Epilogue 2
"Broken down? I don't…" My voice trails off when I glimpse the fuel gauge in Marshall's car. "But you're a mechanic. Things like this don't happen to people who work on cars."
Marshall snorts as he reaches for his car door. "They happen to everyone. Come on, baby."
I grab his arm, stopping him before he can open it. "I don't understand, where are we going?"
"We'll go shift in the trees and run back home."
I shift my gaze from him to the rain splattering on the windshield. "But it's raining."
"It's not a storm, though it might be soon. Come on, jellybean."
I don't move. It feels like we're repeating something that's already happened, and this isn't the good kind of déjà vu .
After what happened the last time I ran out of fuel, I'm in no hurry to leave the relative safety of Marshall's gray Honda and brave the forest lining the side of the road.
Coming so soon after our confrontation with the shifters, I don't like how far out of town we are and how far help will be if we need it.
"Baby, it's okay."
I glance at him. "Are you sure you can't…" I trail off when I see he's already shaking his head.
"Nothing I can do about an empty gas tank, baby. There's no fix for that."
"But we could call…"
Marshall tugs his phone from his overall pocket and flashes it at me. "No signal."
I sigh as another wave of disappointment hits. "Then this house you wanted to show me is going to be a definite no then. If there's no phone signal, that means no internet and I need the internet."
"I think it's just this spot, jellybean."
"And this house is too far out of town. It must be even further out than my place."
"I've told you that I don't care about where it is. If it's the perfect house for you, it doesn't matter how long it takes me to get to work."
"Marshall," I say, sounding firm. "We're not looking for the perfect house for me. We're looking for the perfect house for us. Otherwise, it isn't perfect for me."
He slips a hand around my nape and tugs me closer for a lingering kiss. "I love you, baby."
I melt against him. "I love you, too."
After releasing me, he turns and shoves his door open. "Now come on and stop being chicken. Let's go."
Grumbling under my breath, I follow him out. "I'm not being chicken. It's called being cautious. Wary. Careful."
For several miles, I trail Marshall deeper into the forest, grumbling until he suddenly stops. He turns and presses me against a tree, kissing me before I can ask him why we've stopped, or I can tell him that I don't feel like kissing someone who would call me chicken.
He kisses me for so long and so thoroughly that I forget why I was grumbling. I forget that it's raining, that it's cold, and I'm in a sundress and sandals which aren't at all appropriate for a late afternoon trek through the Colorado forest.
When Marshall lifts his head, I'm ready to drag him right back, until I glimpse the heat in his eyes and realize that unless I want us to have sex against a tree, it's probably best we stop kissing and now.
"You're no chicken," he murmurs as he continues to lean his hard length against me, pinning me against the tree.
"No?" I echo as I gaze up at him.
Dressed in a pair of his blue work overalls that he's undone and tied the sleeves around his hips, a white t-shirt, sneakers, and his shoulder-length dark-blond hair tied back from his face, he's hardly dressed for a trek through the forest either.
"No. But it got you out of the car, and this far without you demanding to know why we hadn't stopped to shift yet."
My eyes widen in realization. "What do you mean, this far?"
Marshall takes my hand and pulls me around the tree he was kissing me silly against. And there is a small wood cabin with smoke drifting from the chimney.
"This far."
I turn to find Marshall grinning down at me. "Marshall, why do I have a feeling the car running out of gas was no accident?"
He tugs at my hand. "Good instincts, jellybean. Come on, let's get you out of this rain."
Meekly, I trail after him. "I'm beginning to think you must know where all the cabins are in Hardin. Maybe you should quit working as a mechanic and get a job as a tour guide or something?"
He turns to grin at me. "I know where some cabins are. Mostly those close to where tourists have broken down and needed saving."
"See, I knew you liked saving other people."
With his hand on the door, he shoots me another glance. "Who said anything about me liking it? You, at least I get a kiss out of it, but the tourists…"
Ignoring my glare, he grins as he shoves the door open.
And that's when my annoyance falls away. I forget about the rain and my wet hair and clothes, all because of what's in front of me.
I've never been the sort of girl who was happy to camp down in nature or go for long hikes. But this cabin, with a cozy-looking mattress lying a few feet away from a roaring fire, a bottle of champagne and glasses nearby along with a bowl of strawberries dipped in chocolate, is everything I love about living in the mountains. And the best thing of all, are the dozens of candles covering the kitchen counter and floors.
At the sound of Marshall closing the door behind us, I turn to him. "Marshall, what is this?"
"Romance in a cabin, jellybean. I thought you'd appreciate a couple of nights making love beside the fire, food that is not spam, skinny dipping in the stream nearby, no danger from any strange shifters, and best of all, rest while I take care of you because nothing makes me happier than when I'm doing that."
I stare at him as I try to work through all the feelings pouring through me. Not the least of which is love.
