Total pages in book: 22
Estimated words: 20337 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 102(@200wpm)___ 81(@250wpm)___ 68(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 20337 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 102(@200wpm)___ 81(@250wpm)___ 68(@300wpm)
"Never," he rasps, picking me up off my feet and carting me down the hall like I'm a freaking statue he's trying to move into place. "I will never let you go, Cordelia Shanks."
I choke on a sob, wishing he meant it the way I want him to mean it.
He drags me into his bedroom before tossing me onto the bed. Before I can even think about rolling off the opposite side of the bed, he's on top of me, pinning me beneath him. He yanks my jacket off me and then rips my shirt right down the middle before grabbing my hands and pinning them beside my head.
"You said your piece, now it's my turn, little girl," he growls, a maelstrom raging in his steely eyes again. I try to avoid his gaze, but it sucks me in like always. "You are crazy. You're the best goddamn kind of crazy I've ever met. But you have never and will never be a problem."
"That's not what you said on the phone," I mumble.
"I wasn't talking about you, baby. I was talking about this place. I was talking about the cabins. I can't fucking live another goddamn day knowing you're leaving in a week and I'm supposed to stay here without you," he growls. "It's driving me insane. That's my problem, Sunshine."
"Oh," I whisper, my heart leaping with hope.
"I'm so in love with you I can't think straight. When you leave, I'm going with you so I called Nell to have her find someone to manage the damn cabins. I didn't want to wait a week to tell you. Since today is Valentine's Day, I wanted to tell you today. That's what you heard me talking about, Cordelia."
"You love me?"
"Like crazy."
I sob his name, tears dripping into my hair. "I'm an idiot."
"No, you're a fierce little pixie," he says, releasing my hands to wipe away my tears. "You've been worried about me breaking your heart since you gave yourself to me. I realized that yesterday, Sunshine. I saw the look on your face when I said I never had a reason to leave this place."
"It made me sad," I whisper.
"I know it did. This place brought me comfort when I needed it, but it doesn't provide the same for you. It's not a shelter, but a prison for you. I can't ask you to live like that, Cordelia. You'd be miserable," he says.
"I'd do it for you if it's what you wanted."
"There isn't any version of this world where I want you to sacrifice your well-being for my sake," he says, stroking his fingers along my cheeks. "Being out here doesn't just make you unhappy, it makes you uncomfortable. It frightens you and gives you anxiety. You think I'd let you live like that?" He shakes his head. "Hell no, Sunshine. Taking care of you is my motherfucking mission in life now. I won't ever allow you to be miserable just because you think it'll please me. What kind of husband would I be if I allowed that?"
"Deacon," I wheeze.
"Yeah, I said it, little girl," he growls, his eyes flashing to my favorite gunmetal gray color. He shifts down my body, planting his lips against my collarbone. "Husband."
I whimper, my head spinning as he drags his lips down my chest.
"Rule four," he breathes against my skin. "You will marry me, Cordelia."
"I thought we decided I'm the boss."
"Boss me, Sunshine."
"Rule one," I say, my back bowing from the bed as his lips close around my nipple. "We have to come out here at least one weekend a month."
"Agreed." He drags my nipple through his teeth.
"Rule two," I gasp. "We're getting a satellite phone."
He kisses a trail down my body, which I take as agreement. When he dips his tongue into my belly button and then drags my pants down my hips, I decide it's definitely agreement.
"Rule three…" I try to think of one as he moves between my legs, draping them over his shoulders.
He blows across my sex, making rational thought impossible. And then his tongue slides through my folds.
"Rule three!" I cry. "You have to keep doing that."
"This?" he growls and licks me again. "You want me to keep doing this?"
"Yes!" I sob. "Yes!"
Epilogue
Deacon
Five Years Later
"How is it that you have phone reception, but I don't?" Cordelia demands, eyeing me suspiciously from the passenger seat. "We have the same carrier!"
"Guess I'm God's favorite, Sunshine."
My wife gasps in outrage and then giggles. "That's only because he feels sorry for you, Mountain Man. He always shows mercy to the less fortunate."
"The less fortunate?" I cock a brow at her.
"Your sons, your dog, and your sister love me best. Someone had to take pity on you," she sasses, shoving her phone back into her pocket.
"Keep talking your shit and I'm not going to take it on you when we get to the cabin, little girl," I warn her, smiling despite myself. Fuck, I love when she's feeling feisty. Nothing makes my dick harder than my wife when she's giving me nine kinds of hell…which is basically all day every day. She sasses me because she knows I get off on it, just like I boss her little ass around because I know she gets off on it.