"I'm not changing my mind." I kissed him. "But maybe give me a week? I'd like your family there. And I should probably have a dress."
"Fine. One week. But you're wearing my ring starting tomorrow." He rolled us so I was on top, still joined. "And you're sleeping in my bed every night between now and then."
"Where else would I sleep?"
"Nowhere. You're never leaving this bed. This room. My sight." He gripped my hips, starting to move again. "In fact, I think I need to make sure you understand that right now."
WE MADE LOVE TWICEmore before hunger drove us from the bed. Neil pulled on jeans but left me in nothing but his flannel shirt.
"I like seeing you in my clothes," he said, watching me from the stove where he was making scrambled eggs at two in the morning. "Marking you as mine even when I'm not touching you."
"Possessive."
"You have no idea." He set a plate in front of me at the kitchen table. "But you're going to learn."
I took a bite, suddenly ravenous. But before I could finish, Neil was pulling me up, turning me to face the table.
"What are you doing?"
"Can't stop thinking about bending you over this table." His hands were already pushing up the shirt, exposing me. "About claiming you on furniture I built with my own hands."
"The food will get cold."
"Don't care. Need you again."
He entered me from behind, one hand gripping my hip while the other pressed between my shoulder blades, keeping me bent over the table. The position let him go impossibly deep, and I had to grip the edge to steady myself.
"We’re going to christen every surface in this cabin," he promised, his rhythm hard and claiming. "Kitchen table, workshop bench, living room couch. Everywhere. So you can never forget who you belong to."
"Neil." His name came out as a moan. "I already know. I'm yours."
"I’m going to make sure anyway." He reached around to touch me, fingers working in rhythm with his thrusts. "I’m going to keep you pregnant. Keep you full of my cum. Keep you so satisfied you never think about leaving again."
"Not leaving. Never leaving."
The combination of his words and his touch pushed me over, and I came with a cry that echoed through the kitchen. He followed moments later, burying himself deep with a groan of satisfaction.
Afterward, we actually ate the eggs, though they were lukewarm by then. I sat in his lap, his arms around my waist, feeling thoroughly claimed and deliciously sore.
"I should call the Vermont Historical Society tomorrow," I said. "And figure out the logistics of it all."
He kissed my neck. "What else do you need to figure out?"
"Student loans. Insurance. My things should arrive from Boston in a few days." I paused. "And I guess we should talk about the wedding. Do you really want to do it in a week?"
"Yes. Don't want to wait. I don't want to give the universe any chance to take you away from me again."
"The universe isn't taking me anywhere. I'm exactly where I want to be."
"Then marry me soon. Let me make it legal. Let me put my ring on your finger and my baby in your belly."
"What if I'm already pregnant?" I asked. "We haven't exactly been careful."
His eyes lit up. "Are you?"
"I don't know. It's too soon to tell. But it's possible."
"Good." He pulled me closer. "I want you pregnant. I want everyone to see you carrying my child. Want to watch your belly grow with my baby inside you."
