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Chapter forty-three

Rhett

Evie’s eyes are closed, her pink lips turned up in a deliciously satisfied smile as I roll us over so that I’m over top of her again.

I look down her body, this gorgeous, perfect woman who’s all mine, noting the reddened skin between her legs from my stubble with a primal, possessive smile.

I wanna mark her all over.

She’s mine. Forever. Wherever. No matter what.

I lean down and kiss her, knowing full well that she can taste herself on my lips, seeing as her juices are all over my face.

“Mmm. Taste how sweet you are.” I push my tongue into her mouth when she opens under me. For a woman who started out feeling so unsure about herself, about sex and pleasure, she certainly has turned into a bold, sexy, dirty girl. And I fucking love that it’s all for me.

I rub my jaw along hers, noting how her skin turns dark in the candlelight. Mine. I want to be mad at myself for taking so damn long to get to this point. To realizing that all along, she’s been right here in front me. The one woman for me. My soul mate, my partner, my love. But the energy it would take to be mad is better spent loving her .

Lifting one of her legs up, I encourage her to wrap it around my waist before taking my cock and lining it up with her plump pussy. “I’m never gonna want to stop lovin’ you, Evie. Never.”

“Good,” she whispers back, her eyes shining with pure, unfiltered love.

I push into her slowly, but without stopping, until my hips meet hers. All I can do is stare at her, at this woman I love.

I fucking love her.

Her body pulses around my dick, squeezing it tightly, as if to say she’ll never let me go.

Good.

I pull back slightly, then push back in. Then again, farther this time, in a longer thrust that has Evie’s head going back, her chest arching up and her hand bracing against the headboard.

My mind chants three words in time with the rhythmic thrust of my hips.

I. Love. Her.

And when I can’t hold back any longer, that mental chant comes out of me, and I find myself lowering down to whisper it over and over in her ear as I pulse inside of her, feeling her walls clench in response as she, too, loses herself.

When my body stops shuddering, I roll us to the side, staying inside of her even as my dick starts to soften. I’m not ready to lose this connection yet. Evie snuggles into my arms with a contented hum, and for a moment, I close my eyes and thank God, the universe, anything and everything for giving me this.

“That was incredible.” Evie’s voice is more than a little breathless.

“Sure was. Every time with you gets better and better,” I say, kissing the top of her head.

She squirms a little in my arms and looks up at me. “I think I need to clean up, though.”

“Right. Just…” I squeeze her in tight again. “In a minute?”

Her soft sigh is all the permission I need.

Eventually, we get out of bed, only to get right back in a few moments later. I lie on my back and Evie cuddles into my side. “So, I should say yes to the job?” she asks in a small voice.

“You absolutely should.” There’s no hesitation in my response. I know it’ll hurt, having her move away, but this is what’s meant to be. I know that.

I gesture at her to pass me her phone. She does, and I find the email from the school in Dogwood Cove. Turning to her, I raise my eyebrow. “Just don’t go fallin’ for some small-town guy over there. Got it?”

She giggles, shaking her head. “I already fell for a small-town boy. A southern charmer. And I happen to love him.”

“Good answer.” I kiss the tip of her nose, then I turn back to the email. It takes a while, but for once, I don’t feel embarrassed at how slowly I type as I write out what I hope is an appropriate response, accepting the job. When I’m done, I hand the phone to her. “Here, you better edit it.” I give her a wry smile. “Words aren’t my strength. But you’re takin’ that job, so you can help other kids do better than me.”

She lifts one hand and places it on my cheek. I turn and kiss her palm as she says, “You do just fine with your words, Rhett Darlington.”

A moment or two later, she presses send and puts the phone down. “Done.” She turns her big eyes up to face me. “I have a job.”

I roll on top of her and stroke her hair away from her face. “Hell yeah, you do, honey. Congratulations.”

Then I spend the next hour showing her exactly how proud of her I am, and how much I love her.

The next two weeks go by far too fucking fast, and then it’s time for Evie to move.

