Page 30 of Merrily Mine
“Maybe it’s not too late,” I told her.
She shrugged, tucking her chin against her neck. “I don’t know. Maybe it is. Maybe I’ve wasted all my best years on adventures, and that’s it?” Emily asked it like a question, but I wasn’t sure it was one.
“You didn’t,” I reassured her. “You still have plenty of life left to live, Emmie Girl. I promise. You’re gonna have that happy ending. Whatever it looks like.”
Her glassy eyes caught mine, and there was so much emotion swirling there. “You think?”
“I know it.”
Andfuck,I wanted to tell her I knew it because I wanted to give her that. That she didn’t need to find the right person for her, because I was here.
I didn’t want to give her up at the end of this, even though it was crazy and we’d barely spent any time together since she’d been back. But Iknewher. I didn’t need a month or more to realize what I knew that first night at the bar.
She was too good for me. Too young. And she deserved the world.
Could I give her that?Yes.
But I didn’t know what she wanted.
If when she closed her eyes at night, she saw the same thing as me. Little brunette children on horseback. Braids whipping in the wind as they ran through the field. Tiny overalls and cowboy boots. A house full of laughter, of kids, of love. A pregnant wife, waiting for me, dressed in a green gingham dress that curled over her belly and matched her emerald eyes, her brown hair loose and wavy at her back.
My heart ached. The dream was so vivid, so real. Like I could almost reach out and touch it.
Because I wanted it. So damn bad. And it wasright therein my grasp.Then it was gone, and I was back in front of the fire, holding her in my arms.
“Mason?” she asked, then let out a giant yawn.
I lifted her up in my arms. “Come on, darlin’. Time for bed. We had quite a day, didn’t we?”
Emily gave me a small roll of her eyes as I walked towards the stairs. “We didn’t do anything. What are you talking about?”
My answering grin was wicked. “Didn’t doanything, huh?” I smacked her ass. “Brat.”
She did her best to look innocent as I dropped her onto the bed. “Uh-uh.”
“So you’re not sore?” I slid my hand up her thigh, slipping my hand underneath her waistband and sliding two fingers inside of her.
She let out a rough moan as I moved them inside of her—doing my best not to be too rough—then she gave me a small whimper. “Mason.”
Pressing soft kisses on her lips, I pulled my fingers out. “I know, baby, I know.” Pulling her sweater off, followed by her pajama pants, I took my time, memorizing her body with the sweep of my lips, giving her tender touches and gentle caresses.
She fell asleep before I made it back up to her lips, her breath evening out into a steady breath. I quickly shed the rest of my clothes, stripping down to just my boxer briefs, and then I slid both of us under the covers.
And then I pulled her into my arms and promptly fell asleep.
When I woke up, Em was pressed up against me, one leg thrown over mine, her face nuzzled into my bare chest. It felt so fucking right, waking up with her like this. Like this was what I’d been missing for the last year. Like somehow, Emily Sullivan was the missing piece I’d needed in my life.
Was it crazy? Yes.
But I couldn’t deny it. I wasn’t sure I wanted to anymore. Something about her was deep in my veins, lighting me up inside.
Another day, another week, another month—I’d take whatever time I had left with this woman. With this vixen that filled me with a burning passion I’d never felt before.
My aching cock pressed against her belly, and she let out a little sigh in her sleep.
The morning light filtered in the window, practically illuminating her in gold. She was beautiful.
“Emily,” I murmured in her ear, brushing her hair over her neck so I could press soft kisses to her skin.
