Possessed by Passion (16 page)

“Hunter, will you marry me?”

She blinked. “Marry you?”

He nodded. “Yes.”

“But how can you be sure that I'm the woman you want to spend your life with?”

He smiled. “I'm sure. Trust me, I fought it. Marrying anyone was the last thing on my mind, but my dad was right.”

“About what?”

“Jonas said Dad once told him that a smart man knows there's nothing wrong with falling in love if it's a woman you can't live your life without. And I can't live my life without you, Hunter.”

She wanted so much to believe him. “But what about those other women?”

“They don't matter. Not one of them had me possessed by passion. But you do, Hunter. I believe a man knows he's run his course with other women when they no longer interest him and none of them is more important to him than the one he wants to wake up with every morning and make memories with forever. And that's you.”

He paused a moment to clear his throat. “So, I'm asking again. Hunter McKay, will you marry me? Will you be the only woman in my life? The one to share this house I'm building for us here on this property? The only one I want to be the mother of my children? The only one I want to wear the name of Mrs. Tyson Steele?”

At that moment, numerous emotions ran through Hunter and she knew what her answer to him would be. He was the only man she wanted in her life as well. “Yes, Tyson. I will marry you.”

A huge smile curved Tyson's lips and he leaned over and captured her mouth with his. Shivers raced all through her body from the way his mouth was devouring hers. He was building passion neither of them could contain. And when he slid his arms around her waist to pull her over the console and into his lap, she followed his lead and returned the kiss with the same sexual hunger. Their tongues mated hotly, greedily. The degree of her desire for Tyson always astounded her, made her appreciate that she was a woman who wanted this man. And just to know he loved her as much as she loved him sent her soaring to the moon.

Moments later when the need to breathe overrode everything else, she pulled back from the kiss. He reached up and traced his finger across her moist lips. “I can sit here and kiss you all day,” he said huskily.

“Umm, I prefer we do something else,” she said leaning in to trail feathery kisses along the corners of his lips and chin.

“Something like what?”

“This,” she said, climbing over his seat into the back and grabbing his hand to entice him to follow. He did. And then she shoved him on his back and straddled him. “We can start here. We never got around to doing it in the backseat of your car eighteen years ago.”

He chuckled softly as his hands grabbed hold of her thighs, easing her dress up nearly to her waist. “Back then you were a good girl.”

“Now I'm bad,” she said, pulling his zipper down. “Tyson's naughty girl.”

“Soon to be his naughty wife,” he said and then sucked in a deep breath when she reached inside his pants and took the solid thickness of his erection in her hand. When she began stroking him he released a guttural moan.

“You did say this is a private road, right?” she asked.

“Yes, it's very private.”

“Good.”

She opened her legs to cradle him and then remembered something. “Condom.”

“Here,” he said after working a packet out of his back pocket.

She took her time to sheathe him the way she'd seen him do many times. When he eased her panties aside she slid down, releasing a deep moan when the head of his erection touched her center just seconds before he tightened his hold on her hips and slowly entered her.

It was as if he was savoring the moment, though for her it was pure torture. She needed all of him now. She leaned in and bit him gently on the lips. In retaliation he thrust hard into her, melding their bodies.

“I thought that would get you going,” she said, licking the mark her teeth had made on his lips.

Instead of responding he began moving, stroking her insides, thrusting in and out, over and over again. Never had she felt so thoroughly made love to except for with Tyson. He had the ability to make her purr, yearn and become obsessed with everything he was doing to her.

“Hunter!”

When he screamed her name, she knew his world had tipped over the edge and hers would soon follow. He continued to stroke her while groaning out his pleasure. And she moaned, saying his name on a breathless groan, as the two of them were tossed into waves of pure ecstasy.

When Hunter found the energy to lift her head from his chest, she met his gaze. Their bodies were still intimately connected, and sexual chemistry, as explosive as it could get, still flowed between them the way it always did. A flirty smile touched her lips. “Let's do it again, Tyson,” she said, leaning in close to lick the underside of his neck.

He smiled at her. “Yes, let's do it again. And then we'll go to the jewelry store for your engagement ring.”

Epilogue

A beautiful day in August

H
unter couldn't stop looking down at the wedding ring Tyson had slid on her finger. It was beautiful. And then she glanced up at him. He was beautiful, as well.

