The nearest city, Skagway, is a solid forty-five minutes from Reed’s house. Fortunately, it has decent hotels. This is the city I flew into, and driving through it now, I realize I’m okay. Hope is okay. Yes, the storm scared us, but it didn’t shake us.
The scariest thing of the day, actually, has been driving a car with a baby in it. I look in the rearview mirror every six seconds to make sure Hope is still smiling, still here. She hasn’t left.
She keeps repeating mamamamamama, and at first it’s precious, but eventually it just starts to shred my heart. I can’t leave her.
After checking into a hotel, I grab Hope’s things from the car and carry her to our room on the ground floor. The room door opens to the outside, so I park the car right in front of ours.
There are two queen beds, but I just lay a blanket on the floor and hand Hope a few toys, then drop the rest of our things on one of the beds.
I call Reed’s cell again, but there’s still no answer, as I expected. If he’s out in the middle of the ocean fishing, I really won’t hear from him for another day.
Grateful for being in town, with solid cell service, I try Everly’s number.
Miraculously, she answers.
“Everly, hey, babe,” I sigh into the phone, relieved to be speaking to my dear friend.
“Oh, Amelia, I’m so happy to hear your voice. Is everything okay?””
“Everything is up in the air. But actually, I’m feeling okay at the moment. Are you? Are you okay?”
“I’m amazing. I’m married. I’m in love. I mean, I burned Silas’s house to the ground, but we survived. And if we got through that, we can get through anything, I suppose.”
“Holy shit, Ev. You really did it? You really got married and everything?”
She snorts. “Wait, wasn’t that the plan? The whole thing? Like, the point?”
“Yeah, but I mean, what were we thinking?”
Everly is quiet, and I just need her to talk. I need a familiar voice.
“Say something,” I whisper.
“Are you safe?” she asks. “I mean, I know Monique vetted these men, but are you in trouble, Amelia?”
“No,” I tell her, sitting on the floor, cross-legged, beside Hope. “The man I was sent to is named Reed. Only problem is, he doesn’t want a wife. He has a baby and wants someone to take care of her.”
“Shit, that’s insane.”
“I know. And the worst thing is, I fell so hard for the baby. Her name is Hope, and I don’t know how I can leave her. I love her. So much.”
“Honey. Oh, sweetie.” Her voice rings with that sincerity she always has. “Where is Reed right now?”
“That’s the thing. He left on a fishing trip, and there was a storm, and now Hope and I are at a freaking hotel.”
“You can always come stay with Silas and me. Obviously.”
“You just said you burned down your house.”
“Well, that’s true. We’re at a hotel in Anchorage right now. But we’re closing on a new house tomorrow, in Skagway.”
“That’s where I am,” I tell her. “You’re really moving here?”
“We are. And you are the closest family I have. If you need somewhere to go, come to me.”
“I just don’t know how I’ll leave Hope. And even though Reed is an ass, I think....”
“You love him?”
I pull Hope to my chest, rocking her. “It doesn’t matter how I feel.”
“Listen,” Everly says. “Silas and I were pretty rocky at first, but after a week it all clicked. Now I feel like he’s my soulmate. Maybe you and Reed just need more time, especially if a baby is involved.”
“I don’t need more time. I already know what I want.”
Hope starts whimpering. I need to make her a bottle and get her to bed.
“I should go,” I tell Everly. “But I’m so glad you picked up.”
“Are you gonna be okay? Should I fly out there right now?” Everly asks. “Because I can.”
“I’ll call you in a few days. After the storm passes and Reed gets home, I’ll make a plan. It might be me crashing on your newlywed couch.”
“Anything for you, Amelia.”
“Hey.” I can’t resist asking before I hang up. “How did your first time go?”
“Oh, my god, it was bliss. I was unprepared for some of it, but um. It was worth the wait.”
We hang up, and I smile. Despite things being bad with Reed, I’m here with Hope, and that’s a beautiful gift I never expected.
I give Hope her bottle, change her diaper, turn off the lights. We lay down on the bed, her cradled in my arms.
