Page 145 of The Bitterroot Inn (Jamison Valley 5)
“What do you say, Blondie?” Hunter took the car from me and set it on the counter. Then he framed my face with his hands. “Will you marry me?”
“Yes.”
His lips were on mine before the word had time to even settle in our ears. We kissed, using our mouths and tongues and teeth, until Coby broke us apart.
“You guys,” he groaned. “Can I have my car back?”
I laughed into Hunter’s mouth as he chuckled into mine.
“Sure, buddy.” Hunter broke us apart to untie the ring from Coby’s toy. “This was my mom’s ring. I didn’t think Nell had kept it, but she had a whole box of Mom’s jewelry stashed away in Grand Rapids.”
Breathing in choppy gulps, I fought to rein in my happy tears as he slid the ring onto my finger. The diamond was no more than a carat and the gold band was simple. Bracketing the diamond solitaire were two ovals, each inlaid with another small diamond. It was a classic ring. It was unassuming.
It was just right.
Hunter stepped closer, pulling me back into his arms as my eyes stayed locked on my ring.
It meant the world to me that it had been Hunter’s mother’s, and I would wear it with pride until the end of my days. If Hunter ever offered an upgrade for an anniversary or birthday, I would politely refuse. This ring was the only one I’d ever wear on my left hand.
“Hey! Give me back my car!” Coby shouted, trying to squeeze between us to get his toy. Hunter and I both started laughing as Coby yanked the car off the island and took it back into the living room.
Smiling, I pressed my cheek into Hunter’s chest and wrapped him up tight. “I love you.”
His soft lips brushed against my hair. “I love you too.”
We held on to one another for as long as Coby let us, finally breaking apart when he demanded Hunter play with him and grumbled about being hungry.
While they raced the car around the furniture, I went back to cooking dinner, texting my friends an update between mashing potatoes, microwaving peas and whisking gravy.
It wasn’t fancy, but it was everything I had ever wanted for my life.
A happy life.
A life filled with more love than some people found in a lifetime.
A life with a man that would forever make me smile.
Seven years later . . .
“Fuck, baby, get there. Fast,” Hunter growled, then bit the side of my neck.
The zing of pain went straight from my neck to my clit. When Hunter sucked the same spot he’d just bitten, my already-tingling legs began to tremble.
My back was pressed against the cool marble in our shower, my legs were around Hunter’s hips, and my husband was pounding his cock into me with no restraint as the water poured down his back. With the sound of our skin slapping and water rushing, his mouth trailed openmouthed kisses up my jaw to my waiting lips.
My hands started clawing at his back, urging him to go harder and faster. With a rumble from deep in his chest, he obeyed, fucking me as hard as he could without dropping me on my ass.
“I’m so close,” I said against his lips. “I need—”
I didn’t have to articulate. After years of sneaking in shower sex while our kids were napping, he knew exactly what I needed. After one slow lick across my bottom lip, he sucked it into his mouth and my orgasm hit. He kept it between his teeth as I cried, my back arching away from the tile as my inner walls clenched around his thrusting cock.
“Squeeze me. Just like that.” His words were barely audible over my strangled sounds echoing off the shower walls. “Just. Like. That.” With each word, he thrust harder, finding his own release. His groan drowned out mine as he let go of my lip and tipped his head back.
I leaned forward and licked the water off his corded neck, making his fingers dig even harder into my thighs as he let go of his release.
When we were both wrung out, he let go of my legs and set my feet back on the tiled floor. I kept a grip on his shoulders until the white spots in my vision cleared and I regained my balance.
“Whoa,” I said, breathless. My arms and legs felt like rubber and now I could use a nap myself.
