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Even though he’d shown me passion I never had envisioned, I still wanted him, wanted more.

  Setting my coffee cup down on the banister, I walked over to the stairs and stepped off the porch. I walked the perimeter of the cabin, noticing the woodshed, a clothesline, a small fenced-in garden, and an array of other survival set-ups.

  Blackberry and raspberry bushes grew along the edge of the forest, the berries beckoning me until I found myself walking toward them. I picked a few and popped them in my mouth, the sweet but also sour flavor exploding on my tongue.

  A hawk flew above me, its wingspan casting a shadow along the ground. I tipped my head back and lifted my hand to shield my eyes from the sun, watching the magnificent bird fly overhead until it disappeared on the horizon.

  Everything was so peaceful up here, serene. I closed my eyes and felt the breeze kick up, moving the strands of my hair along my shoulders. I could see myself staying here, being with Wolf and not worrying about anything or anyone. It was crazy to even contemplate.

  With my eyes still closed, I felt strong arms wrap around me, pulling me against a hard chest. Wolf’s scent invaded my nose, making me feel drunk and needy. I rested back against him, letting my head rest on his chest, letting him hold me as we just stood there.

  “I could stay here forever,” I whispered. I felt Wolf tighten his hold on me and then he kissed the top of my head. The sounds of birds chirping, of twigs snapping in the distance, and of the sun on my face and the wind in my hair had me feeling right at home.

  All of that made me want to just say screw everything else that was going on, my responsibilities, my job… everything, and just stay here with Wolf.

  “Then stay,” he said in his deep, husky voice. I opened my eyes just as he pulled away from me, his hands on my shoulders so he could turn me around to face him. We stared into each other’s eyes for long seconds and then he cupped my cheeks and leaned down to kiss me softly. “Stay here with me, “ he murmured against my mouth.

  “I have a job in town,” I said but wanted to say fuck it. It’s not like I couldn’t survive without it. It’s not like I was even that happy having it. I didn’t own a house, and it was easy enough to break my lease. But could I actually do this? Could I actually stay?

  “Stay with me, Ruby. Just because you’re with me does not mean you have to give up your life out there.” He moved his hand over my hair and I leaned into his touch.

  “But I can’t let you go, I won’t. How can I let my world walk away?” It seemed so crazy that he could say these words. But I felt them and knew that he meant them.

  “This is insane,” I whispered, being honest. “The thought of not having this anymore scares me.” That last part was said so low that I didn’t even know if he heard me, or if I’d actually said it out loud. He leaned down and kissed me.

  “Who says insanity isn’t actually sane? Who is to say that what everybody else is doing is actually right? Maybe this right here, you and I, is what is right, how it’s always supposed to be?”

  It made perfect sense. Or maybe I was reaching. Maybe I just wanted this so badly, the feeling of how good and right it felt making all rationalization leave me?

  Or maybe I should just say screw everything else and do what made me happy?

  I thought about that the place I rented, how it wasn’t a home. I slept there, ate there alone. I caught up on work in the corner at a little desk, the floor lamp casting a muted yellow glow. No, that wasn’t what made a home.

  But the feeling I had right now in Wolf’s arms, the things he said that resonated within me, told me all I needed to know.

  I knew that being with Wolf was exactly where I needed to be.

  “Okay,” I whispered. “I’m yours.” Not that I had a chance against him. Like he said, from the moment we met my fate was sealed. And God did that feel incredible.

  Epilogue One

  Ruby

  One month later

  I could have told myself a thousand times how utterly insane this was—and maybe I had, just a little—but the truth remained that this felt right. This moment, what I was doing, about to do, felt like I should have always done this.

  Being with Wolf, letting all my inhibitions go, just being free, felt like the most natural thing on the planet.

  “You’re ready?” he asked in his gruff, Wolf signature voice that always had me weak in the knees and ready to be bent over the hood of a car. God, I was a fiend where he was concerned.

  He hadn’t been lying when he said I was his, that there was no going back, no trying to run from him. It was insane that in just a month’s time I was head over heels in love with this man, ready to live my life off the grid … be his irrevocably.

  “Ready as I’ll ever be,” I said and rose on my toes, wrapping my arms around his neck and bringing my lips to his. The softness of his beard tickled my flesh, but it was his pure masculinity that had my pussy instantly wet.

  “And you’re sure about this?”

  I couldn’t help but chuckle. “Like you’d give me a choice even if I said I wasn’t?”

  He grinned, a flash of straight white teeth. That smile looked more predatory than anything else.

  “No, I wouldn’t.” He pulled me in for an embrace. “There’s no place on this fucking planet you could go where I wouldn’t find you.”

  I sighed. “And that’s just the way I like it.”

  Pulling back, I grabbed the last of my bags and tossed it in the back of my car, slamming the door shut. The small moving van was parked in front of my vehicle, the only valuable things I’d wanted with me tucked safely inside. Wolf’s truck was parked on the side of the street.

  I watched as Bear lean against the hood of the vehicle. I hadn’t even known he existed until this afternoon when he came by Wolf’s cabin to help us. Apparently there was more than one wild man living off the grid. He looked just as uncomfortable as Wolf did, what with people walking by and cars driving past. These men, with their heavily muscled bodies and the mountain vibes they threw off like grenades, were pretty damn intense.

