All the kids were helping plant vegetables in the garden with her sisters-in-law. It took a long time for Rixen’s kin to come around, but they managed to find their way. His brothers didn’t belittle him like they once did, and they learned to keep their mouth shut in order to keep Rixen and Morgan in their lives.

“Should we do an extra bed of tomatoes? They did so well last year,” Morgan asked the women, who nodded in agreement.

Morgan went around and snapped a few pictures of her children. Seeing them with their dark hair and big smiles, her heart squeezed in her chest. She never knew love like this could be possible and it was all because of Rixen.

Rixen was out early this morning to chop some wood so that she could use it to create more beds for the crops. He was always so eager and ready to do anything she wanted, and as her mind drifted back to when he came home for lunch, she recalled just how eager her man could be.

“Mama, I can’t find Sugar Britches,” her youngest said, looking around on the ground.

The teddy bear that Rixen made for their little girl was normally glued to her hand. It was unlike her to put it down, so Morgan knew it must be close by.

“We’ll find it, baby girl.” She set her camera down on the picnic table and walked around, looking on the ground for it.

The children were with her sisters next to the house as she walked farther away, thinking she probably didn’t come this far, but she should check just to be sure. Just as she thought it was time to turn around and go back, a movement out of the corner of her eye caught her off guard, and then the sound that followed gave her chills.

Suddenly it was like the first time she came to the swamp as she stared down a gator. There hadn’t been one in these parts since the day she agreed to be Rixen’s. Mostly because he made it his duty to clear the land of them and make it safe for their babies.

But here she was, right in front of this mammoth beast. Now she was the only thing that stood between the gator and the children. Lucky for Morgan, Rixen taught her well. Instead of running scared or waiting on him to save her, she widened her stance and planted her combat boots in the mud. She reached down in her boot and pulled out the bowie knife that Rixen gave her on their first anniversary.

She watched the animal just like Rixen taught her and waited for it to make the first move. His black eyes watched hers, and for a second, she thought he might just disappear back into the water. But this beast would be dangerous to have running loose around here, and she wasn’t about to let him get away.

Morgan felt her heartbeat in her ears and after a long pause of anticipation, the bastard lunged forward. His powerful jaws tried to snap at her leg, but she was too quick for him as she leapt up and jumped on his back and grabbed him by the underside of his mouth with one hand, while the knife went to his throat with the other.

“Morgan!” She looked up to see Rixen breathing hard, like he just ran a mile as fast as he could to get to her.

She smiled as she made the cut, ending the gator’s life and protecting what she loved most in the world. Her family.

She dropped the knife before she stood up and leapt into Rixen’s arms. He caught her, spun her around and kissed her hard as the adrenaline of what just happened settled in. He did this for her. He gave her the gift of all that was around them and taught her to be brave in the face of danger. Before she came to live here, before she became his gift, she wouldn’t have survived what just happened. He’d given her so much more than she dreamed possible.

“My angel, you could have died.” There was pain in Rixen’s eyes, but also relief.

“You wouldn’t let that happen,” she said, kissing him.

“Never.” His hands gripped her ass and rubbed her against his growing cock.

His bare chest was covered in sweat and he smelled like fresh-cut wood. The children played by the house, none the wiser to what just took place. She glanced back at them and then to Rixen. As if reading her mind, he carried her over to the patch of grass nearby and lay down on it, with her straddling him. He reached between them, taking his cock out before his hands went under her shirt to her bare breasts.

Her shorts were loose enough that she could slide his cock inside them, and into her. Within seconds she was riding him hard, as all the fears of what might have been fell away. With every pump of his cock and rock of her hips, she lost herself in Rixen.