If someone told me four months ago that I’d be standing here on this gorgeous summer day, about to marry the love of my life, I’d have called them a liar. Today, I’d invite them to my wedding.

Probably did. The entire town is here, people from around the world. Literally.

Rex’s mom is here from Italy, and his father from Hawaii. Army buddies from too many places for me to remember, old business friends, and family. Cousins, aunts, uncles from everywhere.

There are even a few FBI agents in attendance. The case is almost wrapped up. These are just the people we got to know very well during those first six weeks after Alan was arrested. We'll be working with them again, once he goes on trial, and everything says it should be a slam dunk. The murder charge will put him away for good.

The back lawn of the lodge is manicured to perfection, flowers with more colors than the rainbow popping out of the rich soil. People are already filling up the many rows of white chairs. The caterers began filling the kitchen hours ago in order to feed the masses later on, and the band is set up in their stage area, next to the wooden dance floor.

My favorite spot is the large white gazebo Rex built with his own hands, where we'll tie the knot, officiated by yet another one of his army buddies, a chaplain, very, very soon.

It’ll just be the two of us up there, plus Adam and Chase, who are sharing ring bearer duties.

I turn to Gramps, who fusses with the tie that came along with his shiny black tuxedo. “If I'd ever imagined my dream wedding, this would be it,” I say. “I don’t know how to thank you.”

“Then don’t.” His tone is serious, not grumpy. “I owe you this, Kitten. Best money I ever spent.”

His nickname doesn’t bother me in the least.

“I started a savings account in your name the day you were born. Backup money, in case you ever needed it.” He nods towards the cabin window I’d been gazing out moments ago. “That man you're about to marry will make sure you never want for anything in your life, he’s already proven that, so the very least I can do is pay for your wedding. And there'll be plenty left over after this shindig.”

He winks one eye. “I’m not even charging the guests for their overnight lodging.”

I kiss his cheek. “Thank you for that, too.”

Marcy, dressed in ruffled pink from head to toe and wearing a floppy hat, pokes her head through the door. “It’s almost time!”

I bite my bottom lip to keep from laughing. Rex believes I’m wearing a dress exactly like the one Marcy is wearing. I’ve had her dress hanging in my closet for a couple weeks, mostly as a joke because he teased me, saying he knew my wedding dress would be pink. I swear, sometimes I think pink is his favorite color now, not mine.

My dress is white. No ruffles. No lace. Just a long flowing piece of silk that hugs me all the way to the ground, except for my back. There’s an open V that goes almost down to my hips, and a slit along the side of the skirt that goes all the way up past my knee. He'll love it.

I’m not wearing a veil, but am carrying a bouquet of pink roses. I had to get the pink in somewhere, after all.

“Ready, Tabby-kitten?”

“I am, Gramps. More than ready.”

Marcy pushes the door open wide and we step out. He’s yards away, clear on the other side of the rows of chairs, but I feel Rex’s eyes on me, and it makes me smile.

“I’m happy about this, Tabby,” Gramps says as we start walking. “Very happy.”

“Me, too, Gramps, and thank you. Knowing you’re happy makes me even happier.”

He walks me all the way to Rex, who can't help grinning. The mischievous glint in his eyes tells me how much he likes my dress already.

“Tabby, you're pretty” Adam bursts out over the music.

“Princess Tabby,” Chase says, smiling.

I kneel down in front of them. “Thank you. You both look so handsome.” They really do. Both in black tuxes, just like their father. I kiss each of their cheeks. “I love you both and I’m so happy I get to be your mother.”

“We are, too!” they say together.

Adam then looks up at Rex. “You want the ring now, Daddy?”

“Not yet,” he says, holding his hand out to me.

I take it, stand, and then step up next to him.

“You do look like a princess,” he says next to my ear. “A fucking sexy one.”

I laugh and nod toward the chaplain. “Good thing he’s the only one with a microphone.”

“Who gives this woman into holy matrimony?” the chaplain asks.

“I do,” Gramps says.

“And who gives this man into holy matrimony?”

“We do!” Chase and Adam shout.

Gramps moves over and stands beside the boys as Rex and I walk up the steps, into the white gazebo, to stand before the chaplain.

The service is scheduled to be short and sweet and perfect. It is.