  I was moving to the mountains, letting my inhibitions go, and just saying fuck it to follow my heart. I’d worked out a sweet deal with my company, one where I’d be able to work from home—essentially. It would be tricky with the little to no service I got, but I would be able to make bi-weekly trips into town to deliver all my columns and paperwork. I’d get to do the shopping for the cabin at that time, so essentially it all worked out.

  Although Wolf, with his possessive and overbearing demeanor, wasn’t too keen on me being gone for nearly a whole day every other week, realized that I had to do shit for myself still. I couldn’t be a prisoner, even if being with him was exactly where I wanted to be.

  I could still be Wolf’s but keep my independence. I could be my own person but be the woman I wanted to be … with the man I loved.

  “You sure this is what you want to do?” he asked me for the hundredth time since I’d told him.

  “This is what I want.” I smiled and reached out to take his hand in mine. I could tell how uncomfortable he was in town, knew that he wasn’t a “people person.” He lived his life alone, but wanted it to be that way. That is, until I came along. I knew I was the only person he wanted to spend his life with … and the feeling was mutual. He was like me, just more extreme, and God, I loved him even more because of it.

  So I’d gotten rid of my place, packed up the shit I wanted to keep, sold the rest, and here I was about to move in with my wild man.

  And dammit, it felt pretty damn good.

  Epilogue Two

  Wolf

  One year later

  I sat at the kitchen table, my shotgun in pieces as I cleaned it. Having a functioning weapon to hunt with out here in the wilderness was essential, even if Ruby hated watching me clean them. She knew they were key to surviving, that hunting for deer and other wildlife was what we had to do to stay stocked up for winter. Living off the grid didn’t afford us the luxury of having
a freezer run off of electricity where we could buy prepackaged meats to store for months at a time.

  But she understood and accepted this life, and I was even trying to get her to go hunting with me on occasion, teaching her how to use the rifle to not only learn how to use it, but also to know how to protect herself if the time ever came.

  She’d come home from her monthly trip into town thirty minutes ago, gave a brisk nod as she headed into the bathroom, and had been in there ever since. I looked over at the closed door, hoping she was okay. I would have checked on her, but the banging around of the cupboards, the toilet flushing, then the sink running, told me she was fine.

  I started back working on cleaning the rifle, the rag beside me oil-stained. I heard the door open and looked up just as Ruby came out of the bathroom, her eyes wide as she bit her bottom lip. I could tell instantly something was wrong. She was picking at the edge of her shirt, her nervousness as tangible as if she’d reached out and ran her nails across my body.

  I was out of the seat and in front of her in seconds flat, holding on to her shoulders and curling my fingers gently around her small body. “What’s wrong?” I asked a little bit too harshly, but couldn’t help it as every bad scenario was playing through my head. “Did something happen in town? Somebody bother you? I should have gone with you.” My heart was racing as I thought about what could have happened. “Who do I have to kill?” I was serious.

  She visibly relaxed as she smiled gently. Then Ruby closed her eyes and exhaled slowly, shaking her head. “Town went fine,” she said, but I heard the way her voice went up in pitch at that last word.

  “Something’s wrong. I can feel it.” I had my hands cupping either side of her neck, feeling her pulse race beneath my thumb. “Talk to me. Tell me how to fix whatever’s wrong.” She shook her head and smiled again and I could see that it was genuine.

  “Nothing’s wrong, not really.” And then she lifted her hand and held up the white stick. I might have been a loner my entire life, living away from civilization, but I knew a pregnancy test when I saw one.

  I took the stick out of her hand and stared down at the two pink lines. I didn’t need to ask her what it meant, didn’t need to read the pamphlet that came inside the box. It said right on the stick that two lines meant she was pregnant. I felt my heart drop to my belly, my pulse racing. Looking down at the woman I loved, all I could think about was how perfection was in front of me.

  She looked nervous and worried, maybe thinking this wasn’t what I wanted, or it was too soon. Despite the fact I told her that I wanted her to be the mother of my children, she was still afraid of my reaction. That was obvious.

  “A baby,” I said without phrasing it like a question. I saw her lick her lips, watched as her throat moved as she swallowed. She nodded slowly, her eyes still wide and her pupils dilated.

  “It’s too soon, isn’t it? I didn’t know if telling you now or waiting would be the best—”

  I had my lips on hers before she could even finish speaking, kissing her with all the love I had for her. When I pulled back she was breathing hard. I took my hand and cupped her cheek, smoothing my thumb along her bottom lip.

  “It’s not too soon. In fact I wish it would’ve happened sooner.” I grinned when I saw her relax, her lips curling up as she smiled.

  “Really? You’re happy?”

  “God, so damn happy, baby.” I kissed her again and again until I couldn’t breathe. Then I got down on my knees and pushed her shirt up, exposing her belly. I rested my forehead on her smooth skin, closing my eyes and reveling in the fact I was going to be a father. I kissed her navel, possessiveness and my territorial nature rising in me high, even stronger than ever before.