He takes a step away. "You want some champagne, baby?"
When I don't respond, he turns back to me with a frown. "Baby? You're not saying anything, or moving, or-"
I burst into tears.
"Fuck." Marshall abandons his mission to get me champagne and gathers me in his arms.
Fortunately for both of us, my tears only last for a couple of minutes. Just long enough for Marshall to ease me down on the mattress beside the fire, help me out of my wet sandals, and crouch in front of me with a far larger handful of tissues than I would ever need.
"I didn't mean to make you cry, jellybean." He leans in to kiss my brow.
After mopping my face with a single tissue, I take the rest from Marshall and deposit them on the floor beside us. "They're happy tears so it's the good kind."
He doesn't look convinced.
With Marshall eyeing me curiously, I urge him onto the mattress so I can sit astride him. It's fast becoming a favorite position and from Marshall's response, it is for him as well.
His eyes go heavy-lidded as the position brings my core flush against his hard length.
"Marshall?"
I ignore him stroking my hip for the moment. "Yes, jellybean?"
"How did you do this? I mean, you had to work today."
He shakes his head. "No, I didn't."
"But you…" My voice trails off as I realize he must've been planning this for several days at least.
I wasn't happy when he told me we'd be coming to view a house today, the day after our mating ceremony when I'd hoped to spend it all day in bed with him. I was even less thrilled when he told me that he had to go deal with a car emergency in town. "There was no emergency in town."
Again, he shakes his head. "Nope."
My eyes go to his overalls. "But you got dressed."
"Disguise, baby. Disguise."
"So, you came here to set up?"
"No, it was too far. I met up with Gavin to make sure he could get everything done. I didn't want to leave the candles burning for too long."
I raise my head again to take in the cabin. Of course, someone else would've had to do the last-minute arrangements. Especially since the champagne bottle still looks icy cold, the chocolate hasn't melted even though it's hot in here, and the candles haven't burned even halfway down yet. "I love it," I murmur.
When I lower my gaze, I find Marshall studying me with a pleased smile on his face. I curve my hand around his jaw. "I love you."
He tangles his hand in my hair and draws me down for a lingering kiss that soon has me moaning. But just as he's shifting me onto my back, I break the kiss and get to my feet, despite Marshall's complaints. "Where are you going?"
"Nowhere." I grip the hem of my dress and ease it over my head.
Marshall's eyes turn hooded as his gaze moves over my body. I didn't bother with a bra because I wanted to be comfortable, only settling for a pair of black cotton panties. "Baby, come back here." His growl is nothing less than an order.
"No."
His gaze returns to my face. "No?"
I shake my head, then it's my turn to lower my attention to his body. "You're wearing altogether too many clothes. I want you naked."
He doesn't argue, he doesn't say a word, just springs to his feet and in seconds he's standing naked in front of me, his clothes strewn all over the floor.
With my gaze locked on his, I grip the hem of my panties and step out of them, leaving us standing naked, face to face, in front of the fire.
Marshall steps closer and raises his hand to cradle the back of my head. "I can't believe I'm lucky enough to have the most beautiful woman in the world love me." Bending his head, he kisses me lightly on the lips.
"Marshall…" His lips travel along my jaw as he steps even closer, his hardness pressed flush against my belly.
"Baby?"
Standing on tiptoes, I slide my hands over his arms and up to his shoulders. I press my lips against his throat. "What would happen if I were to bite you again?"
Two seconds later, and I'm flat on my back with him braced over me. His eyes burn. "I would prepare for a hard ride that lasts all night."
Good lord.
I shift restlessly beneath him. "How hard?"
His eyes search my face. There's a touch of concern there, and I know that even though I tell him he could never hurt me, he's always afraid he will. "You want it hard."
I draw his face down and kiss him softly. It's as much about reassuring him as it is about me craving his lips on mine. "Sometimes I do. It never hurts. It feels…" Closing my eyes, I reach for him even though I know he's not likely to feel me through the mate bond yet.
It's something that will probably happen weeks or months from now, but something compels me to try anyway. I listen to that small voice in my head.
Through it, I show him all the ways I want him to take me. On my back, on my knees, me astride him, I want to taste him, bring him to climax with my mouth, and him to do the same to me. I want him to pin me against the cabin wall, then to pin my wrists to the ground and growl as he slams so deep into me that he touches the end of me. I want-
Marshall's harsh swear cuts off my internal thoughts. When I open my eyes, I find his have gone wolf. "Fuck, baby. Enough. A man can only take so much."
I stare at him for a long moment in stunned silence. He can only mean one thing. One impossible to be true, thing. "You saw," I breathe, my eyes wide with shock.
He dips his head, and his hands cradle my face. His kiss is achingly sweet despite the burning heat in his eyes. "I more than saw, baby, I felt."