It’s also flawless. Gramps makes sure the boys hand first Rex, then me, our rings at the precise moment. The kiss Rex initiates and I fully melt in, has the entire yard clapping and cheering.

He has me bent backwards, over his arm, and the way he’s looking at me, his eyes twinkling...holy hell. If I wasn’t already head-over-heels in love with him, I'd have fallen all over again.

Slowly, he pulls me upright, and kisses me again, before we turn to the crowd.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” the chaplain says, “allow me to present, for the very first time Mr. and Mrs. Rex Osborne!”

The crowd cheers again.

We walk down the steps. He takes Adam’s hand and I take Chase’s, and Gramps and Marcy follow us all the way back down the aisle between the chairs. The photographer is a few feet ahead of us. I hear the click of the shutter just as Rex looks down at me, and me up at him. We're both smiling bigger and brighter than the sun. I know, without even seeing it, that'll be my favorite picture.

Hours later, after we’ve eaten, laughed, danced, and had an amazing time, Rex whispers in my ear. “Time to go.”

“Go? Go where?”

“I have something to show you.”

Convinced I know what he wants to show me – and do to me – I stretch on my toes and kiss his lips. “Lead the way.”

The plan is for the boys to spend the night in the lodge with Gramps, as they’ve done several times, so Rex and I can have the night alone in my cabin. I’m a little worried about that. The party is still going strong, the band has only played a little over half its songs. It doesn’t bother me for people to know what we'll be doing in the cabin, I just don’t want to be interrupted.

He takes my hand, and then I notice we're walking the opposite direction.

“Wait, where are we going?”

“I told you.”

“You said you want to show me something.”

“I do.”

“I thought we’d do that in the cabin, but if you have another idea...” I'm game. I think.

A wicked heat roars between my thighs, imagining the surprises this man might have in store.

He stops, spins around, and kisses me hard. His tongue chases mine until my knees buckle and I swoon – yes, swoon – into his magnificent chest.

“I love you, woman.”

I laugh. “Don't I know? Not that I'll ever get tired of hearing it.”

He takes my hand and we're walking again. “Will you ever get tired of me telling you how beautiful you are?”

It might sound egotistic, but I say it honestly. “No.”

He lets out a low whistle. “You knocked me for a loop when you walked out wearing white. I expected pink. And demure. That dress is sexy as all hell.”

“Glad you like it. I picked it out with you in mind.”

“Bullshit. You picked it knowing it'd get me harder than a rock.”

“Did it?”

“Hell, yes. Mission accomplished, Cupcake.”

I smile, melding into another kiss. We walk around the newly built stable and towards the woods. “Where are we going? My white dress won't stay spotless for long if we take care of your hard-on in the woods.”

“I won’t ruin your dress,” he whispers. “Not out here, anyway.”

“I’m not worried about ruining it as much as I am about you getting stuck in the back with sticks, because I guarantee you, I’m taking top out here.”

I swear, the closer we've gotten to the wedding, the more we've had sex. Indoors, outdoors, morning, noon, and night. Hard and slow and often. And everything in between.

More than once, the places where we've done it weren't the most comfortable. Not that I cared for very long. The front seat of his truck was probably the most awkward, but also the most fun considering we were in the parking lot at the big box store in town. It was dark, a late night grocery run without the kids, and he decided he'd take me then and there.

I'm glad he did. I always am. I came with my hands on his shoulders, rocking my hips into his, kissing frantically at his shoulder and trying not to let the whole of Split Harbor hear my screams.

I'm wet now at the memory.

Thankfully, he has his head together. He pulls aside a branch and with a mischievous grin, gestures for me to go through a small clearing in the trees.

I take a step and pause. Weird. There’s never been a trail here before. But it's there now. It’s wide, newly made, and gravel has been paved for easy walking. “What’s this?”

“Told you I’m going to show you something, Cupcake.”

“I know that much. What I don’t know is what your something is.”

“Soon, darling. Keep moving.”

Having lived my entire life at the lodge, I know the moment we leave Gramps’ property. “You do realize we're trespassing, don’t you? On Caspian's land, no less.”

“No. Not anymore.”

“Yes, we are!” I'm insistent, but he doesn't fight back.

His lips just silence me, too swift for me to latch on for what I’d call a kiss. Then, he points to the gravel, where there’s a single pink flower petal.

I laugh and pick it up. “You truly are a romantic.”