Closing my eyes, I listen to her deep breathing, her precious coos as she falls asleep.
And I fall asleep, too.
* * *
Hours later, a knock on the door makes me jump. Hope is still nestled against me, sleeping soundly, but I move my arm out from under her and go to see who’s banging on the door.
Through the peephole, I see the only person I want.
Chapter Twenty-One
Reed
She looks so fucking sexy. I love it when she’s tousled and sleepy-eyed, standing before me without a bra, her nipples instantly hard. It’s like all it takes is one look at her solid body and I want all of her.
I need her. I can’t ever let her go again.
“Fuck, Amelia, I looked everywhere for you.”
“You left the fishing trip?” She pulls open the door, and I step inside.
I see Hope sleeping in the middle of one of the queen beds, safe and sound. Thank God.
Pulling Amelia to me, I shut the door and press her against it. “I’ve been a fucking fool.”
“About which part?” Her eyes look up into mine. The room is dark, but shadows play across her face. She’s been crying; her eyes are red, and I know I’ve played a part in that.
I kiss her, press my lips to hers and inhale her sweet scent of perfection.
“Reed.” She pulls away, arching her back in a way that gets me hard, even though I know she isn’t trying to. “I can’t do this with you, be this person you want me to be.”
“You don’t know what I want,” I tell her, pinning her arms over her head.
She shakes her head ever so slightly. “You want a mother for Hope. You want someone to fuck. I’m replaceable. But I want to be more than that.”
I lean into her, my breathing hot and heavy because I don’t want my woman to ever feel this way again.
“Good, because you are more than that. You are fucking everything to me. If I lost you, Amelia, I don’t know what I would do. I need you. Not just to fuck me, and not just to care for Hope. I need you as mine. I need you as my wife.”
Her breath catches; her eyes fill with tears. “Don’t say that if you don’t mean it, Reed.”
“Oh, I mean it, baby. I’m going to make you my wife.”
I kiss her again, this time pressing my hardness against her. She groans beneath me, her chin tilting up, and I leave a trail of kisses across her neck. She whimpers, and my hands grip hers over her head. I swear to God, I won’t let go.
My hands find the waistband of her leggings, shoving them down. Sliding my hand between her legs, I sink my fingers into her perfect folds. “You’re so wet, baby,” I whisper in her ear.
“For you, Reed, I’m always wet for you.”
Her eyes flutter closed as I circle her pulsing clit, unable to stop myself from touching her.
“I need to have you, and I can’t wait,” I tell her. “I love you, Amelia, so fucking hard.”
“I love you, too,” she pants. “We can make love later. Now, I need your cock to fill me. I need to feel you in me.”
I let go of her hands, and she steps out of her pants. She unbuttons my jeans, and I drop them so fucking fast, because looking at her bare pussy again gets me hard as steel, and I’m gonna fill her tight cunt with my solid rod.
“Take me,” she begs, and I don’t wait. I pick her little ass up, re
sting her against the wall as she wraps her legs around me. Sinking onto my cock, she whimpers, because it’s tight and warm and so fucking right.
“Oh, yeah, baby,” I tell her, then I kiss her hard, my teeth pulling at her pouty lips, swollen with desire. My hands cup her ass cheeks, and her soft flesh in my palm makes me thrust deep in her little pussy.
I can’t hold back, and why would I want to? I want to fill my wife with my seed so she remembers my promise to be hers. I want to fill her with my release, so she never forgets who she belongs to.
“Oh, I’m gonna come, oh God, Reed, I’m coming so hard,” she moans in my ear. “Oh, yeah, yes, yes, fuck.” Her juicy pussy pours over our thighs, and I love how my massive cock hits her so deep that her body can’t help but gush all over me.
I thrust into her, loving that she came first, so that she’s barely caught her breath when I shoot into her. I want her to lose her mind; I want her to disappear in pleasure.
“Oh, I love it when you come in me,” she says, her words buried in moans, because she loves this so damn much.
I finish, my come filling her tight little gap, and when I lift her off of me, her hand immediately reaches for my cock, like she can’t bear to be separated from it.
