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"Well let's talk about the merits, should Mack be amenable to selling, that is. The view is amazing." He turned us as the first hints of the rainbow began to form. "This deck makes you happy. The cabin is small and simple and perfect."

"You can do all your outdoorsy stuff at the barn," I pointed out. "I assume if you stay in one place you'll begin to accumulate things."

He dropped his head to press kisses to my neck and snuggle into the crook there. "You like that it's private. I don't think any place Digger mentioned had anything close to this level of space and privacy. This would be like your own Sammy wonderland, but for keeps."

Yeah, I couldn't deny that made me absurdly happy. "Even if Mack says she'd consider it, we should look around. Be sure. That is...ifyou'resure."

"About putting down roots or about you?" He kissed up over my cheek, to my forehead and then looked down at me.

"Both, but mostly, are you sure about me plunking down most of the money? Are you okay with that, Jackson? Are you the kind of man who can handle his woman making more money than him?" I was mostly teasing. I knew Jackson didn't care about that at all. But I needed to hear it anyway.

He stared down at me. "I think my ears are broken because I know you didn't just ask me that."

I blushed because now I was embarrassed. I shouldn't have let that tiny insecurity whisper out of me.

He tilted my chin back up so I had no choice but to look into his eyes. "Fuck, you know how much I like it when you blush." He started backing me towards the outdoor couch. "Marley, make all the money. I don't care how it compares to mine. I care that we're safe, well fed, and happy. Do I make you happy? Are you the kind of woman who can accept complete adoration, no exceptions?"

"Yes," I breathed.

"Good answer. You're full of them today. Now if I could just get you to stop asking bad questions." He nudged me down and then moved over me, trapping me between his arms. "Do you love me?"

"Yes." It amazed me how completely I loved him and how absolutely I knew he loved me in return. There were no doubts. None.

"Then we'll figure the rest out because I love you too. Not conditionally, not as some part of my ego or place in society. I'm not choosing you because at some point I must choose a partner. Iloveyou. Your wild hair, your writer's block, everything about you. But if I'm being honest, the thing I love most about you is the way you loveme."

It was a good thing this man loved to see me blush since he got that reaction out of me constantly. My cheeks burned as I pulled my lower lip between my teeth. "And how do I love you? Specifically, Jackson. I need to know because I love you completely but there must be something in particular that—" He stopped my babbling with a firm kiss.

"You loveme.You've never once judged my quiet or asked me to be someone else. You've seen me from the moment we met and loved me anyway."

His erection grew harder between us and while I very much wanted to rid him of his jeans and have some afternoon outdoor fun on this couch, I needed him to understand something first. "Jackson," I cupped his face, "I love you. You. Not in spite of your quiet or anything else. I love youbecauseof it. You wouldn't be you otherwise."

He buried his face in my neck, letting out a shuddering breath. "That's why I don't need to be alone so much anymore."

I wrapped him up in my arms and legs as best I could when I had a growly giant mountain man crushing me. "And you're why I feel safe."

He burrowed—there was really no other way to describe it—deeper into my neck and shoulders, then gathered me up. He sat on the couch while I straddled his lap, all hands and cheeks and hugs as we tried to somehowtoucheach other more than we already were. It was like I wanted to pull him inside me. Not just his erection, but all of him. All while he was trying to do the same, which was getting us everywhere and nowhere.

"I want you safe," he growled. "Golden Hour is safe but I can make it even safer. I will build you a damn fortress if I have to." He banded one arm around the small of my back, trapping me, while the other took my jaw. "I'll keep you safe wherever you are." He pressed a kiss over my heart. "Here too. I'll keep this beautiful heart of yours safe from everyone and anyone."

And I knew he would. He'd come down from his Fortress of Solitude to snarl at my parents or my friends or my fans. He was like my very own real-life dragon, which was why I needed so desperately to love him as much as he loved me.

"You don't have to say a thing while I ride you, but you should know I really like it when you do." I shrugged off the flannel and then flung my t-shirt into the air.

He did the same. "I've got news for you, Lee. I'm going to take my sweet time loving you. Then I might do it again. We have plenty of time before dinner and dancing." He set me on my feet. "Shorts. Off."

I was already planning my dress for the night and imagining all the fun we could have. His hand between my legs at dinner, bending me over in a dark corner, letting me ride him in the back seat.

"Oh, I like whatever you're thinking. You're all flushed for me." He trailed his fingers over my chest.

"I was thinking about the convenience of dresses."

He squeezed my nipple between his fingers. Holding, not pinching, warming me up. "They are lovely like that." He tipped up my chin. "And why were you contemplating the convenience of dresses while getting naked for me?" His gaze was stern and demanding while also entirely playful.

"Because," I stroked his very hard, very ready cock, "I'm looking forward to being conveniently available to you all night long."

He groaned, let go of my chin, and squeezed my other nipple. "God damn. I'm going to be hard all night." He released the first nipple, his hand coasting down my body, to the apex of my thighs. "And you're going to be this wet for me, aren't you?" He pushed two fingers easily inside me, pumped, and then moved along my seam, playing, pressing, spreading.

"All night long," I whispered against his ear.