Page 10 of Mail Order Bride for the Scrooge

She could fill it with life in a way I haven’t been able to. I have no doubt she can breathe life into every part of me and mend the broken pieces of me.

But is that fair to her?

Her nails lightly scraping across my chest, her fingers tunneling through the smattering of hair there, pulls me out of my thoughts and I focus back on the woman in my arms. She smiles at me and it’s brighter than the sun cresting the horizon and making the room glow around us.

“There you are. Where did you go?” Her voice is gentle and full of so much caring that it hits me right in the middle of my chest.

I shake my head and try to swallow around the emotions clogging my throat. I shouldn’t blurt out how I never want her to leave. I should keep it to myself until I make her fall for me.

“You can talk to me, Gannon,” she whispers, “or we can lay like this in silence. Just don’t hide in the darkness when you can walk in the light.”

My eyes widen when she kisses my chest right where my heart is pounding. I don’t know what to say to her. I want what she’s offering so easily. Everything in me craves to walk in the light right beside this woman.

It doesn’t make any fucking sense, but it’s true all the same.

Before I can figure out how to make this woman understand the jumbled mess of my mind, her stomach lets out a sound which can only be described as a feral racoon and her eyes widen. She sits up quickly and slaps a hand over her mouth and her abdomen, as if either would help.

I chuckle and it feels rusty in my throat. I laughed yesterday with Lake and the last time I had done that…I’m not even sure. Hell, the last time I really smiled before Lake showed up in front of my home was when I met Slade and Hollis’ woman, Salem. She’s a spitfire and perfect for the guys.

I tease her, “Hungry?”

The glare she shoots me could melt the paint off the walls, but before she can retort, her stomach makes the sound again, but this time louder. She tilts her head back and groans, “This can’t be happening.”

I bark out a laugh and climb out of bed, stretching my back as I look out of the huge windows in my room to take in the view. I can feel Lake’s eyes on my ass, and I smirk. I’m glad she likes what she sees. It’ll make this whole thing a lot easier.

I’m not above using my body to prove to her she belongs with me and that she’s mine.

I glance over my shoulder and her head jerks up to meet my eyes, her cheeks turning a darker shade of pink that makes me feel like I can’t catch my breath. She’s fucking stunning.

“Come on, little present. Go and get dressed and I’ll get breakfast started,” I cajole her.

She nods absently, her eyes running up and down my body. My chest puffs up a little bit and I find myself strutting into the bathroom to take care of business before I feed my woman. I hear the soft patter of her feet as she leaves my room to go into the guest room that I gave her last night.

How quickly can I get her in here with me permanently? I shake my head when I pull a pair of sweatpants on. I called her my wife last night, not really realizing it, but I remember the moment in perfect clarity.

It felt fucking good.

I’m putting some eggs, bacon, and toast on two plates by the time Lake walks into the kitchen and dining room. I feel my jaw drop open when Storm leaves his breakfast to go over and greet Lake. She drops down on her haunches and gives him a big rub down and buries her face in his neck to rub her face along his thick fur.

My dog has never chosen a human over food. Never.

I eye my dog suspiciously and try to push down the feeling of being jealous of my damn dog.

When Lake looks up at me and smiles, I’m right back to feeling like I’m at the top of the world. How the fuck does she do it?

“Eat,” I growl, mentally face palming myself for being so gruff with the woman whose heart I want to own.

She doesn’t scowl or get upset, she simply smiles wider and gives Storm one more squeeze before she stands and heads toward the table. I put one plate in front of her and she looks up at me with hopeful eyes. “Is there coffee?”

I lean down and kiss her forehead without even thinking about it. “Of course,” I murmur against her skin, loving the way she blinks up at me when I stand back up and head toward the kitchen. “How do you like yours?”

“Um,” she stammers, “with milk or creamer or whatever and sugar?”

I gather the milk and sugar along with two mugs of coffee before heading back to the table. I watch her like a hawk as she mixes her coffee the way she likes it, brings it up to her lips, and makes a sound of contentment which goes straight to my dick when she takes a sip. I’ll make it perfect for her next time.

“If you like flavored creamer, we can head down the mountain and go to the grocery store. I need to pick up a few things anyway.” I rub the back of my neck as she gives me her complete attention. “A storm is supposed to come through here tomorrow, but it’s not supposed to last long.”

“A storm?” She sounds a little worried as she bites her bottom lip. “We get snow in Seattle, but I have a feeling it’s nothing like you get here.”

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