“Oh it is,” she breathed. “It’s always been special to the family because it’s where my mom gave birth to me. But over the years it somehow became mine. My refuge. My dream place. One day I’m going to build my own house there. I’ve designed it in my head so many times that it’s become real.”

“And where do I fit in to this dream?”

She pushed up on her elbow, her hair falling over her breasts as she stared earnestly down at him. “Where do you want to fit in, Max? I’m winging it here. I have no idea what your plans are. You say you love me. I love you. For most people that means they’re going to try to have a relationship. A serious relationship. But we’ve not talked about it at all. I have no idea what you have in mind.”

“You’re mine,” he said simply. “What that means is that you’re going to be with me. Whether it means a lifelong commitment or marriage on paper. I don’t care. Those things aren’t as important as your promise to belong to me, to submit to me, to accept our relationship and to wear the brands of my possession.”

“But what does that mean?” she asked softly.

Her heart was thumping so hard, she feared it would beat right out of her chest. She hated moments like this. She wasn’t versed in being all subtle and coy. She was too blunt. Too demanding. Too damn honest for her own good.

“Where will we live? I assume you want us to be together. I don’t want to leave my life, my family. They’re too important to me. So tell me, Max. What does that mean for us?”

He hushed her with a kiss, and for several long seconds, neither of them spoke as he kissed her over and over until she nearly forgot what she’d asked.

“It means you’re mine and I’m not letting you go. It means that your happiness is the most important thing in my life. I’ve promised to take care of you. To place your needs above mine. To cherish your gift of submission. That doesn’t mean that I’ll fly in on weekends so we can have a quick fuck before we go our separate ways. It means you’re going to spend every goddamn day in my arms, in my bed, underneath me, me inside you as many times as I can get there.”

She could barely breathe for the hope burning like a torch in her soul.

“We’ll stay on your damn mountain if that’s what you want, Callie. I’m not going to take you away from the place and the people you love.”

“Oh Max.”

She threw her arms around him, nearly sending him rolling from the bed in her exuberance. She landed atop him, arms and legs sprawled as she peppered him with kisses.

He laughed and tried to ward her off but she persisted until he put his hands up and begged for mercy.

“Lord but you get crazy when you’re happy, Callie.”

She grinned, straddled him and stared down as her hands gripped his shoulders. “You make me happy. I don’t think it’s possible to be happier than I am right now.”

“I sincerely hope you’re wrong,” he said softly. “For me, I can only imagine how happy we’ll be on our wedding day. On the day you give birth to our first child. Our fourth child. Or our fifth. Or maybe when you look at me in fifty years like you’re looking at me right now.”

“You have to stop,” she choked out. “You’re going to make me cry again.”

He reached for her and pulled her down into his arms. “We can’t have that. I don’t like it when you cry. It makes me feel helpless, and I hate feeling helpless.”

“Let’s go home tomorrow,” she urged. “I know you wanted us to spend a week here, but we have all the time in the world. I want you to meet my family. I want you to see all the things I love.”

He hesitated a moment as he ran his hand over her hair. Then his chest heaved as he sighed. “All right. We’ll go back tomorrow. If we’re going to build our future, it’s important that I meet your family and see the things that are precious to you.”

Callie wrapped her arms around him and hugged him close. “You’ll like my family. They can be overbearing, but they love me and I love them.”

“Anyone who loves you as much as I do can’t be all bad,” he said.

She raised her head to see his grin, and she smiled back as sunshine poured over her soul. Perfect. Things were just perfect. They couldn’t be any more so.

She wanted to bounce out of bed and call her mother as she’d almost done in Europe when she’d first met Max. She wanted to tell her that she had indeed met the man she was going to marry.

But she was too comfortable wrapped around Max like a blanket, and she yawned broadly as she snuggled more firmly into his embrace. The call to her mom could wait until tomorrow.

Chapter Twenty-Two

“I’m thinking we should ditch your car when we get to Clyde and take my truck up the mountain,” Callie said as they passed the sign that signaled three more miles until they reached their destination.Max’s mouth turned down into a grimace. “Your truck is on its last leg, Callie. I hate that you still drive it. It’s an accident waiting to happen.”

She rolled her eyes. “You sound just like my dads. And my brothers. They’ve been nagging me forever to get something else. My dads are dying to buy me a new vehicle.”

“You won’t let them?”

His expression suggested she was nuts, and yeah, her truck was old. It had definitely seen better days. The idea of riding in such a thing probably appalled Max. His tastes ran to the more refined. And expensive.

“I can’t afford one,” she said.

When he continued to look at her with a blank expression she sighed.

“I’ve never allowed my parents to just buy stuff for me. They have money. But it’s not my money. Everything I’ve earned I’ve stashed away for my dream house. As long as my truck runs, then it’s money I don’t have to invest into a new car and I’m closer to my dream of my own place.”

He frowned. “You’re still thinking like someone who’s not in a relationship.”

“Until a few days ago I wasn’t,” she said lightly. “It’s hard to adjust a lifetime’s worth of thinking in a few days. You have to be patient with me, Max. I’m used to being independent. I’ve always gone my own way. My dream of building my house won’t go away just because you and I are together. It’s something I’ll continue to work for.”

His frown deepened and his fingers curled tighter around the steering wheel. “Do you honestly think I’ll allow you to continue working menial jobs—in a bar, for God’s sake—to fund your house?”

