by Wood, Vivian
“Hey Rem,” Shelby said, bounding over to give Remy a hug. “You look like a hot mess right now, girl.”
“Thanks!” Remy said, flustered.
“Are we all here now?” Sawyer asked, looking around.
“Think so,” Remy’s father said, turning to wave to Shiloh, who gave his grandfather a cheesy grin.
“Okay. You ready?” Sawyer asked Remy.
“Me?” Remy asked, going red. “This is your show, soldier. I’m just along for the ride.”
“Damn straight,” he said, giving her a brilliant grin. “Try not to cry, okay?”
He reached in his back pocket and got down on one knee, showing her a black velvet ring box. Remy’s mouth opened in a shocked O, and she plastered her hands over her heart.
“What are you doing?” she asked, eyes wide.
“I’m trying to be romantic. Give me your hand, Remy.”
She looked at Shelby. Her sister rolled her eyes and waved a hand.
Remy turned back to Sawyer, giving him her right hand.
“Other hand,” he said. “You’re terrible at this.”
“Well, I’ve never done this before!” she said, giving him her left hand instead.
“Shhhhh,” Sawyer said, popping open the ring box and liberating a giant diamond ring.
“Oh my god,” Remy moaned.
“Remy…”
“Sawyer!” she squeaked.
“Woman! Let me propose, if you don’t mind.”
Remy tamped her lips together, trying not to dissolve into hysterical, tearful giggles.
“Remy Alice River…” he said, holding her hand in his as he looked up at her, going somber. “Will you marry me?”
“I… yes?” she said, her heart in a tumult.
“You’d better sound a little more sure than that,” he said, giving her a stern look. “This is forever. Do you want to be my wife?”
“Yes!” she said, overcome. “Yes, of course I do!”
He grinned. “Good choice.”
Sawyer slid the ring onto her finger, then stood. Remy almost knocked him over this time, pressing her lips to his. He wrapped his arms around her waist and dipped her backward, then lifted her up off the ground.
She broke the kiss with a laugh, her heart overflowing. When she turned, looking for Shiloh, her mother was waiting to hand him over.
Shiloh in one arm, Sawyer in the other, Remy looked between her two favorite men, awestruck.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone cry this much during a proposal,” Sawyer said, brushing tears from her cheeks.
“Well, maybe no girl has ever been this lucky,” Remy said.
“Delayed gratification,” Sawyer said, “For both of us.”
He hugged her and Shiloh, the three of them suddenly more than they were just a few minutes ago.
“Family,” she said.
Sawyer nodded. “Family.”
After a minute, Sawyer eased back, giving Remy room to go to her mom, her sisters. She ended up hugging everyone, even Walker and Colt, and crying on everyone too.
The whole affair was kind of a hot mess, but it was also completely fitting. For her, for Shiloh, for Sawyer.
This was exactly the fairy tale they all deserved.
Shiloh went back to Remy’s mother, falling asleep in her arms after all the excitement. Not that he comprehended the meaning of any of it, but babies understood emotion better than almost anybody.
“Well… now what?” Remy asked Sawyer, once everyone had said their congratulations.
“That’s not enough for you?” Sawyer asked, teasing.
“I just meant…” Remy asked, then laughed. “No, I guess not.”
“I think maybe Shiloh is ready to go back to your parents’ house,” he said, slipping an arm around her waist. “And I thought maybe you and I would go back to my place for the night.”
“Oh! That sounds… good,” she said, her cheeks heating.
“Good?” he echoed, kissing her lips.
“Mmmhm,” she said.
“Well, all right. Get in the car,” he said, releasing her and swatting her on the butt.
Blushing, Remy said her goodbyes, turning even redder when Shelby and Larkin blew her loud, silly kisses. Between siblings, there was never really any growing up, apparently.
Remy waited in the car for Sawyer, twisting her huge platinum ring around her finger. It didn’t quite fit, a little loose, but… there was time yet to get that fixed.
