Meg & Linden

Two hearts become one

Linden

I take Meg’s hand and lead her to an open spot in the grass. Catchy bluegrass music rings out from the stage. Some of the other concert-goers are dancing down in front, but most people are chilling out in beach chairs or standing in tight circles talking and laughing.

I tug the blanket from my knapsack and spread it open.

Meg slips off her sandals at the edge and sets the knapsack in the center. Before she can sit down I tug her to me, locking my wrists behind her lower back. She gazes up at me and smiles. In the quickly falling dusk, her pretty eyes are like my own true north. I lean down to kiss her. She wraps her arms around my neck as our lips touch. Closing my eyes, I savor the taste of her and the hint of her scent. I risk a flick of my tongue, and she hums, like she’s pleased. A warm, weighted flush falls through me, taking my pulse with it.

I am so incredibly in love with this woman. And tonight, I’m going to do something about it.

“Hungry?” I ask when I finally lean back.

“Yeah,” she sighs.

I unpack the crackers, cheese, salami, a can of summer lager for each of us, apple slices and chilled grapes, a small sleeve of her favorite salted caramel chocolates.

“Yum,” she says.

“It’ll probably be our last picnic of the season,” I say. Earlier, we took the boat to our favorite private cove for one last swim, and only a few days ago, we had our first snowfall. It melted just as fast, but winter is coming.

“Way to make it memorable,” she says with a bright smile.

I laugh, but it sounds a little manic? To calm my crackling nerves, I lean over for another kiss. Her mouth on mine is my favorite thing. Her lips are plush and soft and sensual. Eager and patient all at once. Like she’d be perfectly content to let me kiss her like this, out in the open, while the sun sets and the music fills the night.

We come up for air, grinning. She touches my face. “I love you.”

“Love you back,” I say, and give her one more quick kiss before returning my attention to assembling our dinner.

In between bites, we talk about Everett and Vivian’s wedding next weekend at Ruby Gulch, a cross-country ski trip we’re dreaming up this winter, and her plans to rebuild her A-frame next door. Since the fire, she’s been living with me, and I’m going to do my best to keep it that way. She got an offer to sell the property to a developer, but she turned him down and is excited to fill the gap in the row of A-frames with “something even cuter” than what she lost.

“How was golfing with my dad?” she asks, nibbling on a cracker.

Besides the fact that I suck at the sport, we still had a pretty good time. And over a beer afterwards, I told him my plans. Since the fire, he’s put in a solid effort to reconnect with his daughter. I wanted him to know that she would always need him in her life. “I liked being outside.”

“Hmm,” she says.

The bluegrass band finishes their set and a country cover band takes the stage. The grassy meadow has filled in with more people, making the cool night air feel electric. The band kicks off their set with an old Tim McGraw tune that is impossible not to move to, so we pack up the last of our picnic and tuck away our blanket. And then I pull Meg close to me.

It’s not a slow song but I sway with her like it is. “Dance with me, Meg.”

“I’m all yours, cowboy,” she says, running her hands up my chest.

Laughing, I swing her away for a twirl, the hem of her dress flaring out, and then back to me, her back against my chest, and rest my hands on her hips.

The tempo changes with the next song. A cheer rings through the crowd, and bodies are moving, everyone dancing and jumping around.

I spin Meg around and we dance barefoot in the grass, kissing and touching and laughing together until we’re breathless. The night wraps around us and the stars wriggle out of the inky sky. Though we’re surrounded by people, they fade to the periphery, carving out the space in the night just for us.

I pull Meg to me and kiss her, our bodies meeting in a clash of heat and easy joy. She kisses me back, tucking her hands into the back pockets of my Levi’s and arching her hips just a little closer. Warmth washes through me, heavy and delicious. I caress both sides of her face and drink in the love in her eyes.

With a smile I can’t hold in any longer, I kiss her once, then lean close to her ear so she can hear me over the music.

