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the most patient man on earth.” She was so happy, she couldn’t seem to stop herself. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulled him down, and kissed him. Without permission, and without warning. For one of the first times in her life she did what felt right and did not think first.
    Callie needed to reclaim so many things from her lost year, starting with showing her husband how much she cared for him.
    “I love you, Ellis,” she whispered against his mouth. Callie kissed him hard, demanding a response and rejoicing when, after a moment’s hesitation, he gave in.
    He cupped her derriere and pulled her close. He plundered her mouth, his desire evident. It didn’t frighten her. She needed him more than her next breath. They breathed together trading the cool air between them back and forth.
    Callie’s hand fisted in his hair and she pulled him in for another intense kiss that went on and on.
    Suddenly, Ellis grabbed her by the wrist and stepped back, his breath ragged. “You said I am the most patient man in the world, but I am afraid patience and restraint are two different things. I want you too much to stop myself if we go any further, because I want all of you.”
    “I love you, husband,” she repeated. Bracketing his face in her hands, she deepened the kiss letting all she wanted to show him pour forth. “Make me your wife.”
    ****
    Ellis tossed his gloves aside and Callie shivered. The anticipation of touching her sent a shiver down his spine, but she had to make the first move. “I want you to touch me . No fear and no regrets.”
    She bit her lip, as her wide-eyed gaze settled on the buttons of his waistcoat. Running her hand up his chest, he straightened his arms and his coat slid off to the ground. She tugged the starched linen of his cravat loose and dropped it to lie on top of the coat.
    Callie freed his shirt from his trousers and stretched on tiptoes to help him pull it over his head. He could feel the hesitation in her touch, which made it even sweeter. The trace of her nails up his arms made him groan. If she only knew how rock hard the whispered contact of her fingertips made him; he throbbed against his trousers.
    “Please,” the plea in his own voice surprised him. “Can I touch you?” With skilled hands, he slipped the dress off her body. He would die if he waited another second and the gap in her camisole was not wide enough. His mouth found her hardened nipple and fastened on her.
    Callie gasped.
    He stopped.
    “No,” she protested. “Don’t stop. It feels… good .” She seemed surprised.
    That was all the encouragement he needed. He scooped her into his arms, strode the few steps and gently placed her on the blanket on the ground. She watched him as he undid the buttons on his trousers and pushed them free. She looked away for only a second, but then fixed him with a heated gaze that made his blood boil. His body burned with need.
    She sat on her haunches and traced the ragged scar up the side of his leg to his hip with her fingertip.
    He didn’t want pity. “I am what I am. Wounded. I cannot change that.” Would she still desire him? Accept him? “Not the boy I once was.”
    Callie rose to stand. “I wouldn’t want that boy. I waited for you as a man. A man who I feel loves me completely, with all of his heart.”
    “ Callie… ” he whispered her name, emotions choking him.
    “My husband.” First she pressed her palm over his heart then dropped it to wrap her small hand around the heat of his member. He nearly lost himself. Gone were his plans for control. In its place was a man who needed a woman, who needed her .
    Spencer had been right, this was what he had lived for.
    Somehow, between kisses, they ended up back on the blanket, the rest of her clothes discarded.
    Half drunk with need he parted her damp curls and touched her. He caught her low moan in his mouth, as he shifted to lie between her legs and replaced his finger with his shaft. Ellis eased in an inch at a