She smiled to herself, thinking that her life was a lot like her new ring. It would take a little adjustment to get used to all the changes, but… there were only good things ahead of her.
That much she knew for sure.
When Sawyer got into the car, he gave her a devilish smile.
“How are you feeling, Rem?”
“Bowled over,” she said, smiling back at him.
“Well, buckle up. We’re not done yet.”
He pulled the car out of the drive, letting Remy’s imagination run wild as he drove toward Roman Ranch.
What else could there possibly be? she wondered.
When Sawyer came around to open her door at the ranch, he surprised her yet again by leading her to the main house instead of his little studio apartment. When he opened the front door, Remy’s jaw dropped.
The whole downstairs was completely empty, even the clunky modern kitchen.
“Your surprise is… the furniture is gone?” she asked, giving Sawyer a skeptical look.
“My surprise is, there’s nothing left except a bed upstairs,” he said with a wink. “Because I figure we’re going to need it before you redecorate.”
“Redecorate… to live here?” she asked, puzzled.
“Unless you want to keep living with your parents until the house is built,” he said, a dimple flashing in his cheek as he smirked. “I don’t know about you, but I’m not that patient.”
She flushed. “You are bad right now.”
“You have no idea,” he said, reaching out to brush a fingertip over her new ring. “I don’t want to see you in anything but this for a full day.”
“Sawyer!” she said.
Too late… he grabbed her by the waist, threw her over his shoulder, and headed for the stairs.
27
Sawyer wasn’t joking about the furniture. Upstairs in the master bedroom, there was nothing but a lamp, a side table, and a bed.
A big, freshly made bed.
Remy had about three seconds to take this in as Sawyer carried her over to the bed, setting her down only long enough to strip off his boots, shuck his shirt.
Reaching up, Remy ran her fingertips across the bare expanse of his muscular chest, her body warming with hunger for Sawyer.
Make that… her future husband.
“Why are you still dressed?” Sawyer asked, pulling her to the edge of the bed.
“We’ve got all the time in the world,” Remy said.
“Speak for yourself.”
He knelt to pull off her cowboy boots, his muscular torso rippling as he moved. She watched his shoulders jump and flex as he cast her boots aside, biting her lip.
Sawyer didn’t pause, pulling her tank top up over her head, unbuttoning her shorts and pulling them down.
“Pushy, pushy,” she chided.
“I want you naked,” he said, unbuttoning and stripping off his own jeans.
He wore nothing but tight boxer briefs below, emphasizing his massive cock. Sawyer moved her back against the pillows, sprawling out beside her.
Remy watched him, curious to see what he’d do. To her surprise, he moved back a few inches, just taking her in.
“What are you doing?” she asked, feeling a little burst of shyness.
“Do you have any idea how fucking beautiful you are, Remy?”
Sawyer’s gaze connected with hers, searing her.
She had to remind herself that this was Sawyer — there was nothing for her to fear. She was safe with him, could tell him an
ything.
“You make me feel beautiful,” she said, finding her voice after a moment.
A slow, grateful smile spread over his face. “Come here.”
He pulled her close, pressing soft kisses to her lips. Feather-light, teasing, exciting. He ran a hand down her shoulder, then reached up to brush back a wisp of hair that had escaped her ponytail.
“Am I a mess?” she asked with a soft smile.
“Always,” he joked.
She made a sound of protest, but he just grinned.
“Never. You’re perfect,” he assured her. “Actually, less is more…”
He slid a hand behind her to unhook her bra, pulling the straps down her arms. Then he skimmed her panties down her legs, watching her the whole time with heated eyes.
“Fuck, you’re so hot,” he said, cupping one of her breasts, brushing his fingertips over the top of one of her thighs. “god damn, Remy.”
He moved to kiss her, long and slow, pinching her nipple just hard enough to excite her. She moaned, feeling the delicious warmth spreading low in her body.
But when he trailed his fingers down to the juncture of her thighs, she stopped him. “Wait.”
