“Violet,” I said, stepping toward her, backing her against the elevator wall. “I love you. I can’t let you go until you know that. I shouldn’t have driven you out. I shouldn’t have let you go for a minute. You’re the only thing I think about—I can’t—I can’t even breathe without you.”

“Cooper—”

He kissed me. “Just listen to me. I sold my share in the company, yes. But I’m starting a new one down in Texas, all on my own. I’m bringing those employees with me. I’ve already talked to them about it, and most of them are on board.”

“Really?” she asked me, a hesitant look in her eye. “Are you—are you sure?”

“Sure that I love you?” I asked. “Yes. In every way. Every inch of you. I knew that the moment I saw you paint.”

“Why?” I asked him.

“Because you looked so free and sweet,” I said to her, touching her cheek, staring into her perfect eyes. “On the Ferris wheel as well. And in bed with me, naked—I can’t get that out of my mind.”

“I’m not—”

“You’re perfect. Perfect for me,” I said, nuzzling the soft skin of her neck. “If you don’t want me, I understand. I was not kind to you in the beginning. I knew that you had agreed with Dirk to change my mind.”

“You had every right to be angry,” she said. I kissed her again, then again, wrapping her body in my arms.

“I just don’t care,” I said. “I don’t. I just want to love you.”

“I love you, too,” she said softly against my lips. “I didn’t want to—”

“I know,” I said to her. “Neither did I.”

“Come to my room, Violet,” I whispered. She stared at me for a moment, chewing on her lip.

“Are we going to do this?” she asked. I nodded, kissing her as I pushed the button for my floor. The doors opened and I pulled her off the elevator, unable to break connection with her mouth as we went. I undressed her as soon as we got back to my room, locking the door behind me, pulling her dress above her head.

“Tell me you love me again,” I pleaded with her. “Please, Violet.”

“I love you. I do love you,” she said as I lowered my face to one of her breasts, taking her nipple between my lips. I barely played with it, lightly flicking it with my tongue just so that it grew hard and sensitive, a rosy pink under my touch. Violet squirmed underneath me.

“Wait—” she said. I lifted my head to look at her, saw a sad look on her face.

“I’m really sorry, Cooper,” she said. “For everything. I shouldn’t have lied to you. I shouldn’t have done what Dirk said.”

I shook my head. “It doesn’t matter, angel. I promise you it doesn’t. You did what you thought you had to do.”

“But—”

I cut her off with a kiss, letting her know again that nothing mattered. My tongue swept through her mouth, tasting her own, teasing her before I brought my mouth to her other nipple to lick and suck on. I loved how much she enjoyed it, how sensitive her breasts were as I swirled my tongue around it, my hand snaking down her belly to toy with the soft curls between her legs. She had lost a little weight while I’d been gone and I frowned, nuzzling her belly, knowing that I’d have to bring her home and make my mom feed her some home-cooked meals. I moved lower down her body, using my hands to flip her over onto her stomach so that I could look at her perfect ass. I massaged it with my palms, looking at her face as she gazed at me over her shoulder.

“Get on all fours,” I said to her. She lifted her eyebrows.

“What—”

“Violet,” I said, cutting her off. “Do as I say.”

She shivered, shyly getting into position on the bed. I marveled at the sight of her from behind, stroking her spine with my fingertips. I lowered my face then, kissing her sweet pussy lips from the back.

“Wait, Cooper,” she breathed as I started to lap at her from behind, teasing her clit with the tip of my tongue, burying my face between her legs. She squirmed as I turned around on my back, placing my face below her pussy, pulling her hips down so that she was sitting on my mouth.

“No, I’m too—”

“Hush,” I growled at her, lapping at her pussy as it dripped onto my lips, so wet and hot and ready. I sucked her clit, holding her hips low on my face as she tried to squirm away from the pleasure, nervous that she would hurt me. I kept on going, though, proving to her that I could take it, wanting her full, perfect body on top of me. Eventually, she couldn’t help herself—she started to grind on my tongue, which I held out for her to pleasure her clit against, rubbing herself back and forth on my mouth. Her body shuddered and she came, soaking the lower half of my face, whimpering as she humped against me helplessly.

“Good girl,” I purred as I climbed out from underneath her, trying to flip her on her back. She shook her head, remained where she was on all fours, and gave me a pleading look that made me feel like I could erupt right then and there.

