Chapter Forty-Four

“Viking, am I right?”

“Well, definitely Nordic, I would say,” Polly replied lazily, tugging the sheet up slightly to cover herself a bit more fully from the chill of the room.

They were tumbled across each other in Chase’s king sized bed the following morning, bodies slicked with sweat and twin smiles of contentment on their lips. 

Polly opened her mouth to speak, only to be interrupted by a small whine from the door to the bedroom. She bolted upright and gasped. “Jack! I forgot all about Jack being here!”

“I’ll take him out,” Chase said, slowly crawling out of bed, affording Polly a rather tasty view of his backside. 

“Oh god,” Polly said, falling back on the pillows. “We probably scarred the poor dog for life. He shouldn’t have to see his humans…you know… I mean, he’s been… you know… fixed,” Polly whispered, then trailed off and Chase chuckled. “It just seems mean, like rubbing it in his face. Plus, he probably doesn’t have the same respect for us that he did yesterday.”

“I bet he has even more respect. Skills, woman. Besdies, wooddogs are tough…I’m sure he’s not scarred,” Chase said kindly, searching for his pants under the bed. “Though I think my back might be from your talons…”

Polly playfully chucked a pillow at him, then groaned in mock disappointment as he pulled his jeans on and zipped them. Chase stuck out his tongue and headed for the door. “I’ll be back in a minute – want anything?”

Polly shook her head no, and then closed her eyes, hearing Chase talk tenderly to Jack as he opened, then closed, the front door behind them, Jack woofing happily in response to seeing his master again.

No, she thought, unless you count me wanting to stay here forever doing that forever as wanting anything, she thought with a contented sigh.

It had been the most perfect handful of hours of her entire life – lots of playful sex, occasional breaks for sustenance in the middle of the night, and the most restful sleep she’d had in months.

Probably from exhaustion, she mused, looking at the tangle of sheets and quilts on the bed and remembering how they’d gotten that way.

Things were definitely looking up for Polly Royston North, she mused, then amended her name in her head. 

Polly Royston.

Polly Colton?

Polly Royston Colton?

Shaking her head, Polly pictured herself back in seventh grade, doodling in her notebook all the possible name combinations between her and Chase, complete with hearts and arrows, smiley faces and the occasional flower flourish.

She never would have believed that any of them would come true.

And yet, here she was, in Chase Colton’s bed, in his house, preparing to share her life with him after so many years apart.

Funny how things work out.

She smiled as Chase ambled back in the room, shucking his pants as he went, and she growled in approval even as he flung himself back into the bed and crawled under the covers with her.

“So,” he said slowly. “You said not to make any rash ‘let’s share our lives’ decisions until after I rocked your world in bed. Now that I can check that off the list…”

Polly was laughing pretty hard before he could even finish.

“Shall we have the ‘let’s share our lives’ talk now or later?” Chase concluded, even as Polly flicked his ear teasingly with her tongue and ran her hand down his chest, heading for more southern regions. “Hey, seductress. I’m trying to have a serious conversation here,” Chase added, melting beneath her touch. “Or we can have it later, since you seem pretty intent on your mission, there…”

“Sure, let’s have it now,” Polly breathed in his ear. “You first,” she said, removing her hand and grinning at him as he groaned from the sudden lack of contact.

“Okay, I think you should marry me.”

Polly froze in place, and then pulled away from Chase slowly. “Um, what?”

Chase looked her in the eye, taking one of her hands in his warmly. “I love you, Polly Royston. And as we proved last night, we’ve sexually compatible. I already know and like your family and you know and at least tolerate mine. I can provide for you financially, though obviously you blow me out of the water on that one. I don’t ever want you not to share my house, my bed, or my life. Jack is crazy about you. And I love you. Marry me.”

“I’m not even unmarried yet,” Polly whispered, her heart galloping in her chest.

“Well, we can wait on the technicalities, of course,” Chase said easily. “Just as long as I know a marriage is in the works for us.”

“You really want to get married?” Polly asked seriously. “A confirmed bachelor like you? You’ve been on the market for a lot of years, Chase, and I don’t want this to be a competitive, ‘hey, I can finally shack up with Polly before anyone else can’ kind of thing.”

“It’s not that,” Chase said, sticking his tongue out at her. “It’s an ‘I love you, let’s share our lives, because I can’t live without you’ thing.”

“Oh,” Polly breathed. “Well, that’s a good thing.”

“Say yes. Marry me,” Chase said. “We can raise Jack together.”

Polly was laughing, even as she nodded yes. “Okay,” she said happily. “Yes. You’re on,” she answered, even as she slid across the sheets into his warm embrace.

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