“Wait?” he asked, cocking a brow. A single thick fingertip caressed her slit, making her eyes flutter shut for a moment. “Are you sure?”
“Yes,” she said, coming back to herself, gripping his wrist. “I want to explore you this time.”
Naked lust slid across Sawyer’s face. “Is that right?”
Remy pressed him onto his back with gentle hands. “That’s right.”
His smirk vanished when Remy stripped off his boxer briefs, kissing her way down his chest. She teased him mercilessly, flicking her tongue over the grooves at his hips, bringing her lips down to almost brush them over the most sensitive spot at the crown of his cock.
When she finally took him in her hand, he groaned.
He was so long and thick, she could barely close her fist around him. She slid her hand up and down his length a few times, reached low to cup his balls, brushed the tip of her nose against the plum head of his cock.
“You’re killing me, love.”
She turned her gaze up to his face, stroking him slowly. “Say it again.”
“Say what?” he asked, cracking an eye open.
“Love.”
“Remy, I love—” he started, his words cut off when she took him in her mouth, reveling in the salty taste of him. “Fuuuuuuuck.”
She shifted to kneel beside him, taking him deep in her throat, easing all the way back up, shivering when she saw his hands begin to shake.
“God damn, Remy,” he said, looking down at her as she slowly worked herself up and down his cock. “You feel too good, I’m not going to last.”
His whole body was already tense and rigid, his hand sliding into her hair as he gently guided her head as she bobbed up and down.
Far too soon, he was pulling her away, dragging her up to his lips. She straddled his hips, grasping his cock and bringing it flush with her body, hungry for him, ready to feel him move inside her.
He tsked at her, letting her stroke him for just a moment, pressing the thick head of his cock against her entrance…
Before pulling away.
Remy growled as he flipped her over onto her back, cupping her breasts and pinching her nipples until she squirmed beneath him.
“Sawyer, please,” she begged.
“Not until I taste you,” he said, spreading her knees wide and moving down, down…
The first touch of his hot tongue against her flesh nearly killed her. Remy cried out, her back arching up off the bed. Sawyer slid his hands around to cup both her ass cheeks, teasing her with long, slow licks until she was sure she would burn alive, nothing left of her but a pillar of ash.
He increased his pace, that clever tongue moving faster and harder, alternating by sucking gently on her clit.
“Sawyer, yes!” she said, her fingers gripping his hair, her hips working against his lips. “Yes, yes!”
When he moved his hand to slide two thick fingers deep inside her, sucking hard at her aching clit, she burst, clenching and shaking as he rode out her orgasm with gentle kisses.
She practically had to tear his mouth away from her flesh, feeling suddenly oh so sensitive. But she wasn’t done with him yet…
“Fuck me, Sawyer,” she whispered. “Please, please…”
He descended on her then, grasping his cock and pushing her back, plunging deep inside her in one hard thrust.
“Yes!” she said, raking her nails across his back, loving the way he stretched her, the weight of him over her body.
But Sawyer wasn’t satisfied with that, rolling them both over so that she was on top, stretched and aching in a new way.
“Fuck, it’s so good,” she groaned, taking the lead. She sat up, finding the perfect angle as she raised and lowered her hips, thrusting and grinding.
“Damn, Remy. You are so fucking perfect,” Sawyer groaned.
“You’re going to make me come again,” Remy said in a hushed whisper, feeling a fine sheen of sweat break out over her body as she moved, taking him as deep and hard as she could. She was on fire for him, her whole body so sensitive and alive, wanting more and more.
With a soft growl, Sawyer lifted her up off his body and turned her over onto her knees, moving behind her. He splayed a hand across her back, pressing her face and chest down toward the bed as he grasped his cock and drove into her deep from behind.
Remy cried out, clutching at the sheets as he penetrated her, so deep and tight that it was almost unbearable.
“Fuck!” Sawyer gritted out.
