“I’m bloody ecstatic to see you, love.”
I take the condom out of his hand and sheathe him myself, then take his heavy fullness into my hand and guide him to my opening.
“This has to be slow, Grace. You’re so fucking small. I couldn’t stand it if I hurt you.”
“You won’t hurt me, babe.”
He kisses me hard as he slowly pushes inside me. When he’s seated fully, he braces himself on his elbows at either side of my head, his hands bracing my head. He’s panting, doing his best not to move quite yet.
“You feel amazing, Grace.”
“God, so do you.” He begins to move, slowly at first, but before long his thrusts speed up. He hooks one of my legs over his shoulder, opening me up farther so he can go deeper, and we both sigh in pure bliss.
I feel myself contract around him as the energy makes its way through me. I tighten my grip on his shoulders and bite my lip as I come apart beneath him, rocking my hips quickly, insistently.
“Ah, Grace, you’re taking me with you, love. Fucking hell, I’m coming.” With a growl, he rests his forehead on mine and clenches his eyes shut as he finds his own release.
“I’m so happy that you came to find me, Jacob.”
“Always, darling.” He kisses my cheek and smiles down at me. “Shall we continue our lesson in the bedroom?”
“Aye, we shall.”
epilogue
Seven months later . . .
How was your last day of class, darling?” Jacob meets me outside of the lodge and hugs me as soon as I climb out of my new car. He said that I needed a new one, and surprised me with it last month.
I kept insisting the one I had was fine, but when the battery died for the fourth time, he insisted.
And I must admit, it’s not bad driving a Lexus. It’s quite nice, actually.
“It was . . . long.” I laugh and hug him back as he lifts me up off my feet and kisses me soundly. “I’m ready for summer.”
“Excellent. You can move in with me now.”
I shake my head and prop my hands on my hips, but he pretends he doesn’t see it and leads me through the lobby of the lodge, past a waving Jeanette, to his suite.
“We’ve talked about this, Jacob. I’m not ready to move in together. It’s only been seven months.”
“That’s plenty of time for me to know that I love you and want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want you to live up here with me.”
My heart stills and then picks up double time as it always does when he tells me he loves me. It never fails to surprise me.
“I love you, too, you know that.”
“Brilliant. I’ll arrange for the movers.”
“You’ll do no such thing!”
“Jesus, Gracie, just bloody marry me so we can move past this ridiculous argument and we can stop hopping from one house to the other every fucking night!”
I stand and stare at him and then laugh myself silly. “And I thought I was the klutz.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“That was the clumsiest marriage proposal I’ve ever heard!”
He swears under his breath, props his hands on his hips, and hangs his head before looking up at me. “You’re a stubborn woman.”
“How can you be so sure?” I ask softly.
“Sure about what?” He takes my hand and guides me into the living room, sits in a brown leather overstuffed chair, and tugs me into his lap. “Talk to me, Gracie.”
“How do you know for sure that I’m the one you want?”
“I’m not going to get angry about that statement because I know that your parents did a number on you and I love you so much it makes me ache. But I’ll not have you ever repeat that again, love. Do you think this happens to me every day?”
“I think that women—”
“Fuck the women, Grace. I haven’t looked at another woman since the day you fell at my feet and charmed me off of mine. I don’t give two shits about any other woman. It’s only you. And I’m telling you, I’m promising you, it will only ever be you.”
My eyes fill with tears at the fierce determination in his face, in the way he’s holding me so tightly against him, as if I might jump up and run away.
“I love you so much that the thought of ever losing you brings me to my knees,” I whisper. “It scares me.”
“Ah, darling.” He kisses my temple and rests his forehead against my own. “You’re not going to lose me. I’m yours until my last breath, I promise you that.” He pushes his hand into his pocket and pulls out a ring, not in a box, just an amazing round solitaire the size of my fist. “I was going to do this in a more romantic setting, but it seems this is our moment. Please, Grace Elaine Douglas, will you do me the great honor of becoming my wife?”
He wipes the tears from my cheeks with his thumbs and waits patiently for my answer.
“Of course.”
“Thank Christ.” He slips the ring on my finger and lifts me off the chair, walking swiftly toward the bedroom.
“Where are you taking me?”