Page 25 of Rugged Mountain Man
Cormac waited for me there, with a small gathering of friends from town.
“For the love of God, please marry that man already,” Raff told me. “He won’t shut up about how excited he is to call youwife.”
Cormac held his hands out to me. I crossed the porch and placed my palms in his. For the past two weeks, I had agonized over writing my own vows, but those words I had diligently practiced flew out of my head as soon as I saw him.
He looked so handsome in a crisp white button-down shirt and a brand new pair of boots. A streak of silver had begun to color his temples, and there were more laugh lines around his eyes than before. He’d softened a bit around the middle too, thanks to our tradition of pancake stacks for breakfast every Sunday morning.
Cormac’s gaze swept over me from head to toe, pupils dark with desire. I knew what that look meant. If we didn’t have guests, this dress would have been on the floor in five seconds flat.
The ceremony and our vows were a hazy blur, and when it was over, I would barely remember what happened. But I would never forget the way Cormac slid the ring on my finger. Myheart soared and my head cleared and the world lit up with the brightest colors.
I was home. I was loved. At last.
During the reception, amid the hum of conversation and the glasses of bubbly champagne, Cormac never stopped holding my hand. Even when he was turned away, talking to someone else, or ribbing Raff about his bachelorhood, Cormac kept his fingers interlaced with mine.
Was he worried I would run away? Did he think this was all a dream—too good to be true—and it would disappear as soon as he woke up?
Or maybe he was so relieved to finally find the love he never thought he’d have, and now he couldn’t bear the thought of letting go. Even for a moment.
As the guests began to trickle out the door, I wrapped my arms around Cormac, hugging him from behind.
My husband,I thought with a smile.I have a husband now.
Cormac took me by the wrist and turned in my embrace, kissing my temple. He dipped his mouth to my ear.
“If these people don’t hurry up and leave so I can be alone with my bride,” he whispered. “I’m going to lose my mind.”
I laughed, nuzzling into his neck with a kiss. I caught Raff’s eye and circled my finger in the air, signaling to wrap this up. He clapped his hands to get the attention of the last lingering guests.
“Okay, folks, the party is over,” he announced. “Clear out and head home. In about nine months from now, you’ll be receiving a letter in the mail that says I’m going to be an uncle.”
At last, Cormac and I were finally alone. He cupped my face in his hands and kissed me so deeply that I couldn’t breathe. Standing in the open space of the living room, he unzipped the back of my dress, trailing his lips along the slope of my neck until goosebumps rippled across my skin.
He stripped me down to my lacy bra and panties, leaving me exposed before him. But I didn’t shy away from his hungry gaze, didn’t hide myself or attempt to cover up my body.
Because Cormac cherished every inch of my curves. Any chance he could get, he took the opportunity to touch me, to fill his hands with my breasts, my thighs, my belly.
To the wrong man, I was never enough.
To my husband, he couldn’t keep his hands off his beloved wife.
Cormac hooked his fingers into my panties and peeled them aside, smoothing his palm over my hip, squeezing my ass. The grit of his zipper rasped in the silence.
“Bend over, baby,” he said.
I braced my elbows on the arm of the couch with a little wiggle I know he liked. He swore under his breath with a groan.
Then I felt the heavy drag of his cock between my lips, nudging just inside my entrance. Cormac placed his strong hands on my hips, fingertips digging into my soft flesh.
“Fuck, you’re so perfect, KitKat,” he murmured, sinking his cock deep into my pussy with a growl of satisfaction.
My eyes rolled back in my head at the sensation of nothing between us. I stopped taking birth control months ago, and we hadn’t been using condoms for weeks. Any day now, I expected to have good news to tell him that a baby was on the way.
When Cormac slid his palm up my spine, curling his fingers into my hair with a light tug, I closed my eyes with a smile.
I felt exquisite under his touch. Adored. He brought me so much pleasure, happiness, and love that I thought I would burst at the seams from it all.
For years, I had been starved of love, affection, begging for a single crumb of belonging.
