Page 73 of The Marriage Mistake

He didn’t have to ask me twice. I slid my hands over his strong shoulders and into his hair. I tugged lightly then felt the ripples of muscle over his back. I ran my hands over his stubble and turned my face so I could kiss him, one palm holding his face as the other slid over his neck and down his spine. He was so warm and strong and solid, and he kissed me like I was the only sustenance he’d ever need.

My orgasm was a slow, rolling, unstoppable thing. It grew and grew and grew until my entire body was shaking with the force of it.

“Fuck, you’re pretty when you come,” Jack told me, pulling away slightly to watch my face. His gaze slid down my body and lingered where we were joined. He swore as I fell apart beneath him, his eyes almost frenzied, his muscles stark in the lamplight of my bedroom. A moment later, he joined me at the peak. He said my name in a desperate rasp, clinging to my hips, searing our bodies together as he came. I felt it all.

It was the hottest moment of my life.

JACK

I had to go back to my own room soon. Darby was thirteen, but she still sometimes woke up at night and came looking for me. I needed to be in my own bed in case she did.

But Ember was asleep with her head on my chest, and moving her was out of the question. I trailed my palm over and back along the forearm she’d thrown over me. Her skin was so soft, her bones so delicate. I willed time to slow down so I could have as many seconds here as I could get.

A little sleepy mewl fell out of her, and she stirred herself awake. Blinking owl-eyes at me, she gave me a shy smile. “You’re still here.”

“Did you expect me to leave without saying goodbye?”

She bit her lip. I watched the blood drain from the area and then fill up again when her lip slipped free of her teeth, and I knew I would never get enough of this woman.

I also knew the answer to my question was yes, but she hadn’t wanted to say it out loud.

She reached up to push my hair off my forehead, and then she ran her fingers through the short hair at my temples. I groaned in pleasure as my eyes fluttered shut. I loved it when she touched me.

Finally, she asked, “What’s the plan?”

“For what?”

“For us.”

I cracked my eyes open. She was biting her lip again. Worrying. Thinking too much. I shifted, pulling her fully on top of me. Her eyes flared as my thumb slid down between her legs, where she was slick and wanting already.

“The plan is I make you my wife,” I said, and watched her breath catch.

“Jack,” she chided. “I’m—” Her words died as I found her bud. So responsive. So ready. I wrapped my hands around her hips and lifted her so I could fit myself inside her. “I’m serious,” she finally finished, then let out a whimper as I pulled her down on top of me.

I loved the way her eyes glazed when I was inside her. The way those lush lips fell open. The way her pussy clenched and sucked, as needy and desperate for me as she was. As desperate as I was for her.

“I’m serious too,” I said, sliding my hands over her waist, her tits, her hips. I guided those hips to rock on top of me, loving the way her breath stuttered and her eyes fell shut. Her palms pressed against my chest, against the rapid beating of my heart. She was made for fantasy, and she was all mine. “We file that paperwork and make official what we already know.”

Her lids fluttered. Eyes fastened to mine. “And what’s that?”

I surged up and slid my hand into her hair. I tugged lightly, watching her eyes flare with pleasure. My other hand was still gripping her hip, controlling the pace. Here, like this, she was pliant and perfect. So different from the human hurricane of intelligence and wit and stubbornness that I’d come to admire. I loved all facets of her.

I loved her.

“That you’re mine,” I said, and it came out harsh. Too harsh. “That you’re my wife, and this is exactly where you belong. By my side. In my bed. On my cock.”

She sighed, pure release. I felt her pussy clench around me, and I smiled. A harsh, possessive, victorious smile.

She shook her head. “Why do I love it when you say things like that to me? I shouldn’t like it at all.”

“Because we’re right together. Because we fit.”

And then I showed her just how perfectly we fit together. Until I was sure she understood.

NINETEEN

EMBER