She strokes my hardness as I lift the hem of her tee shirt. Lowering my mouth, I suck her full tits, my tongue indulging in her perfect, hard nipples.
“One day, these gorgeous tits are going to be full of milk. I’m going to fill your pussy with my come, and your womb with my child.”
“Good,” she tells me. Then, biting her lip, she runs her hands over my ass, pulling me to her. “As your wife I wouldn’t expect anything less.”
I kiss her again, then lead her to the bathroom where we wash off, cleaning up her dripping pussy. I try to lick her slick thighs, but she giggles, then swats me away. She points at Hope, who is still sleeping soundly.
Amelia pulls her leggings back on, and I put on my boxers, and then she and I crawl into bed, Hope cradled between us.
The room is silent, save for three hearts beating as one.
“Would you have left?” I ask, needing to know the answer.
“I thought about it,” she admits in a whisper, “because I’m so tired of feeling unwanted. But even if you didn’t want me, I could never have left Hope.”
“I’m so sorry I put you through that.” I find her hand, and lace my fingers through hers.
“I’ve been so focused on finding a man who thought I was enough for him … but I had it all wrong.”
“You’re more than enough, Amelia. You’re more than I deserve.”
She pulls away. “Reed, listen: I thought I needed a man, but I don’t.”
“What are you saying?”
“I can do this on my own. This whole life thing? I can figure it out by myself if I need to.”
“But?”
“But I don’t need you. I want you. A life with you and Hope.”
I kiss her, because how could I not with words so sweet and pure and real? “Finding you is the best thing that’s ever happened to Hope.”
“The best thing that has happened to me, too,” she whispers, solemnly.
“Wait, what about meeting me?” I laugh softly. “Seriously, though, Amelia, I will marry you tomorrow. I love you, and I don’t want you to ever feel unwanted again. I want you now and I want you forever.”
“Tomorrow?” she sounds surprised.
“Or we can wait. You don’t have to be my mail order bride with a rushed wedding. You want a big show with a white dress and a fucking first dance? I’ll give that to you, baby. I’ll give you everything.”
“Stop making me cry.”
“Wife, I’ll be making you cry for the rest of your life.”
“Tears of joy though, right?”
“No, I’m talking tears of motherfucking ecstasy.”
Epilogue
Eight Months Later…
Amelia never really thought about what sort of wedding she’d like, until the night Reed told her he was making her his wife. But she knew without a doubt she wanted a winter wedding, right here in Alaska, under the snow-capped mountains that her husband-to-be so dearly loved, with a fire blazing before them, just like the love in their hearts and the passion in their soul. Hot as hell, and all-consuming.
The lodge Delta runs with her husband Boone is the obvious location. And since Everly and Silas have moved to Skagway, into a gorgeous waterfront home, they flew with Amelia, Reed, and Hope for the winter wedding.
They’ve just landed on Delta and Boone’s lake, and as they get off the floatplane, the three women group-hug, making the men cough—eyes raised, stoic mountain men who are in for a week full of exclamation points and hyperbole.
“You made it!” Delta claps her hands as everyone makes their way down the dock into the lodge. “And, oh my God, Everly, you’re huge!”
“Gee, thanks,” Everly says, laughing. “I mean, I’m eight months pregnant, and a tad bit sensitive, but thanks.”
“No, sweetie, it’s not a bad thing. It’s just that when I saw you last month you weren’t so ... round.”
“I know,” Everly groans as they enter the lodge, stomping their snow-covered boots before entering. “Silas was worried about coming, but my midwife promised me it was okay since we have the floatplane, and there are lots of pilots here, and I’m just at thirty-six weeks right now, so I still have a month to go.”
“Well, I think you look gorgeous,” Amelia says, taking off her parka, and rubbing her own belly. “I mean, I’m only four months along and I’ve already gained about fifty pounds.”
“Which is fine considering you are growing a person,” Delta says, taking coats from her friends and putting them in the large coat closet in the foyer.
The personal chef, Trey, walks in from the kitchen and lets them know hot toddies and cider are waiting in the lounge.
