Chapter Nineteen – Ruth

“The meeting went well, didn’t it?” Ruth asked as they drove back to Michael’s house the next day. After rushing to Fiona’s office, they had filled out paperwork until their formal adoption request was in the system. Finally, they had taken the first step toward adopting Jason and Jenny. It felt good do something, rather than simply talking about the adoption.

“Fiona thinks it will be straightforward,” Michael replied thoughtfully. “Yes, I think it did go well.”

Ruth sat back in her seat, watching the scenery from the car window. “I’ve lived here less than three weeks and Bear Creek already feels like home.”

“We’ll never leave,” Michael told her.

“I don’t ever want to leave.” Ruth half turned in her seat. “This is home, this is where we met, and Jason and Jenny came into our lives.”

Michael turned his truck off the main road and they drove along the trail to his cozy cabin in the woods. In the winter, a fire would burn brightly in the living room, and at Christmas, they could all decorate a tree which would stand guard over the presents.

“You know, now that the children believe in fairies, they might expect to see Santa Claus at Christmas.”

Michael huffed. “I am not going to dress up in a red suit and wear a long white beard. I refuse.” The twinkle in his eye said otherwise, but Ruth let it go.

“So what are our plans for this evening?” Ruth asked as he parked the truck and they got out, walking hand in hand toward the cabin.

“An early night?” Michael asked hopefully.

“How early?” Ruth asked, as they mounted the porch and went inside.

“This early?” Michael asked, leading her toward the stairs.

He stopped and turned around to face her, gathering her up in his arms. She looked into his face and saw the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. “I don’t have any other plans.”

He carried her upstairs and laid her down on the bed. “I was going to take it slow, but I’ve been thinking about this all day.”

“I’m flattered,” Ruth told him, rolling over onto her front and resting her chin on her hands.

“You’re going to lie there and watch?” Michael asked.

“Oh, yes.” She sighed contentedly as Michael unbuttoned his shirt and slid it down off his shoulders, to reveal his bare chest. Her fingers itched to stroke his skin, to feel the contours of his body, but she stayed put.

“You could help.” He cocked his head to one side.

“I could,” she agreed. “But the view from here is perfect.”

Michael tugged his belt buckle and unbuttoned his pants. He’d made an effort today to dress smartly, but she sure liked it best when he wore his work worn jeans. “Like what you see?”

Her smile broadened. “I’d like it better if it was here next to me.” She patted the bed, and he stalked toward her, naked. Her mouth watered, she wanted to kiss his skin, taste his mouth…

“You are overdressed.” He brushed her hair to one side and kissed her neck, sending shivers down her spine. “You need to turn over so I can undo the buttons of your dress. If not I might have to rip it right off your body.”

“You say the sweetest things.” Ruth rolled onto her back, and stroked his chest as he hovered above her.

He leaned down and kissed her lips, his teeth nipped her lower lip, sending shockwaves through her body. Curling her fingers around his hard length, she stroked him, up and down, and he tensed, leaving her dress half open.

“You have a magic touch,” Michael told her when he regained some control. He worked fast, using his shifter speed to strip her naked.

“Not fair.”

“All is fair in love…” He kissed her lips.

“And war?” she asked, her hand working up and down.

“We are never going to war.” He eased his body between her thighs and she guided him toward her aching need. He teased her, thrusting forward, and then pulling back, until she wanted to cry out in desperation.

“Make love to me, lucky bear.” She cupped his face in her hands and raised her head, kissing his lips. Michael relaxed, lunging forward to enter her, his cock sliding against her inner walls. He groaned, gasping against her mouth. Nothing turned her on as much as the strength and depth of Michael’s need.

Ruth stroked his shoulders, running her fingers down his back, scratching his skin. His thrusts became more urgent, and she wrapped her legs around him, urging him on. In and out, the friction of their bodies creating static electricity that crackled and sparked as her fingertips stroked his arms.

Hooking her hands over his shoulders, she ground her hips down onto him. Urging him deeper, harder, as her orgasm raced toward her. Michael lunged into her, his breathing ragged, then he tensed and his essence spurted into her. He balled the covers in his fists, crying out her name.

Ruth adjusted the angle of her body and with each movement, Michael’s body grazed her clit. Her orgasm rushed toward her and she came, throbbing and pulsing around him, making his orgasm last longer, until he was utterly and completely spent.

“That was incredible,” he whispered in her ear as he lay across her body, his lips kissing her skin.

“There’s something I want to ask you.” Ruth’s tone caught his attention and he lay by her side, his face searching hers.

“Anything.”

Ruth sat up in bed and reached for her purse, which she’d dropped on the floor by the side of the bed. Opening it, she took out a small box. “Will you marry me?”

Michael jolted back in surprise. “Yes.”

“You don’t want to think about it?”

“No, I mean, I have been thinking about it. But I never had a chance to buy you a ring.”

Ruth opened the small box and showed him the engagement ring her mom had left to her in her will. “I didn’t know if I wanted to wear it. But having Frankie here, and meeting Jason and Jenny…”

“Take your time.” Michael kissed her cheek, cradling her head in his hands.

“I don’t want to forget the past. I don’t want to forget my mom. I want to wear this ring to remind me to live in the present. To enjoy each day as it comes. To celebrate those we share the journey with.”

Michael took the ring from the box and slid it on her finger. “I can’t wait for you to be my wife.”

“And I can’t wait for you to be my husband, and Jason and Jenny’s dad.” She looked at the ring on her finger. She didn’t need to run from her past, or fear that history might repeat itself.

She was her own person. Even if part of her belonged to the man by her side. The man she loved. The father of her soon-to-be children, Jason and Jenny. And she could not be happier.

Instead of tying her down, they were giving her freedom, to love and be loved.