DAWSON

I wake at almost six a.m. with Lexie breathing softly next to me, her arm limp across my chest. With a sigh, I roll so that our bodies match like spoons, and wrap my arm around her waist. I haven’t had a nightmare in months. If I wake, Lexie holds me, and the panic disappears.

When I open my eyes again, dawn is just beginning, the sun’s first kiss turning the distant peaks golden. Lexie stirs and pulls my arm tighter around her.

On the nightstand, Lexie’s repaired locket catches the light. I think about how close I came to losing her and my best friend during the fire, and the dangers Hunter and Brian’s teams have uncovered in the ongoing investigation.

It makes every moment with Lexie even more precious.

I kiss her shoulder and sigh. My cock stiffens, and Lexie shifts against me. I caress down her arm, taking my time.

I love our mornings together, the way her body responds to my touch. Most days I’m still pinching myself to make sure it’s real. That I’m not caught in a daydream.

Gently, I draw little circles on her hip while I kiss behind her ear. A tremor passes through her. She turns and kisses me, her lips lingering on mine. I flick the tip of my tongue to hers. She gives a little moan, and rocks her hips back. I cup her breast and roll my fingertips over her peak. Lexie breaks from my kiss and her eyes flutter open, her face tense with desire.

Gently, I stroke up her arm, raising it so I can kiss her breast. I wrap my lips around her and swirl with my tongue. She’s so soft here. Perfect. Taking my time, I tease and suck, savoring her quickening breaths and the delicious contact of her ass grinding against my cock.

Caressing down her belly, I part her thighs so I can touch her.

“Yes,” Lexie breathes.

She’s plush and so beautifully needy. “So wet for me, sweetheart.”

“I can’t help it.”

I suck her nipple while stroking her up and down. I’m so hard against her ass that my core is clenched tight.

“Last night wasn’t enough for you?”

She groans. “I’ll never get enough of this.”

I roll back and grasp my root so I can glide between her thighs. Her wet pussy coats my shaft, sending tremors of desire through me. Fuck, it’s good. She tightens her thighs around me, letting me know she’s ready for more.

I lift her thigh over mine and glide to where she needs me. Our eyes lock in the low light, and I thrust, sinking slowly inside her.

Lexie’s face tenses and her thighs give a tiny shudder. She looks down to watch me disappear inside her. When I’m locked deep, I arch my hips so that nothing separates us.

“Such a tight little pussy,” I say, and rock back.

“Only for you,” she groans.

“That’s right.” I thrust again, harder this time. “Mine.”

“That’s right.” I thrust again, harder this time. “Mine.”

Quinn still joins us now and then, but our ground rules have changed. I’m the luckiest man alive to have him both as a best friend and a partner in pleasuring the woman I love.

I settle onto my side, her back warm and soft against my chest, and drive slowly, our rhythm synched in a slow, sensual pace. I caress her while I thrust. She opens her thighs and digs her heel into me for leverage.

I scissor her clit, my fingers slick with her arousal. It’s deliciously filthy, her thighs splayed open and her back arched in pleasure. She’s so beautifully vulnerable to me right now, so willing to trust me. I pledge for the hundredth time to protect her, to keep her safe. To make her feel whole and loved, cherished.

“Let me hear you come, baby.”

“Dawson,” she manages between quickening breaths. “Oh.”

I thrust slow and firm and tease her faster, harder.

She rocks with me, her mouth open in pleasure and her body so welcoming, taking me deep. She comes with a cry, her body pulsing around me. I move with her, riding her climax until her core spasms and she reaches to me for a kiss. Breathless, I kiss her, my lips lingering on hers while I stay buried inside her, our bodies joined so perfectly.

“I love you,” she says, then kisses me again, her tongue swirling with mine.

“I love you so much.” I caress back and forth across her smooth tummy, savoring her warmth, and kiss her back.

My cock gives a needy pulse, and I slide out and gently roll her to all fours. She complies, lowering onto her elbows, her forehead dropping to the sheets. I take a moment to caress her from behind while she trembles in anticipation. Her pussy is plush and wet with arousal. Unable to stop myself, I lower down for a taste.

Lexie bucks away with a jolt.

I grasp her thighs and part her open, then taste her again, gliding deeper.

“Oh God,” Lexie says, quivering.

“You want my tongue inside this sweet pussy? Or my cock?”

She sighs into the pillows. “Yes.”

That she’s unable to choose is my favorite answer. Parting her open with my fingertips, I bury my face between her thighs. She welcomes me with a groan. I glide and suck and tease, her arousal filling my senses with a desperate ache.

That I can make her feel this good makes me crazy with desire. I kiss up, making sure to tend to the sensitive area around her backdoor just the way she likes, then grip her hip and slowly thrust inside her.

Lexie gasps and grips the sheets.