“I want to try it this way,” she breathed. I nearly groaned when she stuck her ass in the air, wiggling it slightly. It jiggled with her movements, full and soft, and I quickly stripped myself of my clothes, unable to take it anymore. I slipped a condom over my cock and aimed it inside of her, meeting her eye when she looked at me over her shoulder. I used my hand to tease her, to rub the length of my cock over her swollen, hungry pussy lips, to push in a couple of inches before pulling out again. I did it again, then again, and each time her hips pressed backward in desperation to seek out the rest of my cock. Finally, I buried it inside of her, pushing all the way in just like she liked it. From this position, it almost took her breath away as I started slowly riding in and out of her from behind, feeling her pussy clench around my cock, wanting to take me deeper. I lowered my body so that it was flat against hers, my chest pressed to her back, cock rocking inside of her as I kissed the back of her neck.

“My perfect girl,” I said, my hands on her hips, holding them still so that I could move inside of her in slow strokes. She was eager, wanting it all, hard and quick, but I wanted to take my time. I reached around her body to rub her sensitive clit as I made love to her, my face buried in the back of her neck. She moaned and tried to fight below me, angry that I wouldn’t allow her to take control. I only spread her legs further, made it feel better, and tickled her clit with the tip of my finger as her breath grew more and more ragged.

“Seems like you want to cum,” I said. “Is that right?”

“Yes,” she said. I sped my hips up when she confirmed it, unable to help myself. I shifted our bodies so that we were on our sides with me still behind her, still buried in her pussy. My free hand ran over her front, teasing her nipples, her breasts, the soft skin of her belly. I turned her face to me then, lifting my head so that I could kiss her ravenously as I let her start to move her hips. The moment I allowed her to, she bent forward, started to push her hips back against me to take my cock as deep as she could. Her hips moved against the bed, desperate as I rubbed her clit, taking me over and over as her moans grew louder.

“That’s right,” I said. “Cum for me, Violet. Are you ready for that?”

She nodded, not answering, her moans now silent and pitiful. My hips sped up and I started to ride her hard and fast until she cried out, her voice echoing through the room, and her hips started to buck with pleasure. Her pussy squeezed my length, pulling me deeper, and I kept going until her orgasm was finished. Then I pulled out and flipped her onto her back, looking into her eyes as I slipped back inside of her. I had no intention of stopping anytime soon—since the first moment I’d touched Violet, I’d wanted a night like this—endless, perfect pleasure, making her cum as many times as she could stand.

Violet’s hips moved against mine from below and I stiffened, trying to pull out, to keep myself from cumming. But she wrapped her legs around my hips and pulled me closer, kissing me, making me erupt on the spot. I rode against her until I was finished, then pulled out, kissing her lips and forehead before I rolled over next to her. I pulled off the condom and tossed it away, then propped myself up on my elbow, looking down at her naked body.

“Hi,” she said after a moment, her eyes glowing with affection and love. It made my heart feel full and heavy, and I had to bend down to kiss her softly.

“I love you so much, Violet,” I said to her. “I’ve never loved anything this much. Not my family, not my ranch, my employees—just you.”

She bit her lip, a sweet smile spreading over her face.

“I’m sorry I told the chickens to peck your eyes out,” she said. I laughed.

“They wouldn’t have listened to you anyway. Chickens can smell fear.”

“I’m not afraid of chickens!” she said. I laughed again, wrapping her in my arms and holding her against me.

“Violet,” I said to her. “You got fired because of me. I know how hard you worked to get that job at Maverick. I know—it was important to you.”

“I wasn’t happy there, Cooper,” she said.

“So you’re happy with me?”

She smiled, nodding. “Does this mean we can go back to the ranch?”

“You’d like to live on the ranch?”

“Yes,” she said.

“Then we will. We’ll build ourselves a house near the tulips so that I can pick some for you every day.”

“And hang out with your family.”

“Yes, they can be there too,” I said. “But you have to promise me that you won’t take my sister’s side when she’s wrong.”

She giggled. “You’re usually the one who’s wrong.”

“Me? Never,” I said, grinning at her, tickling her side. She giggled again and then wiggled closer to me, her body pressed to mine.

“Will you come work with me?” I asked her. She pulled back, her face lighting up.

“Really?” she asked. “A new advertising firm?”

“Yes,” I said. “You’d be perfect for it. And you deserve a fresh start. We’ll go back to Texas, build a place, start fresh. But first, there’s something you have to do for me.”

“What’s that?” she asked. I took her left hand, stroking her fingers, bringing them to my lips to kiss them.

“You have to marry me,” I said to her, full of hope, risking the fact that she might say no. It was worth it just to have the chance to spend the rest of my life with her, even if she shot me down.

“Hmm,” she said, pretending to think, not saying anything further. I tickled her again and she laughed, taking my face in her hands and nodding.

“I’ll marry you,” she said softly. Something glowed within me, strong and powerful in my chest. I leaned in to kiss her, sealing the deal, making her mine at last.

Epilogue: Violet

“I want to see the horses,” I said stubbornly. “I can walk out to the stables, Cooper.”