Her eyes narrowed, but he held up his hand before she could speak.

“It’s not a matter of your submissiveness or my desire to control you, Callie. I hope to hell you never think I’m some controlling bastard who regulates every second of your life. This has nothing to do with control. I’m concerned for your safety. You can’t tell me that working in your brother’s bar is something you want to do long-term. Or these other jobs you pick up for extra money. I’ve got more money than I’ll ever use in a lifetime. More than our children will use in their lifetime. Do you honestly expect me to stand by and not give you the money to build your house?”

She sighed and rubbed her head tiredly. It was an argument she’d had many times with her parents. No one seemed to understand how her mind worked. They wanted to take care of her. Buy things for her. Make her life easier. She loved them for it. She truly did. But she wanted her own life. Wanted to be able to look at the things she had and feel a sense of accomplishment.

Her brothers had all forged their own path independent of their parents. Seth was a cop—a damn good cop. Michael was a veterinarian with a thriving practice. And Dillon… Dillon had a Midas touch when it came to business. He probably owned half of Clyde. His bar would be self-supporting enough, but the bar was a drop in the bucket compared to the other properties and businesses Dillon owned.

And then there was Callie. Callie who didn’t have the discipline for college. Who was too antsy and couldn’t stay in one place long enough to study for an actual career. Head-in-the-clouds, dreamer Callie.

Her family loved her but Callie knew she was an enigma to them. Someone they adored but never truly understood. The dads probably took turns blaming each other for fathering her. They were all steady and hardworking. How could Callie have popped from their gene pool?

She sighed again as she saw Max was still watching her, waiting for a response.

“I don’t expect you to understand. But I hope you’ll accept it—me.”

He reached over and took her hand, pulling it to his lips. He kissed each knuckle and then lowered her hand to his lap where he laced his fingers with hers.

“There’s nothing about you I don’t love and accept, Callie. That doesn’t mean I’m not going to fight you on certain matters. There’s no way I’m ever going to be okay with you working ridiculously low-paying, dangerous jobs when I have the means to support you, spoil you and take care of you. That’s who I am. I don’t expect you to understand, but I hope you’ll accept it.”

She winced. How neatly he turned her words back on her. She couldn’t even argue, which irritated her all the more. She glared at him and he merely shot her a smug grin. Yeah, he knew he’d won this round. Damn the man. She usually found his arrogance attractive, but today, she found it…annoying.

Excitement replaced her annoyance as soon as they turned onto Main Street in Clyde. No matter where she went or how long she was gone, when she came home she was filled with happiness.

Max turned into the parking lot of the motel where he’d last stayed and parked beside her SUV. She could tell it pained him to ride in her truck, but she didn’t want him taking his car up the mountain.

She grinned and bounced out, opening the door to her truck. She slid into the driver’s seat, sighing as the worn leather cupped her behind like a lover. Yeah, she was old, but she was still a good truck and Callie loved her.

Max climbed into the passenger side with a look of exasperation but remained silent as she began backing out of her spot.

Normally she would stop and see Lily or stop in at Michael’s practice or even stick her head in at the sheriff’s office to say hello to Seth, but she was anxious to go up to her parents’ so she could show Max her meadow.

There would be plenty of time to visit with the family later.

Knowing that if she did her usual routine of parking at her parents’ house and walking down to the meadow she and Max would get held up by her mom and dads, Callie opted instead to pull off onto the old logging road that would take them to the meadow without going all the way up to her parents’.

She cast a sideways glance at Max. He looked tense. His jaw was set into a tight line and his gaze was sharply taking in their surroundings. The closer they got to the meadow, the darker his expression got.

“Something wrong?”

He shook his head but remained quiet.

With a shrug, she drove around the last bend and then parked in front of the old fence that used to separate Colter land from the meadow.

“This is it,” she said with a note of reverence she never seemed to rid herself of when she spoke of her meadow.

Max slowly opened his door and got out. She climbed out and met him around the front of her truck.

“Why the fence?” he asked. “I thought your family owned all of the property up here.”

She frowned a moment. She didn’t remember going into detail, but then Max knew her parents owned a lot of land so it was a natural assumption.

She slid her hand into Max’s and urged him toward the worn, wooden fence.

“We just never took this part down. Someday I’ll get to it. It was up when the previous people owned the meadow. My dads tried to buy it for years with no success. Then when my mom got pregnant with me, they suddenly wanted to sell. My dads bought it as a surprise for my mom. And, well, you know the rest.”

His lips formed a thin line. “Yeah.”

“Isn’t it beautiful?”

Callie sighed as she stared over the rolling slope of the land to where the creek ran down the middle. Flowers covered the earth in a blanket of vivid color that took her breath away.

“It’s the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen.”

She beamed at Max. “I think so too. Now can you see why I want to build my dream house here?”

He nodded, but he still looked…dark. Thoughtful. She couldn’t imagine what was going through his head. Did he think that he somehow took a backseat to her dreams?

She slid her arms around his waist and hugged him, though whether she did so to reassure herself or him she wasn’t sure.

“Right over there is where I was born,” she said softly as she pointed to the right of the creek and back, closer to where the property adjoined her parents’ to the south.

Max smiled. “I imagine you were always an impatient child. Even from the very beginning. Trust you to be born here.”