As we kiss, my eyes fill with tears.
When he lifts his head, he studies me for a second before speaking, "Happy tears?"
I nod.
"You want a tissue and champagne?"
I sniff. "No, I want you."
His fingers brush a tear away. "And how do you want me, jellybean?"
I'm sure he doesn't mean me telling him, so I don't. I show him again, this time in detail. And when I feel his cock jerking against me, I turn my head and bite him.
We come together with an urgency that has me screaming my need. For hours we don't sleep, we don't eat, we don't do anything but love each other, long into the night and into the morning. No matter how many times Marshall has me sobbing out my release, it never seems enough. I'm insatiable, and so is he.
The candles finally burn out, but neither of us notices, at least not right away. We're too concerned with exploring each other's bodies with our hands and our mouths, until finally, as the sky is lighting into morning, Marshall eases his body from mine, and, exhausted, we close our eyes and sleep.
Sometime the next morning, or maybe it's afternoon, something wakes me. It takes me several seconds to work out what it is because it's a subtle change. So small that I almost miss it, but it's a change that has me beaming.
Beside me, Marshall lays stretched out on his back lightly snoring.
Fighting to hold on to my excitement, I move to sit astride him.
Not even a second goes by before he's stirring. Without opening his eyes, he lifts a hand and strokes my bare thigh. "Jellybean, you know how I feel about this position," he mumbles.
Even if I didn't feel the growing erection between my legs, I would know from the husky note in his voice. "Marshall?"
"Hmmm."
"I think we should tell the realtor we're not interested in looking for a house anymore."
"You change your mind about moving?"
I grin down at him, pausing before I shock him awake. "Yes, because of Squirt Two."
His eyes snap open and he stares up at me looking adorably half-confused and half-asleep. He starts to sit up, but with me astride him, changes his mind, and lays back down again. "Jellybean?"
Taking pity at his utter confusion, I bend over him and kiss him lightly on the lips before drawing back a little, so we're eye to eye. "We should talk to Dayne about the arrival of Squirt Two." He blinks up at me, clearly still trying to wake up. "Or Baby Marshall, though I'm still not fond of the-"
Before I can finish my sentence, I'm pinned beneath Marshall, who has finally woken up. He inhales. The radiant smile spreading across his face has my heart hurting. "Your scent is different."
I loop my arms around his shoulders. "Yes, it is."
"Which means you're pregnant."
I nod firmly. "Yes, it does."
His smile grows. "With my baby."
"With our baby."
His eyes turn watery and that's all I see before he buries his face in the hollow of my shoulder and neck. "Fuck. Jellybean. We're having a baby."
"Yes, so we need to figure out where we're going to live."
"Because you want us to move back with the pack," he says, still speaking into my throat.
I roll so I'm back on top and peering down at him. "Marshall, you keep saying yes."
He blinks up at me in confusion. "What?"
"You haven't said no to a single thing I've asked for since we mated."
He's even moved into my house until we find somewhere to live, despite him having to get up ridiculously early to drive to work in the morning. I tried to tell him it would be better for us to stay at his since it's not like I have to leave to go to work, but he was insistent.
When he opens his mouth, presumably to tell me I'm wrong, seconds pass and then he closes his mouth again without having said a single word.
"Do you think this could be just as much of a problem as me never saying no?" I ask frowning.
He raises his hands to stroke my hips. "Baby, I want to say yes to you. I want to make you happy. There's nothing wrong with that."
"But what if-"
"Did you ever think about how many other shifter relationships don't work?"
I shake my head.
"We always hear about the ones that don't work out between dominant and submissive shifters, but what about all the others? Jackson had a fated mate, and that didn't work. Jeremy and Savannah nearly didn't make it. Did you ever think about that?"
"You're right. I didn't."
"Well, you never need to worry about our relationship being unbalanced because now it's guaranteed to happen."
I raise an eyebrow. "It is?"
He nods firmly. "Yes. In favor of Squirt Two. So, I'd get your fill of me saying yes while you can, 'cause soon we'll both be saying no to each other and yes to Squirt always."
A smile teases my lips because I can believe that.
"Have I convinced you, jellybean?"
I nod.
"Good." He rolls me onto my back and pins my wrists to the bed. "Now, there are a few things I wanted to show you before I feed you."
And he does. Things that make me scream, and then moan and then sob my release. After, he refuses to let me move from bed. He makes and then feeds me breakfast, followed by strawberries dipped in chocolate that's a little bit melted but still yummy.
We pass on the champagne for obvious reasons. All the while, it rains and storms outside of our little cabin in the Colorado mountains, and for the next two days, we do nothing but make love in front of a roaring fire, laugh, and eat until we're bursting.
It's exactly the romantic retreat I never knew I've always wanted.
Thanks for sticking around.