The friends walk into the lounge, where a fire is burning. Leather chairs are covered with wool blankets, but not a single taxidermied animal covers the walls. Delta calls it progress.
“You’re so fancy,” Amelia says, her eyebrows raised. “I mean, I know we spent a week here over the summer, while our house was getting fixed from the storm-slash-bear attack, but I forget that you have like, full-time help.”
Silas, Boone, and Reed pour extra shots of whiskey into their mugs, and then get the women their hot cider.
“You will, too,” Delta says, curling up in Boone’s lap. “I mean, when the baby comes you’ll get someone to help, right?”
Amelia sets Hope down on the floor, then roots through a tote bag and pulls out toys for her. “I don’t think we will get help. I mean, I don’t know.” She looks up at Reed, and a warmth passes between them that’s undeniable. “Reed is so good with babies.”
“Yeah, maybe not full-time help,” Reed says. “But we definitely need to have someone come to help sometimes, because I can’t share Amelia every night.” He grabs Amelia’s arm, pulling her to him, not at all hesitating to plant a kiss on her lips. She nestles under his arm, blushing at his public display of affection, but clearly not minding too much, because she can’t seem to stop looking at him with a starry-eyed gaze.
“TMI,” Everly laughs, sitting next to her husband, Silas, whose arm holds her close on the loveseat. “Seriously, get a room. There are plenty here, and we can watch Hope.”
Amelia shakes her head, rolling her eyes. “Hope sleeps thought the night, so we aren’t desperate here.”
“Hey, no shame, chickadee,” Delta says. “I mean, you’re nearly newlyweds. We get it.”
“Speaking of newlyweds, did you guys ever decide on your honeymoon plans for this spring?” Silas asks Boone. Boone and Delta are waiting until the off-season to take their own honeymoon.
“Well, actually,” Boone begins, running his hand through his beard. “Delta, did you?”
Delta grins, her bright smile sparkling as she looks at her husband, a secret passing between them.
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“What, where are you going?” Amelia asks. “Is it Paris? You’ve always wanted to go to Paris.”
Delta laughs. “I don’t think I could get my mountain man to Paris, no matter how much lingerie I packed. France will need to be a girl’s trip. And the boys can go to, like, Scotland. They can drink whiskey there; that seems more manly.”
“And wear kilts,” Amelia adds. “Those guys go commando.”
Everly laughs. “And Jamie from Outlander was seriously hot.”
“I’d so do him,” Delta says, momentarily forgetting she’s nestled in her husband’s arms. “What?” she asks as Boone shoots her a raised eyebrow. “He was really hot.”
“Well, it will be hot in Mexico, too,” Boone agrees. “And there’s some killer fishing there.”
“That’s where you’re going for the honeymoon, then?” Reed asks.
“Not honeymoon,” Delta says. “Babymoon.”
“What? Are you serious?” Everly jumps up, wrapping her friends in a hug. “Oh, my gosh, this is amazing!”
“This is so amazing,” Amelia squeals. “We will all have babies together!”
“Oh my gosh,” Everly says, stepping back. “Um.”
“What?” Silas asks, leaning forward. “What is it, girl?”
“Uh...I’m trying not to freak out here, but um....” All three girls tilt their heads, looking at the floor, reaching for one another’s hands.
Everly’s water has broken.
She’s having a baby. Today.
* * *
The housekeeper at the lodge, Sally, has Everly in a spare room when the midwife Dora arrives. Apparently flying to births in Alaska is something she’s well-versed in, and she didn’t seem fazed at all when Silas called to let her know that Everly’s water had broken.
Sally just takes control, getting Everly into a bed, bossing everyone around to get water, clean sheets, and extra towels. Once Everly is set up, Sally scoops Hope from Amelia’s arms and lets her know she’ll go get some dinner for the little one.
If anyone is to have an unexpected delivery, Everly is the girl to have it. She isn’t as opinionated as Delta, and not as intense as Amelia; she just breathes in and out, slowly, surely, and as undramatically as possible.
BY THE MOUNTAIN MAN: The Complete Collection Page 28