“Tyson, will you repeat after me,” the pastor said, reclaiming her attention. “With this ring, I thee wed.”

Tyson held her gaze as he repeated the pastor's words loud and clear. She couldn't stop the tears from rolling down her cheeks. Mo and Kat would kill her for messing up a perfectly made-up face, but she couldn't help it. It was her wedding day and she could cry if she wanted to.

“By the power vested in me by this great state of Arizona, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Tyson, you may kiss your bride.”

She smiled as he pulled her into his arms, sealing their vows with a kiss. When he released her he swept her off her feet as the pastor introduced them. “Dr. and Mrs. Tyson Steele.”

As he carried her out the church while holding her in his arms, somewhere in the audience Hunter heard a voice say, “Another Bad News Steele bites the dust.”

She tightened her arm around Tyson's neck, grateful that this particular Steele was hers.

* * *

Tyson tried to keep the smile off his face as he spoke with his brothers. “We're happy for you, man,” Gannon said. “Hunter is wonderful.”

“I think she's wonderful, too.” He glanced over at Mercury. “Sorry, but the heat is going to be on you two guys. Maybe it won't be so bad since Eli and Stacey announced they are having a baby. That might keep Mom occupied for a while.”

Mercury chuckled. “We can only hope. And I agree with Gannon. Hunter is great for you. She makes you happy and we can see it.”

“Yes, I'm a very happy man.” Tyson took a sip of his wine while glancing around Hunter's parents' beautifully decorated backyard. He and Hunter had decided on an outdoor wedding with only family and close friends. He saw his wife of one hour standing in a group talking to the wives of his cousins from Charlotte.

It was time for their first dance together as husband and wife. “Excuse me, guys.”

He headed across the patio and as if she sensed his approach, Hunter glanced up and met his gaze. She smiled, excused herself from the group and met him halfway.

“Dr. Steele.”

“Mrs. Steele. Ready for our first dance together?” he asked, taking her hand in his.

“Yes, I am ready.”

“The sooner we can start our honeymoon the better,” he said. They would be flying to Aruba, where they would spend the next two weeks.

“You sound rather anxious.”

“I'll show you how anxious I am once I strip you naked,” he said, leading her to the area designated for the dance floor.

* * *

Hunter lifted her head from Tyson's chest as they shared their first dance as husband and wife. “I never wanted to marry again, Tyson, but you made me change my mind about that.”

He smiled down at her. “And I didn't want to ever marry but I was a man possessed and I couldn't do anything about it, sweetheart. You stole my heart before I knew what was happening.”

She couldn't help but be filled with love for this man, who continued to show her what true love was about. He was the one who went out of his way to make her feel that she was everything a woman should be. Worthy of his love. Hunter couldn't help but remember that day they'd made love in the backseat of his car. Afterward, he had taken her to Lola's, one of the most exclusive jewelers in Phoenix. Together they had selected her engagement ring—a beautiful four-carat cushion diamond with a halo setting—as well as their diamond band wedding rings.

That evening he had surprised her by taking her to his parents' home to take part in the family's Thursday night dinner. Tyson's parents and the rest of the family had congratulated them, and of course the women had fallen in love with her engagement ring. Dinner had been special and since that night she'd been included in the Steeles' Thursday night dinners. She loved his parents and loved getting to know all of Tyson's brothers, as well as their wives.

“What are you thinking about, sweetheart?” Tyson asked, leaning down to whisper close to her ear.

“I was thinking just what a lucky woman I am.”

“I feel lucky as well. You are everything I could ever want, Hunter.”

He pulled her closer into his arms. He couldn't wait to be in their new home, dancing in their own backyard. Already the property had been cleared and construction had begun. According to the builder, they should be ready to move into their dream home in about six months.

“There are only two single Steeles now,” Hunter observed, seeing Mercury and Gannon standing in a group talking with their cousins from Charlotte.

“I know, and I can't wait to meet the women who make them believe in a forever kind of love,” Tyson said. “They're going to find out the same thing I did. You can't run from love.”

Then he leaned down and captured her mouth with his, ignoring the claps and catcalls from their audience. When he released her mouth, she pulled in a deep breath. “What was that for?”

He chuckled. “Don't you know, baby? I am a man possessed. Not only am I possessed by your passion, I'm also possessed by your love.”

Hunter sank closer into her husband's embrace and smiled up at him. “And I'm possessed by yours.”

* * * * *

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