The Belle and the Beard by Kate Canterbary (good book club books .txt) 📕

her cheeks. "That's wonderful. It's just wonderful. And you're going to do it, you're going through with the partnership. I'm so happy you came to a decision and—oh, wait just a minute."

She hadn't put her shoes on yet and that was driving me crazy so I dropped the bag, kneeled down, and did it for her. "No, I won't wait even a minute. We're going home. We can visit the babies later."

"No, that's not what I meant. I was trying to say I don't want to be a kept woman, regardless of your new business arrangement."

"That's tough shit because it's how it's going to be. Maybe then you'll be able to figure out what to do with your life when you don't have to worry about survival."

She gave me an arched eyebrow and a pouty mouth. As if I could resist any bit of that. Not today, not ever. So, I grabbed her ass and kissed her hard.

"What was that for?" she asked.

I shook my head while I closed the door behind us. "I don't need a reason."

"I see we're being extra imperious today."

I hooked my arm around her waist and led her down the walkway. That same old cat shot out from near the rosebushes and mewed at us as we walked by. "I'm not finished telling you how this is going to go."

With a full, husky laugh, Jasper said, "I can't wait to hear the rest of this."

"You are going to belong to me and I am going to belong to you," I said, the words thick as they caught in my throat. "You're going to rely on me even when it's really fucking uncomfortable for you. Even when you want to prove you can do anything and everything by yourself, you're going to lean on me because that's what we do. Got it?"

"And what about you? Are you going to be honest and up front about the things you want even when it's really fucking uncomfortable for you?"

"Yeah," I said, setting her things down to pull the house keys from my pocket when we reached the front door. "I am."

As I pushed the door open, she said, "That's not going to be easy."

"You think any of this is going to be easy? It's not, Jas. It's not. It's going to be hard every day and we're going to have to work at it but there is no one in the world I'd rather fight with over crockpots and rotaries—"

"Traffic circles."

"—and all the other random bullshit we argue about than you. No one in the fucking world. When you're ready, I'm going to marry you the way you deserve to be married and—"

"What does that even mean?" she asked with a huffy little laugh that meant she didn't enjoy this topic.

"It means you're getting a ring that will definitely have some Elvish writing on the inside and an over the top proposal that I promise won't involve a single Hobbit. We're going to eat a ton of cake samples and agonize over stupid shit like seating arrangements. My mother is going to throw you a big-ass bridal shower and she's going to live for the single purpose of making our day everything you've ever wanted. My sister will adopt you into her circle of no-bullshit, boss-lady friends and they'll throw you a filthy bachelorette party that will test all of my tolerance of such things. And when our day comes around, I'm going to wake up beside you and love you so hard that you walk down that aisle on shaky legs. I'm gonna love you like that on the good days and the bad days and all the ones in between. And I'm never, ever moving to Northern Ireland without you."

"That wasn't funny." She said this as she laughed—hard. "About Northern Ireland."

"Yeah, well, I wasn't joking when I said I was marrying you the way you deserved and you did not deserve that shit."

Still stopped in front of the open door, she said, "Let's not talk about Preston anymore. Although I will probably have to call him to get me an interview with that community activism organization. I think I want to learn more about that."

"I'll allow that." I gestured to the doorway. "What do you say, Jas? Are we doing this?"

She raked her teeth over her bottom lip. "Anything else? Or is that the whole high-handed plan?"

Because I couldn't take it anymore, I really could not, I set her bag inside and then scooped her into my arms. "High-handed, is it?"

"What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm moving things along," I replied as I headed for the bedroom. "It's too damn cold to stand on the front porch when there's a perfectly good bed waiting for us in here."

"Sometimes you are extremely ridiculous."

"And you're impossible. I still love you."

I felt her staring at me as I marched into the bedroom. I felt her gaze, warm but still a bit wary. Why wouldn't she be? Everyone else in her life let her down. They left, some more overtly than others, but they all left. I wasn't going to be one of them.

The clothes came off in a rush, both of us helping the other until we realized we were making it much more complicated, and finished the job on our own. The blankets and sheets came down as we climbed underneath, turning to face each other, to wrap ourselves in each other.

"I'm going to marry you the right way," I echoed, one hand on her outer thigh, the other coasting down her back. "I'm going to give you as many babies as you want, all the family you can handle. I meant it when I said you're going to belong to me, Peach, but you're also going to belong here. You already do. Understand?"

She reached between us, took my shaft in hand. It was very unfair, considering she intended for us to carry on a serious conversation while stroking me. "Is that what you want? A wedding and