Page 43 of Pound

He was free from the past. And it felt amazing.

Pound squatted down and took Meri’s hand in his. It wasn’t one knee, but then again, it was him. “Not only can I, your brother and kids approve. Crissy was a tough sale though. I had to promise our daughter a fancy spring wedding for show so she could dress up like a princess. Other than that stipulation, I just need you to believe in me. Believe that I’m worth loving, even when I don’t believe it myself. It won’t be easy, babe. I’ve been told I’m moody as fuck, and hell, I do everything in extremes, which can be intense at best. But that just means I’ll love you hard, fuck you harder, and never give up on us.”

There it was.

It was out there in the only way he knew how. His heart was on the line.

Meri didn’t speak for what felt like an eternity. Maybe she didn’t think he was worth the trouble. Hell, even he didn’t believe he was, but he needed her to believe it enough for the both of them.

A lump lodged in his throat as his heart fell silent. The ache in his chest was more intense than the pound of shrapnel that’d pierced his flesh when that damn IED went off. Pound couldn’t stare at her anymore. It hurt too fucking much to look at her.

She was rejecting him. Not that he didn’t deserve it. He’d done nothing but treat her poorly since the day they met. Trip had been right when he’d denied his claim at first. Even though he’d come around, but Meri hadn’t. She’d given him a chance, and what did he do? Fuck, he turned around after fucking her senseless and put his hand on her throat. Not in anger but in some twisted sexual perversion he had.

He was damaged goods who came with a fucking tractor trailer full of baggage. Add in a wife that wasn’t dead, and it was a big ask. Obviously too much for Meri.

Pound flexed his knees and stood, but she clung to him and began to bawl.

“Fuck, babe. Stop. I can’t stand to cause your tears. We don’t have to do this. You and the kids can take the house. I’ll stay at the clubhouse. We’ll work it out, so you don’t have to see me.”

What else could he say? He would take it all back if it dried her tears. He’d promised Granite he wouldn’t run, but he would break that promise if it was what Meri wanted… what made her happy.

That’s how he knew it was the real deal. He wanted her to be happy, even if it wasn’t with him.

He opened his mouth to speak, but her shaky words halted his tongue. “Our daughter.”

Pound just stared at the woman he loved. The woman with all the curves straddling his ride. He committed the sight to memory. No woman would ever take her place.

When she raised her eyes to his, they glistened with tears, but the look on her face was at odds with them.

“You said our daughter. No one’s ever called her that before. Not even Jake. Yet you said it so casually. Like it was just a fact.”

Pound squatted back down even though the scars on his legs were screaming.

“It is a fact, Meri. No matter where you go or what you do or even if you… As long as my heart beats, there are facts that will never change. James and Crissy will always be our kids, and you will always be mine in here.” He pounded his chest with a fist.

Meri dashed away the tears that had fallen and offered him a watery smile. When she cupped his bearded cheeks with her tear-drenched hands, Pound closed his eyes and relished the touch. It could be the first of many more to come, or it could very well be the last. It depended on her.

“Then I guess we should get on with it then. Can’t have a fancy spring wedding just so our daughter gets to be a princess if we don’t let Elvis marry us today.”

“I under…” Pound was already resigned to losing his family when her words penetrated his brain. His blue eyes flew open and clashed with her striking hazel ones. She’d tossed her leg over the seat and was sitting sidesaddle. Desperate to get his lips on hers, Pound stood and pulled her to her feet.

Their lips clashed violently. Pound ground his erection into her, not giving two shits about where they were or who was watching. With a groan of regret, he pulled his mouth from hers. “So…?”

“For the record, Joe, you are so worth it.” She gave him a quick kiss, so unlike the prior one they shared. “I believe in you, and us. You are worthy of being loved and I get to spend my life proving it to you.”

A tear slipped from the corner of his eye before he could stop it. Shit, she couldn’t be more perfect if she tried. Pound was the luckiest man alive. He devoured her mouth. Forgetting where they were and their purpose until a throat cleared behind them.

Meri broke away from the kiss first and dropped her head to his shoulder in embarrassment. Pound liked the pink tone to her cheeks and the way her eyes darted everywhere but the faces in the drive-through window behind him.

“I say you two just did my job for me, thank you very much.” Pound and Meri both laughed at his spot-on Elvis voice. “You’ve spoken vows already, so just say your I dos, exchange some bling, and I can make it official.”

“On.” Pound coaxed Meri back onto the seat before mounting in front of her. Once they were both settled, he gave her one last chance to back out. Not that he would really let her, but it was a nice illusion.

“The bling comes later, I’ve got a plan, but the rest is now or never. Last chance, babe. Speak now or forever hold your peace.”

She wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him tightly, pressing her cheek into his back. He dropped his hand to her calf and stroked back and forth to her knee.

“Nope. You’re stuck with me now. I’m clingy, like lint on Velcro.”

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