Wait.
She thought she was bothering him?
Did she . . . think he was here to break up with her? For good?
Ah hell, he was just messing all of this up. Hank rubbed his beard, frustrated. The sound of both of them crying was killing him, so he did the only thing he could think of to stop it. He was no good with words—that much was obvious. Better to just show her. Mutely, he pulled the ring box out of his pocket while she rocked his daughter in her arms, soothing her.
Then he dropped to one knee in front of Becca and held the ring box out.
She froze, her eyes going wide. After a long moment, she sniffed, confusion on her face. “I think I missed something.”
“I miss you,” he said bluntly.
Her lips formed a circle of surprise.
She wasn’t saying anything, though, so he continued. He had to get it all out before she changed her mind about him. Before she decided she was better off without him in her life. “I miss you so much that it makes my entire body ache,” he continued. “I miss hearing your laughter. I miss your smile and I miss the smell of your hair and I miss the way you push your cold feet between my legs when we’re sleeping together. I know I scared you off because I said I wanted to go back to Alaska, but I don’t want to go there if you’re not going to be with me. I want to be where you are, because that’s the place that makes me happy.”
Becca swiped at her eyes, gazing at him from over Libby’s head. “But you said—”
“I know. I ran my mouth off without stopping to ask what you wanted. I know you have a business here and there’s nothing for you up there but me. I was mad about it for a few days, I admit, but I also had to think about what I really wanted. I haven’t missed Alaska all that much since I’ve been here. Sometimes I miss the weather or the quiet, but Wyoming’s not so bad.” He shook his head and then gazed up at her, devouring her face. “But I missed you every second of every day for the past two weeks. I couldn’t sleep at night because you weren’t with me. I heard that Greg guy came around and—”
“I’m not with him,” she said quickly. “Never again.”
“I know,” Hank continued. “I heard he was sniffing around and I wanted to come by and kick his ass for thinking he had the right. And then I stopped being angry at him and started getting angry at myself. For letting you down. For thinking I could walk away and not be affected.” He shook his head. “If you said no to me right now, I wouldn’t blame you. I haven’t been the best boyfriend, and I know I’m sometimes stubborn and hard to live with, and I can be frustrating and—”
“Yes,” Becca said quickly.
His heart soared. “Yes?”
She bit her lip as their eyes met. “A few conditions first, though.”
Everything inside him froze. This was when she dropped the hammer. This was when she’d make him grovel, make him beg to have her back and . . . hell, he’d do it. He’d do it because those tears shining in her eyes and the hesitation on her face were killing him. “Go on.”
“Whether we stay here or we go, we discuss it together, okay?”
He relaxed. “I can do that.”
“And two . . . I don’t want a long engagement. I already did that once. This time I want to actually make my way to the altar and not just get dragged along—”
“Today?” he asked.
“What do you mean, today?”
“I’ll marry you today, if you want. We can go right down to the courthouse and do this.”
Becca looked astonished. “Today?”
“What’s wrong with today?” He held the ring box out again, nudging it toward her. “Or tomorrow, I guess, if you want to wait.”
She stared at him. Licked her lips. Hugged Libby closer. And then she hesitated once more. “I think I have one more condition.”
“Oh?”
“I need to know if you love me,” she blurted out. “Maybe that’s just me being emotional and silly, but I don’t know if I can do this if you don’t love me like I love you.”
Is that what she was worried about? Had he never said the words? Hank reached out and took her free hand in his. She looked at him, all uncertainty, as he gently took his daughter from her arms. He set Libby down and she popped her thumb into her mouth, looking up at him. He took Becca’s other hand in his, and then squeezed them both as he pulled her in close to him, dragging her forward until she was seated on his knee.
And then he wrapped his arms around her tightly, because he was never going to let her go. “I love you,” he murmured. “I love you so much. Marry me?”
She smiled. “Okay.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Two hours later, she had a ring on her finger and she was Mrs. Henry Watson.
It didn’t feel real. Becca couldn’t stop touching the ring on her finger as they helped Libby get ready for bed. They were at Becca’s house, tucking Libby into her room after a long, long day. The little girl had been yawning for the last hour after they’d driven back from the courthouse a few towns over, and even a Happy Meal hadn’t kept her awake. That meant that they’d get alone time together—which meant the wedding night.
Gosh, she was more than ready for a wedding night.
She twisted the oversize ring on her finger and gazed down at it again. Hank hadn’t realized how small her fingers were, so the ring was far too big. She still wanted to wear it, though, so the backside of the ring was covered in a thick wad of wrapped tape to make the fit a little more snug. It was the perfect ring, Becca decided. It was a small cluster of diamonds in the shape of a flower, and it sparkled and danced every time she moved her hand. It wasn’t enormously expensive, but she was glad about that. She didn’t want Hank spending a fortune on a ring—she just wanted Hank.
He pressed a kiss to Libby’s brow as he tucked her in. “Night, Libs.” Hank looked up at Becca and gestured at his daughter.