“Where do you want these?” I ask, holding the stack of T-shirts I just finished folding. Evie looks up from the floor where she’s zipping a suitcase shut and sighs.

“I forgot about those.”

I glance down at them, then at her. “Yeah, sorry, they were in the laundry with my stuff.”

She stands up and comes over to take them from me before setting them on the bed and then tucking herself in for a hug. “Don’t apologize. I’m going to miss having my laundry mixed in with yours.” A pained laugh escapes her. “God, that sounds pathetic.”

I kiss the top of her head, letting my lips rest there for a second. “No, it doesn’t. I’m gonna miss the little things, too. Your hair clogging my drain, Ruthie’s toys everywhere, your — ooof .”

Her smack on my stomach reassures me I’ve managed to turn the moment of sadness around. Even if I do mean every word.

“You know, you could leave some stuff here.” I’ve been waiting for the right moment to suggest this. “A toothbrush, some clothes, whatever. For when you come to visit.”

Evie steps back, keeping her hands on my hips, and looks at me with a wobbly smile. “Yeah? I could, I guess.”

I nod firmly. “You should . Maybe even leave some of your favourite things so you’re motivated to come back a lot.”

This time, her laugh is a lot more genuine but still tinged with sadness as she throws herself back into my arms. Her words are muffled against my chest. “Don’t you realize I am leaving my favourite thing here? Unless you can fit in my suitcase.”

“Ah fuck, Evie,” I mutter as I tip her chin up and kiss her deeply. She has to leave for the ferry in an hour, and I can’t even go with her since the team is shipping out shortly after for an away series. And this time when I get home, she won’t be here waiting for me. She’ll be in Dogwood Cove.

We don’t have time for me to make love to her again, no matter how much I want to. But there is time for me to give her one thing.

Reluctantly, I pull away, but only so far as to grab my phone off the dresser. I open the calendar app and tap a few buttons. Seconds later, Evie’s phone vibrates with a notification.

“What’s that?” she asks, leaning down to pick it up off the floor.

“Take a look,” I say, not filled with nerves, but anticipation. Hopefully, she’s excited, and hopefully, she sees this for what it is. My effort to prove to her that we’ll make this work.

“Rhett…” Her mouth falls open, and her eyes start to glisten. “These are float plane bookings.”

“Every weekend I’m in town, I’m flying you back Friday night to be here. And whenever I have more than a day off, I’m heading over to you. If you get a longer period off, I’ll fly you to wherever I am. But these here, these are booked and paid for. We won’t have more than a few weeks between seeing each other at the most, honey. And when the season’s over, I’ll come stay with you.” I pause and swallow. “If that’s what you want.”

She looks up at me and tosses the phone on the bed before leaping into my arms. Thank God for my reflexes. I catch her and turn us around so I can sit on the bed as she peppers my face with kisses. “Of course, it’s what I want, you silly man. I want you as often as I can have you. This is amazing. Thank you.”

We kiss for several minutes. Needy, desperate ones. I know I’m not alone in wanting to commit every second with her to memory to help get me through the times when we’re not together. But the alarm I set to make sure we didn’t get distracted and make her miss her ferry goes off, and we have to pull apart.

I reach over with one hand to turn off the alarm before turning on my side and tucking her back into my body.

“I don’t know if I can do this,” she whispers.

“’Course you can. You’re so strong, and brave, and this is everything you’ve been working toward. You can do this, because you’re not doin’ it alone. I’m right here with you.”

I feel her take a deep breath and exhale it slowly.

“I love you so much.” Her hands tighten around me. “And I’m going to miss you.” Her voice cracks on the last word, and then I feel the moisture seeping into my shirt from her tears.

“I’m gonna miss you, too, honey. You’ve got my heart now. Take care of it, okay?”

Her head moves in a jerky nod, and I tip her chin up so I can kiss away her tears before placing one last soft one on her lips. “I love you, Evangeline Yamaki. A little bit of distance won’t change that.”