Page 48 of Love Me Forever

“There is no reason for doubt. From what you have told me of your brother, he cares only for your happiness. He would be the only one who could prevent our union, and he will not do that; therefore, there is no cause to worry.”

“I tell myself the very same thing, but...”

Her words trailed off again as if she did not believe herself.

“Brianna.” He called to her softly.

She looked up at him in question.

“Do you love me?”

She thought to tell him that he asked a foolish question, but she felt compelled to answer from her heart.

“With all my heart and soul.”

“As do I love you, and with a love as strong as ours, do you think there is anything that can keep us apart? Do you think that I would not fight for you? Do you think that I would not die for you?”

“Hush,” she said with a finger to his lips. “My heart aches at such a thought. I do not know what I would do without you. I even find that I have grown accustomed to sharing a bed with you,” —she poked him playfully in the ribs— “though your size takes up much of the bed.”

“It is not my size that makes the bed small; it is the fact that you attach yourself to me and will give me no room to move,” he teased in return.

“I will not argue the truth, for I do find it pleasant to nestle against you while I sleep. You are warm and comfortable and I cannot resist your body.”

He poked playfully at her. “You certainly cannot resist my body; your thirst for me is insatiable.”

She buried her blushing face against his bare chest. “I had not known—” She stopped herself from admitting how much joy she had discovered in making love and how much she desired him. She did what she was accustomed to doing, apologizing. “I am sorry?—”

He stopped her this time. He grabbed her and hoisted her on top of him. “Never apologize for wanting me. I had not known the beauty of making love until I experienced it with you. I had not known love until I found you. You are mine and I am yours forever. We will love forever and beyond, and no one, not a soul, will come between us.”

She kissed him as she often did, soft and gentle.

He, however, was feeling possessive, a need to demonstrate how strongly he cared for her, how much he wanted her, and how much that need pulsated within him.

He grabbed her about the waist and turned her onto her back, covering her body with his. He normally asked if she was all right, if anything pained her, if she was comfortable.

He asked her nothing. He looked at her with a fire in his eyes that could not be denied.

His mouth descended on hers with a heated passion, and his body moved against hers with a determined purpose.

They had loved many times and many ways, but this time there was a need in him she had never felt before, and it fired her own passion. And though his kiss demanded and his touch was forceful, she knew he would never hurt her and that thought excited her all the more.

His mouth moved to her nipples and feasted there like a starving man. She tried to touch him, stroke him, kiss him, but he rebelled. He would have the upper hand, he would control, direct, take charge.

She could do nothing but surrender to his will, enjoying every touch, stroke, and kiss he rained upon her. He was like a man with an insatiable need and she the only sustenance that could satisfy him.

Time stood still; nothing existed but the two of them and their relentless need to love. He brought her to climax more times than she thought possible, and when she thought she was spent, unable to respond, he took her with such a loving force that she climaxed with him, his name an echoing cry on her lips.

He braced his damp body over hers, pressed his cheek to hers, and whispered in an even voice, “I will not live life without you. You are mine. I will love you forever.”

* * *

With the morningmeal done and the sun bright in the blue sky, Brianna and Royce made ready for their daily walk in the woods. Brianna was anxious to be on their way. She had been collecting twigs and small branches so that she could fashion a basket, a task she had learned from her sister-in-law’s friend Anne. It kept her mind and hands busy and she loved seeing the end results, a creation of beauty and patience, her creation.

“Hurry,” she urged him. “I have much to collect.”

“And I have much to carry,” he teased her with an arm around her waist.

She stared at him a moment before asking, “This will not stop between us, walks in the woods, loving as we do, sharing our meals together?”