She smiled and leaned in to give Libby a kiss. “Good night, princess.”
“G’night, Mama.” Libby had been calling her that since they’d left the courthouse, and it made Becca’s eyes tear up every time. She really was a mama now. This was more than she could have dreamed.
Hank took her hand and they left the room together, tiptoeing back down to Becca’s bedroom. She blushed with embarrassment at the mess—there were empty Kleenex boxes next to the bed from her crying binge, her trash can was overflowing, and there was an empty box of chocolates on the floor. She’d been a bit of an emotional eater in the last two weeks. “Sorry it’s a mess—”
He sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled her against him, tucking her between his thighs. His arms went around her waist and he turned her around, easing the tunic over her head. “I don’t mind the mess. You weren’t expecting company. No, that’s not right. Part of me hates the mess because I see what I did to you and it’s awful. I wish I’d never made you cry.” He touched her cheek. “And the small, selfish part of me likes it because it meant you were messed up as much as I was.” He leaned in and pressed a kiss to the middle of her now-naked back. “I missed you something fierce.”
“Me too,” she breathed. “God, I missed you so much. That’s why I came by.”
“I was hoping. Distracted, too.” He made a hand gesture, indicating how deep his arm had been in the cow, but that seemed like the wrong thing to do at the moment. Heck, even this he was messing up. He shook his head and kept talking. “I was just too tongue-tied to say anything. Didn’t want to fuck it up more than I already had.” He pressed another kiss to her back, sending shivers across her skin, and then undid the fastening on her bra. “Still can’t believe you’re mine forever.”
“Forever.”
He groaned, dragging the bra off her shoulders and letting it fall to the floor. “Never thought I’d have a wife. Never thought I’d get to touch someone as pretty as you, as perfect, as soft.”
“I love you,” she told him again, cupping his jaw and twining her fingers in his beard. It was still soft, and she arched a brow at him. “Did you oil this?”
“Was kinda hoping I’d get you back. I did a lot of thinking about all the makeup kissing we’d get to do.” He gave her a sly look.
Becca giggled. She’d been thinking about it, too. They’d kissed briefly after the proposal, but Libby had been impatient and they’d only managed to sneak a few pecks. It was the same at the courthouse. He’d held her hand and they’d exchanged their vows, and he’d given her a quick, searing kiss. She was hungry for more now that they were alone and had all the time in the world. So she put a hand on his chest and leaned in, brushing her lips over his.
Hank’s mouth met hers in a hard, delicious slant, and then he was devouring her with hungry, needy kisses, showing her just how much he’d missed her. She’d missed him, too, just as fiercely, and then she was kissing him back with all the pent-up frustration and need of the last few weeks. Her tongue met his and she twined her fingers in his hair, full of need and longing.
“Love you,” he managed between kisses. “I’m gonna say it more often so you know it, but I love you, Becca. You’re the most perfect woman ever.”
His hand slid between her thighs and he cupped her sex, teasing the folds apart with light touches, stroking her until she was rocking her hips against his hand, her mouth frantic on his. She whimpered with every caress, until she was losing track of where she was. Her world had narrowed down to the hand driving her wild, the big body she pressed up against, and the mouth that possessed hers like he owned it. “My Becca,” he told her over and over again. “All mine.”
“Yours,” she agreed, and when his hand left the warmth between her thighs, she whimpered, tearing at the buttons on his shirt. He needed to get naked, pronto. She had to touch his bare skin or she’d go mad. “Hank, I need you—”
He captured her mouth again, silencing her words, but even as he kissed her, he tore at his clothing, pulling first his shirt off and then ripping at his belt. She stepped backward as he cast off the last of his clothing, and then he was naked and glorious in front of her, the hard, thick length of his cock rising from his lap. He sat down on the edge of the bed again and pulled her forward, kissing her. “Straddle me,” he told her in a low breath.
“Straddle . . . you?” She could feel herself blushing.
“I’ve got you,” he reassured her, one big hand on the small of her back. “Want to look at you when I sink so deep inside you, Becca.”
Oh, she wanted that, too. Feeling a little awkward, she nevertheless did as he asked, straddling him with her hips and creeping forward ever so slightly until his cock brushed against her spread folds. She felt exposed like this, vulnerable, and even more so when he reached between them and caressed her again.
“Love how wet you are, baby. You’re coating my hand with your need.”
She was; there was something about the way he touched her that just made her crazy with arousal, as if her body would never stop humming—and now they were going to have incredible sex for the rest of their lives. It seemed like a dream. He carefully lifted her up and then shifted his weight. She felt the press of his cock against the entrance to her core for a split second before he kissed her again, and then she eased her weight down, working him into her body.
And good lord, it was delicious. Whimpering, clinging to Hank, she forgot all about awkwardness as he locked an arm around her waist and began to slowly work his hips.
“Oh—wait,” Becca gasped, remembering something important. “Hank, wait, you can’t be inside me bare.”
