And keeping her.
Chapter Fourteen
Briar
The firelight flickers across the cabin walls, painting everything gold and shadow. My hands are shaking from saying yes. Mama Rue’s voice echoes in my ears—her low, sure words binding us in the mountain way. No paper, no preacher, just earth and fire and the clan watching. Rafe’s hand was warm around mine when she said the final blessing. Now the cabin door is shut, the world locked out, and it’s only us.
I turn to him.
My heart is loud, but my voice is louder.
Seeing my mom and my sister broke something open in me—the last place he still lived. The part of me that stayed quiet so I could survive. Once it cracked, the words came back all at once. Not careful. Not small. I don’t measure them anymore.
I don’t stop.
“Rafe.”
He freezes halfway through unbuttoning his shirt, eyes lifting to mine. They’re dark, searching, the way they always are when he’s trying to read me without words. I used to need that look. Now I don’t.
I step closer. The hem of my dress brushes his boots. I lift my chin so he can see every inch of my face.
“I get to want things now. And I want you to breed me.”
The words come out clear. Full. No stutter, no rasp. They hang between us like smoke.
His breath catches—sharp, audible. His fingers stop moving on the buttons. For one long heartbeat he doesn’t speak, doesn’t move, just stares at me like my words are holy and filthy.
I don’t flinch. I don’t drop my gaze.
“I want you to fill me until I’m dripping with you.” I press my palm low on my belly, right where the future already feelspossible. “I want to feel you come so deep it stays. I want to carry your baby, Rafe. Tonight. As your wife.”
His eyes go liquid, dark and bright at once.
“Briar…” My name is half growl, half prayer.
I reach for him. My fingers find the open edge of his shirt and slide inside, palms flat against the warm, hard plane of his chest. His heartbeat slams under my touch—fast, unsteady. Mine matches it.
“You heard me,” I whisper. “I’m not asking. I’m telling you what I need.” I rise on my toes and brush my lips against the corner of his mouth. “I choose you. Today and every day. Breed me, husband. Make me swell with you. Make me yours in every way that matters.”
He exhales like the air’s been punched out of him. Then his hands are on me—big, careful. One cups the back of my neck, the other settles low on my waist, thumb brushing the spot I just touched.
“You sure?” he rasps. “This isn’t—”
“I’m sure.” I cut him off, firm. “I’m not that girl anymore. I’m not silent. I’m not afraid.” I slide my hand down his chest, lower, until I’m cupping the thick ridge of him through his pants. He groans, hips jerking into my touch. “And I want you to fuck me like you’ve been dreaming about since the day you carried me home.”
His control cracks. Just a little. Just enough.
He kisses me then—deep, slow, claiming. His tongue strokes mine, tasting every word I gave him. When he pulls away his eyes are wild.
Emotion vibrates through both of us. Until it breaks.
Rafe’s mouth crashes back to mine. The kiss is deeper now, hungrier, the word wife settling into his bones. His hands slide under my thighs and lift me in one smooth motion. My legs wrap around his waist on instinct. The hard length of him pushes against my core through our clothes and a low, needy sound escapes me—still words, still mine.
He carries me to the bed and lays me down tenderly. The quilt is soft beneath my back. The cradle sits in the corner, catching firelight on its carved edges—stars and curling leaves, a promise already made. Seeing it there makes my chest ache in the best way.
Rafe kneels between my legs, eyes locked on mine. “Tell me what you want, wife.”
I don’t hesitate.