She takes me all the way in. “Baby,” I groan, and draw her hips closer. She’s impossibly tight like this, yet so welcoming. Like we were made for each other.

Lexie’s thighs release a quiver. Cradling her hips, I start to rock, my pace deliciously slow and deliberate. Her breaths become tense little gasps. I caress the length of her waist too her breast, and stroke her while I thrust. The need to release tickles the base of my spine. I breathe deeply, savoring this feeling of connecting to her so completely, of being in tune with her needs.

Lexie lowers her shoulders, submitting to me and her desires beautifully.

“That’s it, sweet girl,” I say, planting a kiss on her shoulder blade.

I pinch and tug at her nipple, and she tightens around me. “Dawson,” she whimpers. I slow my pace, tapping her deep.

“Come for me, sweetheart, let me hear you sing.”

Lexie’s whimpers turn desperate. I lose myself in her release, savoring the feel of her body and the warmth that connects us. She comes beautifully, her face tense and her mouth open. The sensations rip through me like sweet fire, triggering my own climax. I grip her hips and rock her against me, her thighs so smooth and warm against mine and her heat like a vice. Everything focuses to the pleasure unraveling from deep inside me.

Unable to hold back any longer, I surrender. Pleasure rushes in, filling me like sunshine, bright and warm and rich—decadent.

Breathing hard, I fold over her and kiss between her shoulder blades. We rest there, together. Her thighs quiver with aftershocks. Reluctantly, I slide back and draw her into my arms, tugging the comforter over us.

“I wish we could stay in bed all day,” Lexie says with a sigh.

“And miss your brother’s wedding?” I reply, pinching her bottom.

She yelps in protest. “Of course not.” After a happy sigh, she adds, “I’m so excited for them. But maybe I’m just a little bit envious?”

I caress down her arm and kiss the side of her head. “You’re not alone. I can’t wait to marry you, baby.”

She curls into me. “I love you, Dawson.”

Because of the time, we unfortunately have to hurry. After a quick shower where we flirt and kiss, Lexie dresses in leggings and a thick sweater and gathers her garment bag and accessories. I help her load them into her electric car—fresh off the line last month from Subaru—and hug and kiss her goodbye. She sighs in my embrace.

“See you on the other end of the aisle,” she says with a giggle.

The rest of the day passes in a blur. I pick up Quinn from the airport and drive us to Soren Lake Lodge for the pre-ceremony festivities. Quinn shares a funny travel story and updates on his company’s crazy growth recently. At the lodge, we follow the crepe paper and tin lanterns up the snow-cleared path to Salmonberry Cabin, where Cooper, Evan, Hunter, Brian, and Seth have gathered for the pre-wedding festivities. Last month, we celebrated Coop’s bachelor party with getaway to Seattle. We caught a hockey game, dinner at a swanky pub, and a private karaoke party that lasted until 3 a.m. Sunday was BBQ breakfast and inner tubing at Thunder Mountain Ski Resort followed by an Escape Room experience that had us all stumped until the end.

Until now, the only form of brotherhood I’ve known has been Quinn’s friendship. That we’re both now included in the fiercely loyal and tightly bonded McCabe clan fills me with gratitude. I’m not only marrying the most incredible woman, but I’ve also been accepted into her incredible family.

We’re greeted by Evan, who tackles us like a linebacker, his hug tighter than a python’s grip. Hunter asked us all to stay sober today, at least until after the ceremony, in order to help Evan feel supported, and like he’s not missing out. We play some games, share a meal, our laughter and conversation so loud I’m amazed we don’t blow the roof off the cabin.

When it’s time to get dressed, Mary Alice appears with our boutonnieres and helps pin them on, her eyes glassy with joy as she flits between us. Her smile brightens when she gets to me.

“You’re still here, huh?” she jokes. “No cold feet?”

“No ma’am.” I shake my head. “Not in a million years.”

She smooths my lapel and makes one final adjustment to my boutonniere, then gazes up at me. “I’ve never seen Lexie so happy.”

“I love her so much.”

Mary Alice blots a tear from the corner of her eye. “Darn it all, Dawson. I swore to myself I’d make it through this without crying.”

“It’s a wedding, aren’t we supposed to cry?” I sniff back the tears, but my eyes water anyway.

She swats me with her hankie. “Easy for you to say. You didn’t spend thirty minutes wrestling with the mascara brush.”

We both laugh, and I pull her into a gentle hug.

“All right,” Mary Alice says, stepping back. “Save me a dance. I want an update on your new album and how your company is doing.”

“I’d be delighted,” I reply with a small bow.

Mary Alice turns to the burly men dressed in suits, and whirls her index finger in the air. “Let’s do this, gentlemen.”

***

Don’t miss the series finale, Her Wild Coast Promise!

Read all the books in the Wild Hearts series here