“You’re my favorite somebody, Meg.”

Her hands dig deeper into my pockets.

“I love who I am when I’m with you. You make me feel brave. And safe. You’re the first thing I crave when I wake up and the only way I want to fall asleep at night. I didn’t realize how small my world had become until I met you. How much I was missing. But here’s the thing. Loving you has been effortless, and I’m going to keep loving you, until I draw my last breath.”

She inhales a sharp breath.

I soak in her warmth and the way she fits so perfectly in my embrace. I thought I’d get tongue tied and jittery, but the words I want to say feel like they’re pouring right out of my heart. “I want to spend the rest of my life loving you. Cherishing you. Honoring you and your dreams. Laughing with you. Holding you when you’re sad.” I caress down her back. “Celebrating all the little moments, and the big ones too. I can’t imagine this life without you.”

I plant a soft kiss to her lips, then I lower to one knee and take her hand.

Her eyes widen and she presses her fingers to her lips.

“Do me the honor of becoming my wife. Marry me, Meg.”

I slip the box from my pocket and lift the lid.

She swipes the tear from her cheek. “Linden, yes! Of course, yes.”

I slip the silver sapphire ring from the satin. I wanted something unique, something to remind her of how special she is to me. When I saw the sapphire, I knew it was perfect. Blue like our favorite lake, the one that brought her to me. Pretty like her eyes. Resilient just like her big, beautiful heart. 

My fingers shake as I slide it on.

Meg takes one moment to admire it, tears brimming in her eyes, and then she’s in my arms, her cheek pressed to mine. “I love you so much. Every part of you. The old stories and the new ones. Your past and who you’ve become. I love your bravery and your softness. Your kindness and your confidence. I can’t wait to be your wife.”

“Omygawd, he’s proposing!” a woman next to us says. “So romantic!”

The powerful joy of this moment locks into my heart. She’s mine. Forever. Nothing will keep us apart now. I bring her to her feet and kiss her. All around us there’s cheering and whistling. I sweep my tongue past her lips and she lets me inside. I kiss her until I run out of breath. She’s rocking against me and my hands are buried in her hair. I don’t think I can wait for the end of the concert to give her the second half of my promise—to cherish every inch of her body, now and forever. 

“Ready to get out of here?” I ask while my pulse throbs straight to my dick.

She breaks from my kiss, her lips already swollen and her eyes tense with yearning. “Take me home, cowboy.”

I sling the knapsack onto my shoulder and take her hand. We slip on our shoes and I lead her through the crowd.

“Congratulations!” a woman calls out just as a tall guy with a beard gives me a strongarm salute and a goofy grin.

Meg laughs and it’s the prettiest melody I’ve heard all night. Outside the gates, the music fades until it’s just our breaths and the gravel under our shoes. My truck is parked at the far end of the lot, between another truck and a compact SUV. I open her door and stow the knapsack behind the seat, then lift her up. She gives a little yelp of surprise, but her fingers tuck under my t-shirt and grip my waist. Desire unfurls in my core, bright and urgent. Our mouths meet in a tangle of slow tongues and heat. I caress up her thighs, rumpling the hem of her sundress. Touching her is all I want to do. It’s all I ever want to do. I glide my thumbs just inside the seam of her panties and grip the top of her thighs. She tenses and hooks her ankles behind me, pulling me closer. I reach up and flick off the dome light. Her eyes widen and she traps her bottom lip between her teeth.

“Think you can be quiet?” I ask in a low tone, tugging the sides of her panties down her hips.

A tremor passes through her core. “No.”

I step back and slide the fabric past her knees. Her pretty pussy is already wet and swollen with need. Leaning down, I pepper her thigh with little kisses. “Can you wait?”

“No.”

“Good girl.”

She whimpers.

I urge her back and take a taste. My girl is sweet tonight. Fucking delectable. Like my own private feast.