He moved his hands to her hips, gripping hard, shifting her hips higher, higher…
“OH!” Remy shouted as he hit the spot, that place deep inside her that made her damned knees go weak.
“That’s it,” Sawyer said, his voice gone to grit. “Come for me, love.”
He thrust over and over, hitting that same spot, making her whole body tense and tighten and heat until she came with a cry, her tight channel clutching at his cock.
“Fuck, Remy!” Sawyer said, his movements turning rough as he went over the edge. “Fuck!”
His last thrusts were brutal and blissful, filling her with a rush of heat as he came. He slowed, his touch gentling as he withdrew and collapsed onto his side, pulling her against his sweat-slicked flesh.
She twisted to kiss him, breathless, her entire body feeling like a live wire. They lay tangled together, struggling for breath, Sawyer taking Remy’s hand and lacing their fingers together.
She lay like that, drifting, enjoying the strange new sensation of Sawyer’s ring on her finger, the feel of him next to her.
“Remy?” Sawyer said after a long while.
“Mmm?” she asked, not even opening her eyes.
“I love you.”
Her lips curved into a smile. “I love you, too.”
He was silent a beat.
“You’re not going to sneak out in the middle of the night, are you?” he asked, sounding amused.
Remy laughed. “The thought hadn’t even crossed my mind.”
“Just saying… it’s kind of what you do…”
She opened her eyes and turned to him, giving him a knowing look.
“Sawyer, I’m afraid you’re stuck with me from here on out. Tonight, and every night.”
His grin warmed her to her very core.
“I love you, Remy.”
“I love you, Sawyer.”
After a final kiss, she snuggled down in his arms, happier than she could ever remember being. For Remy at least, it seemed that fairy tales really did come true…
28
Exactly One Year Later
Sawyer stood in the sprawling back yard of Roman Ranch, surveying the scene with great satisfaction. His home had never looked better than it did right now, on the morning of his impending nuptials.
The main house had been beautifull
y renovated. The rickety porch replaced, the whole house painted a sunny yellow color. All Remy’s doing, of course — she had a lot of opinions about how the renovations should be done, and they’d all turned out to be spot-on.
The guest quarters and cottages were complete too, just in time for the arrival of relatives from all over the South. As it turned out, Remy’s family was a heck of a lot bigger than Sawyer had known.
In the newly landscaped yard between the main house and the bunkhouse, amongst the blooming crocuses and blossoming trees, Sawyer and his brothers had built a huge white gazebo.
Sawyer liked the idea that he and Remy were going to christen the gazebo today with their wedding ceremony, the first of a lifetime’s worth of special events that would be held there.
Right now, there were dozens of people running around in all directions through the back yard, doing last-minute preparations. Three hundred guests would begin to descend in an hour, putting the wedding planner and caterer to the test.
“Daddy!”
Sawyer turned to find Shiloh climbing down the front porch steps, using the new hand rails to help himself navigate. Sawyer couldn’t help but grin at Shiloh, who was shirtless but wearing tuxedo pants.
“Hey buddy,” he said, walking over to scoop Shiloh up. “Did you escape while Grandma wasn’t looking?”
Shiloh cracked up, throwing his arms around Sawyer’s neck. “Yeah.”
“Are you ready to carry the rings today?”
“Yeah!” Shiloh said, laying his head against Sawyer’s shoulder.
“You seem tired, kid.”
“Mmm-mm, not tired.”
“Okay,” Sawyer said, rolling his eyes. “Guess you got that stubbornness from me.”
“Shiloh!”
Remy’s mother Eulah stuck her head out the front door of the main house, scowling until she spotted Shiloh in Sawyer’s arms. She was dressed to the nines, a royal blue dress with puffy sleeves and shimmering beads everywhere. She was also barefoot, and carrying Shiloh’s shirt and suit jacket.
“He was just looking for me,” Sawyer said, climbing the stairs so Eulah didn’t have to come down in her stocking feet. “I think he’s about ten minutes away from n-a-p-t-i-m-e.”