  She was my woman and carried my child. And if I had thought my need for her had been strong before, the alpha in me reared its head in this very moment.

  My woman.

  My wife.

  And now the mother of my child.

  Bonus Epilogue

  Ruby

  Ten years later

  Children. Four of them.

  Two little boys and two little girls.

  Leaning against the doorframe, I watched my twin daughters, Flora and Izza, fall asleep, their room painted in pinks and magentas. Both of them still demanded they stay in the same bedroom so they could play princesses and dolls until their little eight-year-old eyes were too heavy to play anymore and they fell asleep curled up on the floor.

  I shut the door and headed down the hall to check on my sons.

  Frankie had his glasses resting on his chest and his opened book beside him. My little nine-year-old wasn’t so little anymore, not when he took after his father in height. He’d be big and strong, and smart as could be.

  After setting his glasses and book aside and tucking him in, I went to my youngest child’s room. Jackson, my little five-year-old, was sound asleep as well. I kissed him goodnight and closed the door behind me.

  A little bit of the stress from the day washed away knowing that my children were safe and sound and fast asleep.

  Maybe I should have taken a bath, let my stress wash away, but the truth was what I wanted was far dirtier. I grinned as I headed back to my bedroom, where I knew Wolf was.

  I saw him sitting on the bed, shirtless, the sweats he wore hanging low on his hips. The rolling hills of his muscular abdomen instantly had me wet and needy.

  He looked up at me from the book he was reading, and for a suspended moment we didn’t speak, and I didn’t even move.

  I knew what he wanted because it was the same thing I wanted.

  Sex. Hard. Rough. The kind only Wolf could give me.

  “Come here, wife.”

  My heart beat double-time at the way he commanded me. Before I could move closer, Wolf was setting the book aside and standing. He took a step toward me and I took one back, grinning because I loved playing this sexy little cat and mouse game. The wall stopped me and I placed my hands on the cool hardness. My body grew warm, pliant for what Wolf was about to do to me.

  “I’m so hungry for you, Ruby.” He looked down at my lips. “So fucking hungry. I’m always so starved for you.” He said that last part under his breath, as if to himself.

  The heat moved between us, the chemistry still there as if it were the first time we were together. And then he had his big body pressed to mine, sandwiching me between him and the wall.

  “Touch me, Ruby, hold me.”

  I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him close to my body, needing him pressed right up against me. We were kissing, with Wolf fucking my mouth with his tongue and lips, taking control like I loved.

  His cock was hard, pressed right against my belly, those thick, huge inches having my pussy becoming even wetter.

  “How much do you want my cock in you, stretching you, making you scream out to come?”

  “So much,” I said on a gasp and rested my head back on the wall, my eyes closed.

  He growled low like some kind of animal. “I hope you’re ready, because I’m not going to be easy, baby.”

  The breath left me. “Good.”

  Wolf

  Motherfucker.

  Even after all these years I was still like some adolescent about to fuck for the first time. But when it came to Ruby there was nothing more I wanted in this world, and there never would be.

  I had her out of the fucking pants and panties in a matter of seconds. I wanted her naked for when I fucked her, for when I claimed the hell out of her.

  “Wolf,” she moaned softly, her head still resting on the wall, her eyes closed.

  “Take me to the bed,” she said and finally opened her eyes. I didn’t waste a minute in doing what she wanted.

  Hell, I needed her on the bed so I could thrust deep into her sweet, tight pussy.

  When she was on the mattress I flipped her over, shoved a pillow under her hips, and popped her ass out.

  I leaned back and looked down at her body, at the slope of her back, the sli
ght indentation of her spine, and the roundness of her ass.

  Damn.

  All mine.

  “God dammit.” I smoothed my hands over her ass, squeezing the flesh. “All I want to do right now is fucking wreck you in all the good ways that count.”

  She panted harder, mewled louder.

  My cock was so fucking hard I couldn’t stand it.

  “Fuck me,” she demanded.

  I reached between us, fumbled to get my cock through the fly of my pants, and gave my dick a few strokes. Then I placed the tip at her entrance, not thrusting in right away, just teasing us both. I ran the crown up and down her slit, loving that she cried out for more, for me to fuck her.

  “How much do you want this in you?” I loved teasing her, or maybe I loved the torment of waiting myself.

  “Give it to me.” She thrust her ass against me.

  My cock jerked, my tip becoming wetter from my pre-cum. “So fucking receptive to me,” I murmured. Taking my free hand, I gripped one of her ass cheeks and spread it wide, letting me see her pink, soaking center. A guttural sound left me.

  I needed to be with my woman, my wife, to shove my cock deep inside of her and fill her up with my cum.

  No more teasing.

  I led the head of my cock to her pussy hole, using so much self-control not to just thrust into her like a fucking beast.

  “Fuck me, Wolf,” she panted.

  With my dick at her entrance, I gripped her waist with both of my hands, dug my fingertips into her supple flesh, and roared out at how fucking good it felt. She stretched around my girth, took all of my length. I forced myself not to come right then and there.

  Sweat lined the length of her spine and I leaned down, dragging my tongue along her flesh, licking up all the salty sweet goodness.