Thorne watches me, something soft in his normally stern expression. "Thought you might like it. Only blooms like this when the weather is right."
I wander into the meadow, careful not to crush too many flowers. As a florist, I've spent my life arranging cut blooms, but there's something magical about seeing them like this—alive, wild, perfect in their natural state.
"I could create an entire collection inspired by this," I say, ideas flowing faster than I can process them. "Wild arrangements, using your wood pieces as bases, capturing this exact feeling."
"You could do that here," Thorne says quietly.
I turn to face him, my heart pounding. "What?"
"Stay." Just one word, but loaded with meaning. "Set up your shop in Silver Ridge."
"Thorne, I can't just—"
"Why not?" He steps closer, intensity radiating from him. "You said yourself your creativity's never been stronger. There’s a building on main street that’s perfect for a flower shop."
The scary thing is, I can see it. I can picture my business here, reimagined for this community. Wilder. More authentic. And infinitely more fulfilling.
"My customers are in Vancouver," I say, but even to my own ears, it sounds like a weak excuse.
"You'd find new ones. Festival brings tourists. Bennett ships his art and furniture all over Canada. You could do the same with your arrangements."
He's thought about this. Planned it. The realization sends a wave of emotion through me.
"It's so fast," I whisper. "We've known each other for three days."
Thorne takes my hands in his, his calloused palms warm against my skin. "Sometimes you just know."
And the thing is, I do know. Somehow, impossibly, I know that what we have is real. That it's worth taking a chance on.
"I'm in love with you," I say, the words bursting out before I can second-guess them. "I know that sounds crazy, but I am."
For a moment, he's perfectly still. Then his hands frame my face, so gentle despite their strength. "Not crazy," he says, his voice rough with emotion. He kisses me, and it's different from our previous kisses, full of promise. "I want a life with you," he murmurs against my lips. "Here. Together."
"Yes," I breathe, suddenly certain. "Yes."
His hands slide down my body, kindling that now-familiar heat between us. All around, wildflowers sway in the mountain breeze, witnesses to a passion that feels as natural and wild as they are.
I tug at his shirt, needing to feel his skin against mine. He helps me pull it over his head, revealing the broad chest that has become my favorite place to rest my head. My dress follows, then the rest of our clothes, until we stand naked in the center of the meadow, surrounded only by mountains and sky and flowers.
"Look at you," Thorne growls, his eyes traveling over my body with unconcealed hunger. "Most beautiful thing I've ever seen."
His words make me bold. I reach for him, wrapping my fingers around his hard length. My hand barely encircles his impressive girth, and the realization of how completely he fills me sends a rush of wetness between my legs.
"Show me," I challenge, stroking him slowly. "Show me how much you want me."
With a primal groan, he lowers me to the ground, using our discarded clothes as a makeshift blanket. The sun warms my skin as Thorne moves over me, his massive body blocking the light. His mouth trails fire down my neck, across my collarbone, capturing one nipple then the other. I arch into his touch, desperate for more. His beard tickles my sensitive skin as he moves lower, pressing open-mouthed kisses across my stomach.
"Thorne," I gasp as he settles between my thighs, his broad shoulders pushing them wider. "Please."
"So impatient," he murmurs, his hot breath teasing my most sensitive flesh. "We have all the time in the world now."
The first stroke of his tongue against my pussy sends pleasure spiraling through me. He devours me like a starving man at a feast, his strong hands holding my hips as I writhe beneath him. When he slides two thick fingers inside, I come apart with a cry that echoes across the meadow.
Before I've fully recovered, he's moving up my body, positioning the swollen head of his cock at my entrance. "Mine," he growls, eyes locked with mine as he pushes inside in one powerful thrust that takes my breath away.
He moves within me, his thick cock dragging against every sensitive spot inside me with each powerful thrust. I've never felt so utterly filled, so completely claimed. The contrast of his powerful body and gentle touch, of soft flowers against my back and hard earth beneath, heightens every sensation.
"Never letting you go," he pants, his control slipping as his thrusts become more urgent, the thick ridge of his cockhead hitting that perfect spot deep inside me. "Never."
