“Angus?” Win asked breathlessly.
“Win Lisle, I’ve loved you since the day we met, and now I understand everything you were prepared to give up in order to be with me. Your family’s position and power. Your wealth. The security you thought you’d known. Even before you realized the price you were paying for all of that, you were willing to take a chance on me. I swear that for the rest of my life I’ll work hard to be worth it.”
“You’ve always been worth it,” Win broke in.
“Lass, let me get it all out,” Angus said. “It means a lot to me to know you’d take a chance on a man and a community that hadn’t proved much of anything to you. I swear I will be a husband and a father you can be proud of. I will always be there for you. Worthy of your trust.” He fished in his pocket, pulled out a little velvet box and opened it, displaying a beautiful old-fashioned diamond ring. “I’ve been carrying this around for months, waiting until I’d been given the go-ahead to give it to you. I’m done waiting. I should have done this a lot sooner.” He plucked the ring out of its box and took her hand, hesitating. “But first you’ve got to give me an answer. Will you marry me?”
“Yes,” she said. “Of course, I will. It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do. Oh!” She gasped when he surged to his feet, swung her into his arms and kissed her, then bent again to plant another kiss on her belly.
“Did you hear that? I get to make an honest woman of your mother.”
“You mean, I get to make an honest man of you.” Win pulled him up again and kissed him soundly. “Oh, I’ve missed that,” she said when they finally pulled apart. “Angus, we can’t ever fight, because I want to kiss you all the time.”
“Me, too,” he agreed. “Now, get those clothes off and let me at you.”
“Here?” She looked around them.
Angus worked at the fastenings of her long, old-fashioned jacket. She unzipped his in no time and helped him out of it, then waited patiently for him to finish with hers. He surveyed her dress despondently. “Your clothes are way too complicated.”
“Nothing a Navy SEAL like you can’t handle,” she encouraged him and turned her back, giving him access.
She was right; he was up to the task of undressing her, and soon she stood in her winter boots, shift and yoga pants, while he was down to jeans, boots and skivvies.
“Now what?” she asked him. “It’s too cold to be barefoot.” She was shivering. The day had been warm, but the night was cool. Angus knew he needed to take action fast.
He picked her up. “Shoes off,” he ordered. She kicked her feet until one and then the other fell to the ground. “Pants off, too.”
“Yes, sir,” she purred. “Are you sure you can hold on to me, though? I’m a little bulkier than I used to be.”
“I’ve got you,” Angus said with a grin.
She wrapped her legs around his waist, scooted her yoga pants down under her bottom, lifted one leg to shimmy the stretchy garment off it, then repeated the procedure on the other. Her growing belly made things awkward, but somehow she managed it. Hooking her legs together around his waist again, she tossed the pants aside and shimmied her shift up and over her head. Clad only in a tiny, silky pair of panties, she smiled up at him. “Better?”
“So much better. Do that wriggling thing again and get the rest of it off. Or I can tear them off if you like.”
She glanced down. “I like this pair.” She shimmied around, her breasts coming tantalizingly close to his mouth as she performed the maneuver, and he took the opportunity to tease them, suckling first one and then the other as she moved in his arms.
Win was panting by the time she’d gotten everything off. “That’s like doing gymnastics. It could be a whole new kind of exercise program. I’m not nearly as flexible as I was before I got pregnant.”
“I’m down for a workout any time you are.” Angus reached down, undid the button of his jeans, got the zipper down and shoved them—and his boxer briefs—around his knees. When he pressed up against her, he groaned. The air was cool around him, but Win was oh, so hot.
“Finally,” she breathed as they rested there a moment together. Her breasts pressed against his chest in a delightful way, and her mouth met his. Angus allowed his hands to explore her curves, hardly able to take in that this woman had agreed to be his wife. They could be together whenever they wanted from now on—
“Know what?”
“What?”
“We’re alone. Totally alone.”
Win looked around. Listened for a minute. All she heard was the breeze rattling the bare branches of the trees far overhead. “You’re right. Are you finally going to make love to me?”
“Hell, yeah.”
Win wrapped her arms around Angus’s neck for leverage. She used her legs, still linked around his waist, to lift up just enough to allow him to nudge against her and then slide inside.
Both of them let out a breath.
“I thought you’d never get in me,” Win complained.
“I know.” Angus held her there, and she knew he was feeling the same way she was, glorying in the sensation of their connection for a long moment before he began to move. He braced himself, supported her bottom with one hand and wrapped the other around her, then began to slide in and out of her in long, strong strokes, sending shivers of sweet longing through Win. She closed her eyes and clung to him, amazed at the way he could hold her—make love to her—like this. The muscles in his shoulders tensed under her hands, his fingers added pressure in all the right places, enhancing the sensations his movements were stirring to