The trail turns around a corner and I gasp. The entire walkway is covered with pink petals.

“Come on,” he says, pulling me forward.

As the woods end, there’s a newly built garden arch. I stop beneath it to stare at the big house with red wooden clapboard and white trim. I’ve seen the blueprints for this place in his office.

Inside and out. Even helped pick some of the details.

The flooring, counter tops, paint colors, and more than once wondered if we’d ever live in a house like it. That’s highly unlikely. I have a job at the lodge, and always will. Might as well keep living there, yet I’m shocked he’s been working so close to home all these weeks. I thought he was splitting his time between the crew at the lodge and the one working on Caspian's place?

“This is the new guest house for the Caspians, isn't it? This is closer than I thought. Figured they'd want it out past the lake.”

He merely grins and leads me across newly laid sod until we're standing before the house, before the big front porch. Waving a hand, he says, “This stretch isn't Ryan and Kara's anymore. He sold off a chunk. Traded it, really, as a bonus for a job well done. It was after I finished the real guest house out by the lake.”

Real guest house? He can't possibly mean...

I’m stunned. Can’t even speak.

“I built the pathway so we can walk back and forth to the lodge. It’s less than half a mile. Those trees helped give me cover, they'll be trimmed back now that you're in the know, Cupcake.”

“You bu-built us a-a –” I’m still too stunned to speak. To comprehend.

“Yours, Cupcake. Ours. Our house. Our home. Just you and me and the kids.” He wraps his arms around me from behind and bites gently at my ear. “Surprise.”

Oh. My. God.

“Rex!” I spin around. Hug him. Kiss him. I thought I couldn’t get any happier, that my life couldn’t get more perfect, and then he does this! Builds us a house next door to the lodge. I spin around. “Can we go inside?”

“Hope so. Cupcake, do the honors.”

We run up the steps hand in hand. He opens the door. “It’s not furnished yet. Thought I’d leave that up to you. Except for a bed and a couple tables in the master bedroom, that much I took care of.”

“Ah, the most important part.” I run a hand over his hard stomach as I walk into the big, open space. The wood flooring is the golden oak I’d picked out, the walls painted the soft beige I’d chosen, too, and the trim is a glistening white. Again, the shade I loved. “It’s gorgeous. So freaking gorgeous. And perfect. Just like I imaged.”

“I listened to every one of your suggestions. Burned them into my brain, Cupcake. Wanted it to be us, exactly.”

I spin around and hug him. “You're exactly what I want. And always will be.” I plant a wet promising kiss on his lips. “I want you, Rex. Here. Now.”

“We’re getting to that,” he says. “But I’m not done with my surprise.”

I shouldn’t be disappointed. The house is beautiful and I love it, but I’ve been thinking about my husband's hard body all day. He looks so good in that tux, shoulders square and broad, his ink civilized and oh-so-ready to break out the second he's naked again.

It wouldn't take much to go over the edge.

He pulls me into the kitchen area.

The cupboards I’d picked out, the marble counter top. I have to take a second look, and then ask, “Is that?”

He nods. “Cupcake for my Cupcake.”

I walk towards the counter where a cupcake the size of a five-tiered cake sits. “It’s flipping huge!” I swipe a finger in the frosting. “And it’s real.”

“Of course it’s real.”

“Where?” I shake my head, not really wanting to know.

I still like baking them a whole lot more than eating them, honestly. But tonight, for him, I'll feast on anything and I'll love it.

He picks up a knife and cuts into the big cupcake. I don’t want to be ungrateful, but I hope like hell he doesn’t want to stand here and eat that damn thing. I spin away, looking out the window, to a yard where I imagine a swing set for the boys, and a tree house in one of the big tall oaks.

I’m still excited, but am starting to think about reality. “How did you afford all this? Can we afford all this?”

“Of course. I made the deal on the land with Caspian, like I said, soon as the insurance company paid out on my house.”

“You used that money to start your company here,” I point out. The insurance company had gone after the Stone family for burning down his house in Chicago. When he’d received his payment, he’d resurrected his construction company here. Even a couple of the men who’d worked for him in Chicago had moved here and are working for him now. That’s how the spa remodel at the lodge and the new stable got done so fast, as well as this place, evidently.

“No, that was the money from my shop. They were two separate properties.” He steps over and takes both of my hands, pulling me back towards that cupcake. “I wasn’t trying to hide anything, just wanted to surprise you.”