“Angel,” he said. “You are literally so pregnant that walking a few steps could—”

“So let it send me into labor,” I said, my voice grouchy. “I’m ready.”

He laughed. “I know you’re ready, I’m just—”

“You’re being over-cautious. I’m not going to go into labor walking a hundred feet to the stables.”

“But—”

I cut him off with a kiss and a sly smile.

“You going to tell me no, Coop?”

He dragged his teeth over his bottom lip.

“Would it do any good?”

“Nope,” I said. “I want to go out there. You can either come with me or sit here and worry. Up to you.”

“I’m coming with you,” he grumbled, standing up, holding my hand to help me down the stairs. I could see our new place out the window—it was about a hundred yards away from the main house, being built next to the path that led to the tulip field. It would be a few weeks before we could move in, but I often snuck off to go look inside the structure, feeling warm all over when I thought about the home I’d be sharing with my family.

I walked with my hand over my belly, stroking it instinctively, humming to the baby girl who would be here at any moment. Cooper studied my face was we walked, a small smile on his lips. I was excited when we got to the stables, which still smelled like fresh new wood. My favorite mare, as well as the rest of the horses, had survived the fire, and there had even been two new additions since Cooper and I had gotten married. I reached in and she nuzzled my hand. I stroked her mane, sighing contentedly when Cooper came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist from behind, burying his face in my neck.

“The first time I kissed you was in these stables,” he said. “You remember?”

“I remember,” I breathed, turned on even by that simple touch, the feeling of his body pressed to mine. I found that no matter how long we were together, how much time we spent in each other’s company, the need to be touched by Cooper seemed to grow stronger every day. “I was mad at you.”

“You were always mad at me,” he chuckled. “And vice-versa.”

“We never were able to get along,” I said. “How did we end up married?”

“Because we love arguing with each other,” he said. I turned my face and he took my mouth in a kiss, his hand running over my rounded belly, down below it to stroke between my legs.

“Every time I come in here I think about that kiss,” he said.

“So do I.”

“Good girl,” he said, lifting my dress slowly, his hand toying with my panties. I felt it happen, then, a gush of moisture, more than simple arousal.

“Oh, shit,” I said, pulling away from him as my water broke. “Uh—”

“God, I knew this would happen,” he said, shaking his head. There was a nervous, excited look in his eye as he lifted me easily into his arms, something I always fought but couldn’t stand to do this time. He hurried up the hill and up to the house, where his mother and sisters were sitting outside on the patio.

“What happened?” Marie asked as she hurried to her feet.

“Her water broke,” he said. “Let’s take her in.”

Marie nodded, hurrying upstairs to grab my bag. She came down after us, and we all hurried out to the car. Behind us, Abigail and Jane jumped in their own car, and together we went to the hospital, my heart fluttering nervously in my chest. Cooper held my hand as we drove, the contractions beginning to cause pain in my abdomen, making it hard to breathe.

Everything seemed like a blur after that—from the moment we arrived at the hospital to the moment that it was all over, and I held my baby in my arms, Cooper leaning down beside us. I couldn’t stop smiling, nor could I stop crying as I looked down at her perfect face, so like her daddy’s. I looked at Cooper, then, and he kissed me softly.

“Thank you,” he said, nearly choking on his words. “She’s so beautiful. She’s so perfect.”

“Lily,” I said. His face broke into a smile.

“Lily,” he agreed, reaching forward to gently stroke the baby’s cheek. I passed her to him and I saw that his eyes were brimming with tears as he pulled her to his chest.

“My baby,” he cooed, holding her tight, lacing our free hands together. “The other most beautiful girl in the world.”

“I—”

My words were cut off when the door burst open and Cooper’s entire family poured in, not just his mother and his sisters but all three of his brothers, along with Susie, who bounced over to Cooper to see the baby.

“What are you guys doing in here?” Cooper asked. Abigail came up to him, taking Lily out of his arms.

“To hold the baby,” she said. “The nurse told us it was time. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have known, and you would have just hogged her all day.”

“She’s literally my baby,” Cooper said. “She’s my child.”

“Yeah, well, she’s my niece,” Abigail said, smiling down at Lily, touching her skin with the tip of her finger. “Auntie calls dibs.”

“Then me,” said Bradley.

“Oh no,” Marie said. “Grandma gets first. Give her here.”

I had to laugh, feeling warm and perfectly whole as I watched my new family pass my daughter around, each of them loving her more than the last. I had never felt as happy in my life as in that moment, knowing that my daughter would have the big, loving family that I’d missed out on when I was a kid. I looked up at Cooper, who was watching the same thing—our daughter being loved and well-cared for by her family. He met my eye, then, leaning down to kiss me, and for the first time in my life, I knew what it was like to be whole.

*****

THE END