He thrust deep, her eyes nearly rolling back in her head with how good it felt. “You want me to get out now? When you feel so damned good?”
“Not . . . on . . . pill,” she managed between thrusts. He really did feel amazing, and it was hard to concentrate. “I stopped taking it when we broke up.”
“Good,” he said, and buried his face against her neck as he pulled her closer. “Hope you want lots of babies, because I plan on taking my wife every night for the rest of our lives.”
She moaned. “I want that. I want that so much.”
He began to rock into her harder, and Becca used her own hips to work him deep. She lifted up and sank back down, trying to find a rhythm, but he was so distracting and delicious that she kept losing control. Eventually Hank gripped her waist and then rolled them over until she was under him on the bed, and then he began to take her with deep, hard strokes that made her feel as if he was claiming all of her. It didn’t take long for her to come—the change in angles made that deep belly orgasm build almost instantly. She clung to him as the pleasure wracked her body, gasping out his name, and a few moments later, when he came, she held him as he shuddered over her.
Hank’s big body collapsed on top of hers, and then Becca shivered at how good it felt to be pinned underneath him. Her husband had the most wonderfully huge body, and it felt so good over her. She was a little sad when he eased off her and then washed them both with a damp towel. Then he pulled her close against him and tucked her under his chin.
“Mrs. Watson,” he murmured.
The name made her so damned happy.
He rubbed her naked back absently, his big hand curving up and down her side and then cupping her butt. “So when do you want to have the big church wedding?”
She looked up at him, surprised. “You want to do that?”
“If it’s what you want. I’m fine with it. Figured you wanted the big white gown and lots of flowers and everyone staring as you make an honest man out of me.”
Becca giggled at that, then shook her head. “I’m strangely in no rush.” It felt good to just be his. She didn’t have anything to prove to anyone. If they had a second wedding later on, that was fine. If not, well, that was fine, too. “We should probably talk about a few things first, though.”
“Like when I get to meet your parents?”
“Ugh. I guess we do need to do that at some point.” She made a face. “Maybe not yet, though.” Her father would wonder about their relationship, and her mother, well, her mother would think the same thing her father did. “I meant more along the lines of where we’re going to live. Do you want to move in with me or do you want me to move in with you?”
“Hmm.” He traced little circles on her buttock with his fingertips. “For both of us, it makes sense that we live near our jobs. But here, you have a room for Libby and we have privacy together. Doc won’t care if I’m a little later than the others to show up for work every day. He’ll just be happy I got my head out of my ass and married you.”
Aw. Doc was such a good man. “Was he encouraging you to come talk to me, then?”
“I wouldn’t say it was ‘encouraging’ as much as calling me a dumbass for letting you get away in the first place.”
She was going to bake that man a million cookies as a thank-you. “I’m glad you came to your senses and didn’t let me get away, too. So you really want to move in with me?”
“If it’s all right with you.”
“Hank, we’re married,” she said, chuckling. “Someone’s going to have to move in with someone.”
“The only thing I ask is maybe a few less doilies downstairs.”
“I can do that.” She tickled his side, loving the way his big body tensed against her. “What about . . . Alaska?”
“You want me to go walk her?” The puppy was asleep in Libby’s bed with her, but she’d peed on the floor earlie
r after they’d left her inside for too long. It happened. Alaska was still a baby. She wasn’t upset.
“No, I mean the state, Alaska. Your old home. The one you were going to go back to.”
“Ah.” He pressed another kiss to the top of her head. “It’s not going anywhere. Caleb doesn’t want to go back, either. Got his eye on some pretty girl in town. It’ll just be Jack, and I don’t know if he even wants to go or if he’s just being stubborn.” She felt him shrug. “Might be fun to go up there for a few weeks in the summer every now and then, but Libby needs a mama and I need my wife more than we need to go to Alaska.”
She tucked her head against his chest, loving the sounds of those words. “I don’t want you to feel trapped here—”
“The only time I felt trapped was at the thought that I might not get you back and I had my hand stuck inside a cow’s uterus.” He stroked her back thoughtfully, his fingers moving up and down over her skin in a way that was both comforting and arousing. They’d just had sex, but she’d be more than ready for another round if this kept up. “I suppose I should think about Libby and school a bit more. If she hates it there, I don’t want to force her to go.”
Becca picked her words carefully, not wanting to start a fight. “I understand. I don’t want her to be miserable, either. Amy tells me that most kids cry the first day and then they get used to it, though. It’s a big change for them. If it helps, I’d be happy to go for a few days and stay at her side so she knows there’s nothing to fear.”
He squeezed her tight. “You’d do that for me?”
“No, I’d do that for Libby.” She looked up at him, beaming. “She’s my daughter, too, now.”
“Damn, I love you, woman,” he growled. “Why is it you have the answer for everything?”
“Because the answer for everything is easy.” As long as they loved each other, nothing else seemed to matter all that much.
EPILOGUE
Three Years Later
The Cowboy Meets His Match Page 24