“Congratulations, I’m thoroughly surprised.” Glancing at the cupcake, I say, “And, the cupcake is sweet, but I’m not really hungry.”

He laughs. “You don’t even like cupcakes.”

I’m stunned. “You remember?”

“Darling, I remember everything about you.” He grabs my hand and shoves it inside the cake. “Tell me when you feel something.”

My fingers have already encountered something hard. “What is it?”

“Pull it out.”

My mind goes to something much more fun to pull in and out, but I pull out the small plastic container. “What’s this?”

“Open it.”

I take off the lid, and pull out a piece of paper. It’s a computer print-out. A flight itinerary. With tomorrow’s date. And a destination. My heart leaps. “Hawaii?”

He nods.

“We’re going to Hawaii? Tomorrow?”

“Honolulu, Tabby. And then whatever island we damn well please.”

I scream. Hug him. Kiss him. Then I slump against him. “There are no more surprises, right? Right?! I can’t take any more. This was already the best day of my life, and then you did...all this.”

He takes the print-out and lays it on the counter. “We don’t fly out till tomorrow night, so there's plenty of time to pack. My parents and their spouses are going to stay at the lodge for a week, to help Morris with the boys while we’re gone.”

His parents are very nice people, so are their spouses, yet I quiver slightly. “A week with Gramps can be a lot.”

“So can a week with my folks.”

I glance at the cupcake. “How –”

“Don’t ask.” He shakes his head. “I was trying to come up with a way to surprise you with the tickets, and mentioned it to Shirley.”

“At the gas station?”

“Yes, her daughter wants to be a baker, so...”

Laughing, I step up and run my hands up and down his chest. “Talk about a tough act to follow. All your surprises makes mine seem so insignificant.”

He runs a fingertip the length of my arm. “There’s nothing about you that’s insignificant. And I love the shit out of surprises.”

I nuzzle his chin, marveling at how wonderful he always smells. “I hope you truly feel that way.”

“I do. Always.”

Stepping back, I slip one thin dress strap off my shoulder, and then the other. As my dress slowly slides down my body, I say, “Because I went commando all day, just for you.”

He lets out a husky growl while stepping forward. “I knew I didn’t feel any panties every time I rubbed your ass.” After a long mouth on mouth kiss, he says, “Let's move this surprise to the bed.”

He scoops me into his arms. I hug his neck, loving how his muscles ripple against my fingertips.

While walking down the hall, he licks my nipple, adding flames to the fire that’s been smoldering inside me all day long. I nip at his earlobe. “What are we going to do in our new bedroom?”

“I’m going to put my cock in your pussy over and over again. Then I think I'll swallow every moan, swat your ass red, and make you scream so fucking hard we shake the brand new roof.”

“Perfect.” I try to whisper into his shoulder, but it's more like a moan. A whimper.

This is my life now with this man. Unscrewed and loving it.

He walks into the bedroom, carrying me over the threshold. I recognize the windows and closet doors I’d picked out. “This room is huge.” I laugh. “I can hear my own echo.”

He spins me around so I can see the bed. “I bought us a king-sized, so there'll be plenty of room for us both.

“Are you calling me a bed hog?”

Swiftly, he crosses the room and drops me on the bed. “No, Cupcake. I'm saying I want plenty of room to fuck you all seven ways to Sunday.”

Oh, God. A hot flush lights up my cheeks.

“Better than being a bed hog.” I laugh, scooting up on the bed to lean against the pillows. “We sound like an old married couple.”

“We are,” he says, shrugging out of his suit coat. “It’s been five hours.”

“Five hours, and you have yet to fully make me your wife.” I stick out my bottom lip. “I’m feeling...neglected.”

“Where?” he asks, climbing on to the bed. “Here?” He traces a circle around one of my nipples. “Or here?” He traces around the other one. Then his hand sinks between my legs. He finds my clit with his thumb and presses until I twitch. “Fuck, it's here, isn't it?

“Yes!”

His blue eyes are on fire when he dips his head. Rex takes one nipple in his mouth, teasing it with his tongue. His stubble burns so good against my cleavage, ignites fires across my bare skin.

I sink into the softness of the bed, relishing the pleasure I've been waiting for all day.

