’s wife, and she’d eventually adjusted.
Emberly wanted to adjust too. But she also didn’t want her identity to disappear. She liked her family’s heritage and history. She was proud of all that her ancestors had accomplished, and she knew she would need to find ways to stay connected to her family and her past, even though she was moving away.
Regardless of what her new life would bring, nothing else really mattered as long as she was with Max. Not only was there so much substance already to their relationship, but the chemistry between them was flaming hot and had only been growing hotter all day.
At the moment, it flickered in the air, shooting sparks over her and heating her. She wanted to be close to him and hold him and not have to ignore her attraction to him any longer. But the cabin and the situation weren’t very romantic, not with two other grown men there.
Max closed the stove, then straightened, the glow from the fire outlining his magnificent body—his long legs, lean torso, and handsome face. He held himself with such confidence and determination, as if he could battle the whole world and remain strong.
Love for him rushed through her like the gusts of wind that had blown against the mountainside all day. She held out a hand, beckoning him closer.
He didn’t move and instead watched her, as though he couldn’t get enough of her. “You are so beautiful, you make my heart ache,” he finally whispered.
“You know you don’t have to say anything,” she whispered back. “You’ve already won me over.”
“I plan to keep winning you every day.”
The phrase was similar to how her dad often described his efforts to show Mom love. The winning didn’t just happen once on the wedding day. That was only the start of the winning that was intended to be an everyday occurrence.
