"About you? Absolutely." I wiped away her tears with my thumbs. "So what do you say, baby girl? Want to marry a mountain man who's obsessed with you?"
"Yes," she said without hesitation. "Yes, I want to marry you. I want to build a business with you and a life with you and eventually a family with you. I want all of it, Sam. As soon as possible."
The relief and joy was almost overwhelming. I kissed her again, harder this time, claiming and possessive.
"Mine," I said against her mouth. "You're mine now. Officially, legally, permanently mine."
"Yours," she agreed. "And you're mine too. Don't forget that part."
"Never." I rolled her beneath me again, settling between her thighs. "Now let me show you what it means to be mine. We've got three weeks to make up for, and I plan on taking my time."
"I thought you wanted to go ring shopping tomorrow," she teased.
"We will. After I make love to you until dawn. After I prove to you in every way possible that you made the right choice." I pushed inside her again, both of us groaning at the perfect fit. "After I remind you that this—us—is worth everything you gave up."
"I didn't give anything up," she said, wrapping her legs around me and pulling me deeper. "I found everything I was missing. I found home. I found love. I found you."
"You found us," I corrected, starting to move. "Because we're a team now. Partners in everything. And I'm never letting you go."
"Promise?"
"Promise. I love you, Jess Madison. More than the mountains. More than adventure. More than anything in this world."
"I love you too, Sam Edwards. Now stop talking and make love to me."
I did exactly that, taking my time to worship every inch of her body, to make her come again and again, to prove with actions and words that she was loved and cherished and chosen.
By the time dawn broke over the mountains, we were both exhausted and satisfied.
She'd chosen me. I'd chosen her. And together, we were going to build something extraordinary.