She grips my hair and arches her hips. I place one of her feet on the edge of the bench and press her knee open, exposing everything to me. I glide and caress and nip at her clit until she’s trembling, and then I slip two fingers inside.

“Oh…” Her body tenses around me and her breaths are fast and sharp. “Please, Linden…” Her voice tenses around her words. She rocks with me, so lost to her desire that she’s stopped caring about her surroundings.

I stroke the sensitive place inside her. Three long strokes is all it takes to push her over the edge. She comes, her cries lighting up every corner of my heart. I ride her climax until she’s panting and her thigh goes limp. While catching my breath, I caress and kiss up and down her thighs.

“I need you, Linden,” she says in a breathy rush, grabbing my hand. “Inside me. Please.”

With a groan, I climb into the truck and urge her onto my lap. I caress the back of her thighs and cup her ass while she unbuckles my belt. We kiss, the taste of her sharp on my tongue. I shift to help her tug everything down, and then I’m rocking her hips up, her slick heat wrapping my length. I notch at her opening, and we kiss again while she works to take me.

She braces off my forearms while I part her open with my hands cupping her ass. We go slow, but she’s still so fucking tight. After everything I’ve done to her. All the ways I’ve made her come. On her knees, begging. On top while I kiss and caress her everywhere. Bent over the kitchen counter with her work skirt rucked around her hips and those fuck me pumps still on her feet, her nylons stretched between her spread thighs. On the bathroom counter. With her little toy and without. I could happily die right here, watching her want me bad enough to work for it.

She hisses a breath as she lowers another inch, her eyes tense.

“I’ve got you for as long as you need, shortcake.” I press a soft kiss to her lips.

“It’s always going to feel this good, isn’t it?”

I kiss her again. “Count on it.”

She takes a little more, breathing fast, her cheeks flushed. “I want it all the time.”

“Then I must be doing something right.”

Her lips brush mine. “I love you.”

“I think right now, you love my cock.”

She laughs, and on her inhale, I let her sink a little more. Her mouth opens in a breathless gasp.

“Have I told you how pretty you look taking my dick?”

Her hips tilt a fraction and that fire I so love flickers in her eyes. She takes a slow breath and huffs it out.

“Let me all the way inside. You want my cum deep inside you, don’t you, greedy girl?”

“Linden,” she breathes, lowering all the way.

Stars whizz past my vision and the heat in my core turns molten.

“That’s my good girl,” I say on a groan.

She leans down to kiss me, her silky hair framing our faces. I tuck under the fabric of her dress draped over my lap to thumb her hard little clit.

With a sexy little sigh, she rolls her hips. We start to move, slow, like the beginning of a dance. One we’re getting pretty close to perfecting.

“You feel so good,” I say, sucking her bottom lip between mine. I kiss along her jaw to the shell of her ear. She smells so good here. That kick of grapefruit mixed with a scent that reminds me of spring—green and lush and full of promise. Of hope and belonging. Of sweetness and sunlight.

Meg comes in a series of tense cries, her body pulsing so tight around me. When she buries her face in my neck, gasping, I cradle her waist and take control. I start slow and deep, then faster, her warm breath fast in my ear. “Yes,” she whimpers. “More…oh god…”

I peel back the top of her dress and silky bra beneath it to suck her into my mouth. The soft weight of her breast and the hard flesh of her nipple between my lips while she surrenders to my rough pace and needy thrusts is enough to send me right to the edge.

“Come on, baby, one more,” I grit out before grazing her nipple with the edge of my teeth.

We’re a mess of tangled clothing and ragged breaths and carnal want in this cramped space, but it’s beautiful, and real, and there is no way I will ever get enough. Not tonight, not tomorrow, not in a thousand tomorrows. Certainly not in this lifetime. Or the next.

We come together, Meg’s tight cries blending with my praise for her and all that she is. With all the ways I’m going to love her. My promises tumble from my lips as I come, giving her all that I am. And then we hold each other close, hearts in synch, locked together as one.

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