Page 60 of Always and Forever
Handing her a helmet, she pulls it over her head. Once mine is on, I slide onto the snowmobile in front of her. Her arms come around my waist, holding tight.
I start the engine, and with one last wave to the others, we take off.
It’s just her and me now.
Finally!
Chapter Twenty-Four
Gualtiero
It’squiteawayto our destination, and the night air is biting cold. Now more than ever, I wish we were back in sunny Sicily. But as it stands, we’ll never be able to return. The thought is depressing and doesn’t belong on a night like tonight.
I focus on the direction the satellite navigation gives me. Without it, we’d be in deep trouble finding this place. It shouldn’t be far now.
Sure enough, as we round a bend, warm lights in amongst the trees guide us to our honeymoon suite. We’ve got this place for the next three days, and I don’t intend for us to venture outside in that time.
I pull up to a ramp that’s softly illuminated by solar torches. We dismount from the snowmobile, and Ella hastily takes off her helmet and balaclava, gawking up into the tree.
“Oh my god, we’re spending our wedding night in a treehouse? Wow… I don’t have words… that’s so, so cool.”
She’s beaming. I’m onto a winner with this surprise.
This lofty construction is nestled amid frost-kissed conifers and is currently adorned with a fresh coat of snow. Any other traces of the blizzard are gone. The owner worked magic, leaving everything picture-perfect.
“It’s not just any treehouse. It was built by the best treehouse builder in the world, a renowned Norwegian… E. Bell, I think his name is.”
“I’ve never seen a two-story treehouse, nor one with such a long ramp up to it. It’s magnificent. All the ones I’ve seen had ladders you had to climb or spiraling staircases.”
“Well, this certainly makes it easier for a groom…”
I scoop my angel up, her arms going automatically around my neck as I carry her up the sturdy wooden ramp, her joyful laughter echoing through the woods.
With each step, the tingling in my stomach increases. My heart races with the realization that she’s truly finally mine, forever.
“Here we are, angel,” I whisper, kissing her lips as we reach the front door, the words carrying the weight of a lifetime of dreams.
Fumbling with the door handle, I struggle to maintain my composure, the adrenaline making my fingers momentarily clumsy.
A soft laugh escapes her lips, and she twists in my hold, her gloved fingers reaching for the latch. Our laughter blends with the soft cracks of the swaying pine trees surrounding us as the door swings open, revealing the intimate haven that awaits us.
I carry my bride over the threshold into the living space and gently set her down. Taking off her gloves and jacket, she looks around, her eyes sparkling with utter delight.
Flickering electric candlelight casts a gentle glow across the warm room, furnished with a soft cushioned sofa, sturdy coffee table and a couple of low bookshelves. To one side, a wall of windows unveils a breathtaking panorama of the moonlit mountains through a clearing. A small kitchenette stands unassumingly in the corner, with a fridge fully stocked for us for the next few days.
A separate bathroom is hidden behind the only internal door, adorned with a large bathtub placed in front of a floor-to-ceiling window, offering vistas over the mountainous landscape.
“Oh, I can’t wait to soak in this tub,” Ella sighs happily.
“First, I have to make you dirty,” I say, nipping her ear as I pull her flush against my body, grinding my pelvis into her ass.
As we ascend the stairs to the mezzanine-level bedroom, electric candles of varying heights illuminate the space in one corner.
“Aww…” my angel gasps when she takes in the king-size bed with rose petals strewn across the cover and a bottle of sparkling grape juice in a bucket of ice waiting for us on the bedside table.
“It’s perfect,” she breathes, her joy echoing in the confined space.
I turn her toward me, our eyes locking. “You’reperfect.” My voice is gruff, the longing for her taking over my body.
