Soon, it will be him and his long cock sliding into me. Panting, I beg, “Please,” hoping this speeds him up. There are some nights he’ll hold me on the edge for hours.
“I want to hear you say it again,” Charlie braces himself on one arm above me. The other holds his cock away. Then he stills before notching the head against me. “No, Ineedto hear you say it.”
Wrapping my thighs around his hips, I reach one hand up and grip his wrist that’s planted near my head. My other hand, I use to cup his jaw. “I love you, Charlie.”
His lips tremble before he pushes himself forward. Once he’s bottomed out, he leans down and holds himself firmly lodged inside of me. He takes my lips in a searing kiss. The second our lips break apart, he murmurs, “I love you, Rhoswen.”
His shaft moves in and out as his hips roll slowly. Each time he repeats the motion, I arch into him—intuitively doing what women have done for all of history.
Beg their men for more.
For all of them.
I need the beads of his sweat on my skin.
I score his back with my nails.
And over and over, I keep reminding Charlie of my love. My devotion. Until he reaches down and tweaks my distended nub flinging me off the cliff before taking the leap right after me.
Curled up next to him after he undresses us both, cleans me up, then wipes himself down, I murmur as I drift into sleep in his strong arms, “We may face a few uneasy days, but we’ll face them together.”
He buries his face in my neck. “That we will.”
With that assurance, I fall into dreamland knowing my love’s safe and sound.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
PRESENT
I’ve been labeled a soldier,but even soldiers are soft beneath their armor. Mara was one of my soft points. My eyes cast in the direction of the couch, where Rhoswen is comforting members of my family after she let me go a few moments ago.
She’s another. I’m not certain if she realizes just how deeply she’s buried inside my heart.
Yet.
Does it scare me? Yes. I’ve survived through too much, almost lost too many people to not be frightened of love. But Rhoswen is different. She appeared, sure. But her presence wasn’t a hit and run. It grew roots.
Moving away from the fireplace, I accept the glass of water Jon hands me with gratitude. Sipping it, I wait for the restlessness to settle around the room before sliding Mara back into that place of my heart that will always be reserved for her. When I’m able to speak without choking, I put the glass on the mantle and clap my hands to get everyone’s attention. “Alright. That concludes the grief portion of tonight’s program.”
A few reluctant titters filter through the heaviness of the room. Good. I need my family breathing before I keep going. More comfortable with what I’m about to share, I sit down on the stone hearth. The next part of my marriage journey just requires blunt honesty.
After all, the man who is going to be surprised by most of what I’m about to share, is on the floor with his arm wrapped around his wife. “After Mara, I took a break from marriage.”
Mitch’s head snaps in my direction immediately. He knows I’m about to start talking about his aunt and has likely been keeping track of the timeline waiting for this very moment. “A long one?” he asks.
“Long enough that I stopped receiving mail order catalogs from jewelry stores suggesting engagement rings,” I deadpan.
That earns a real laugh.
“I was alone for years,” I continue. “By design. I worked. I slept. I hunted down missing kids. I didn’t ask my heart to do anything ambitious.”
Mitch tilts his head. “You were okay with that?”
I shrug. “I was functional. Which, after what I’d lost, felt like winning.”
I feel Rhoswen’s quiet presence not too far from me. I don’t look at her, but I feel her energy flowing through me. Much like the first time I told her, the ghost of her hand glides up and down my back giving me strength.
“Which brings us to wife number four.” I say.