He sucks my nipples soft, pulls with his teeth, leaves me wet and begging him for more. Then comes the trail of kisses down my stomach.

“Love this, darling. Love how bad you want your husband's mouth all over your sweet little cunt.”

I raise my hips instinctively. So ready. So wanting. “I want, Rex Osborne. Want your dick inside me right now.”

“Clothes are still on,” he growls, running his tongue through my folds. I shudder. “You’ll have to settle for my tongue, Cupcake.”

I can’t talk. Can’t think. Can't even beg.

He knows how to play me so well, how to get every fire roaring. He’s licking, sucking, fucking me with his tongue, taking me to the brink and easing off just before I lose it.

I’m gasping, my muscles quaking, my hips pumping, and of course I'm loving it.

My entire body goes rigid a few licks later. Pleasure peaks. My hips arch off the bed, pushing into his face, his hands cup my ass and pull me to him, his tongue owning me the whole time my O breaks loose.

Our sex was amazing before.

Tonight, it's off the scale, off the chain, off the confines of the known universe.

There's nothing like the rough satisfaction his mouth licks through me, again and again. An aftermath of pure bliss has the air rushing from my lungs as I drift home. I slump deeper into the soft new mattress, wet and intrigued.

“Still feel neglected?”

I shake my head. “No, but you must.” I draw in a deep breath, still basking in that amazing O. “Give me a minute and I’ll take care of that.”

Rex wastes no time. The rest of his clothes come off, piece by piece, baring his insane, hard, awesome valleys of muscle and black magic inks. I spread my legs, suddenly feeling like a virgin all over again.

How could anything be better than our very first night? I didn't think it could, but now –

“Rex!” My eyes pop open as his cock, hard and hot, slides inside my pussy with one smooth thrust.

His grin quirks up, deviously wicked, as he slides out of me. “Fuck, Cupcake. My wife's pussy feels like heaven tonight.”

I answer with a moan. The only sound I'm able to get out. Then he grips my hips with both hands and slides back in. “I want an encore. I want to fuck you like crazy. I want to empty every fucking drop that's burning in my balls deep, deep inside you.”

There's no question. My legs fold around him and I match him pump for pump. Our tongues clash and our bodies fight, a delicious battle to see who can fuck the hardest and give it up quickest.

Finally, a battle we both love. We hold nothing back.

My tits, my hips, my entire body bounces as we go at it. Thrust for thrust. Our mouths ambush, conquer, then break so we can both drag in a breath of air before going at it again. It’s like a lake storm in this bed. It’s wild, it’s crazy, and we both let out a triumphant cry as ecstasy builds, shoving us upwards, onwards. Together.

“Hurry the fuck up, darling” he rumbles, back arched. “I'm about to come in my wife and I need her to come the fuck with me. I need –”

“Rex, yes!”

Oh, yes.

It hits, welding us together. Perfectly, distinctly one.

We're locked together, arched into one another, thrusting like maniacs as wave after wave of ecstasy encompasses us, and then slowly folds its euphoria across our skin. It's the hardest I've ever come, and the softest I've ever come down.

Rex roots himself in me, still thrusting, emptying himself hard and deep. His heat adds to mine, forcing intensity. I give up a full body shudder as one O blurs into the next.

Then I open my eyes, sane again, my mouth melting on his.

The aftermath lingers forever as we kiss, softly and slow and leisurely.

I let out a happy moan as he rolls off me and flings his legs wide. He crashes back down, pulling me to his chest. His hand sifts through my hair, soft and calming.

I nudge him. “See? I’m no bed hog.”

“Never said you hog the bed, Cupcake.” He gives me a wink. “The covers, on the other hand, are a different story.”

I slap him playfully. We kiss again.

Then I lay my head on his chest, watching his lightning blue eyes, waiting for them to light again with lust. They never dim.

My husband, my stranger, my passion, my sweetest sorrow, my eternity stares up at the new ceiling for the next minute. When he looks back at me, I see the man I've sworn to love. Till death do us part.

It's the same incredible being who came into our lodge, two little miracles in tow, man enough for cupcakes. Tonight, he's man enough for us.

Man enough forever.

* * *

Hope you enjoyed Rex and Tabby's romance! It's not over.

Grab a special extended epilogue here and find out what happens one year later. Is there a baby on the way? -

Then read on for another heartwarming romance included with this special edition, Baby Fever Secrets!