Hello everyone! I purposely put this chapter at the end because it's more mature and it's not an integral part of the story. From the title, you can guess this chapter will be a bit more sexually explicit (not hard-core smut or anything, just so you know). That being said, proceed at your own risk. :)

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Now that we've said our heartfelt thank you's and good-bye's to our guests and family, Harry and I have retreated to our honeymoon suite for the night, eager to perform the final activity that will unite us as husband and wife.

Harry sits on the edge of the bed while I lock the door of the room we've chosen, in an old Victorian bed and breakfast, situated on another bluff overlooking Lake Superior. The interior is impeccably kept, a sense of authentic decor combined with modern convenience. Neither of us is very interested in the room, however, and I turn off the lights except for the dim lamp on the dresser.

"Come here," Harry whispers and I can already see that his heart is racing from where his shirt is unbuttoned, revealing his chest.

My heart is also thumping behind my ribs as I stand in front of him. He widens his legs so that I can move closer. He breathes deeply, staring into my eyes for a moment. I know we're both feeling the same sense of awe that we've arrived at this moment. Time stops as he slowly cradles my face and draws me down to him, meeting my mouth in a passionate kiss.

Now that we're here, I'm reminded of all the times we wanted this and made the tough decision to wait. Now we don't have to wait any more. As husband and wife, we're free to give ourselves to each other completely.

Harry gradually skims his mouth away from mine, over my chin and down to my neck. Never would I have expected such a simple touch to make my body respond with such thrill. Quivers extend to my fingertips and toes. I gasp when his lips reach my collarbone. I respond by scratching through his thick, brown curls and kissing the top of his head.

His hands work their way to the back of my dress where he quickly slides the zipper down while his mouth continues to caress my increasingly bare skin. If I didn't know better, I'd think he'd done this before since he seems to know exactly how slide the straps down and off my shoulders without even a glance. Soon the dress is pulled away from my body and it falls softly to the floor. I step out of it and carefully lay it on the chair next to the bed.

Even though I trust him with every fiber of my being, when Harry lifts my slip over my head, I'm trembling either with anxiety, or possibly anticipation, I'm not sure which. His eyes meet mine with a fervent smile, a simple expression that communicates his utter acceptance and approval. It's hard to believe the excitement surging in my veins as he acquaints himself with my uncovered body. With a final skilled maneuver of his fingers, my breasts are revealed when my bra falls away and he heaves a deep, satisfied sigh. 

I realize that I'm mostly bare and Harry is still fully dressed so I push him away just enough to reach the buttons of his shirt. I capture his mouth with mine while I ease the shirt from his toned shoulders. I slide my hands over his muscles and smile a little bit into the kiss.

"You're so hot," I breathe and he chuckles.

He kisses me again and gently slides his fingers into the sides of my silky underwear, inching them down over my thighs and letting them drop to the floor. I take a deep breath and step out of them and Harry pulls away to admire my entire naked body.

"You're perfect, Katie," he marvels.

His eyes moving over my body ignites a new passion. I attack him with another round of kisses as I move in closer again. He brushes his hand across my thighs and between my legs, prompting a moan to fall from my lips, and to my surprise, I'm not embarrassed in the least.  No one has ever touched me this way but I have no fear in letting Harry be the first, the only. And I don't want him to stop.

But I push him away long enough to move my hands down his torso. Over his abdomen. To the waistline of his pants. I unbutton them and slide my hands under his backside. He lifts himself off the bed enough so that I can pull his slacks down over his legs and drop them onto the floor. Finally I remove his boxers.

The sight of Harry's excitement au naturel startles me slightly since I've never really seen a naked man before, especially not in this state. Trying control my shaking, I touch his chest and then slide my hand downward. I feel his abdomen and then move lower. I let instinct take over as I reach down to touch him but his response is a loud and startled gasp, which causes us to burst into surprised laughter.

He grabs holds of my arms as we continue to giggle and then he pulls me into a snug embrace. "This is a bit awkward, isn't it?" He finally chuckles softly.

"Kind of," I nod. "I mean...I'm excited as hell."

His jaw drops open in an exaggeration as he belts out a laugh. "Katie, you're turning into a little minx already." My face is on fire with a healthy dose of embarrassment and excitement.

"Maybe," I shrug, trying to act the coquette. "Do you want to show me, you know, what to do?"

His face turns serious again as he grabs my hand and carefully places it over himself. I swallow hard to try to relieve the dryness in my mouth. I'm amazed at how he feels, so warm and firm. He closes his eyes and moves his hips up towards my touch. I slide my hand back around his neck and I moan softly against his mouth as he resumes his exploration of my body. He moves his hands more purposefully in and out between my legs, creating more excitement than I've ever felt in my life.

I'm overcome with an odd mixture of awe and familiarity. I know in my head that Harry and I have never touched this way before but something about it feels so natural as if we've been doing it our whole lives.

Slowly, he crawls backwards onto the sheets, pulling me with him. I lay myself half next to him, half on him, pulling a blanket over us, feeling both chilled and slightly self-conscious. Lying side by side, he wraps me into a smooth and gentle embrace. This alone would be enough for me, to have him hold me like this until the morning light.

I know, however, that Harry wants more, and of course, I do, too. I know that many people have sex before they're married and I'm not going to judge anyone for it, but I have to say that this is exactly the way I'd do it, over and over again, to wait until we belong completely to each other before taking this final step towards complete intimacy.

Harry's hands move over every inch of my body and mine do the same as we explore, touch, feel, excite and breathe. As he makes his way back to my mouth, he stops long enough to tell me, "I love you, Katie."

"I love you, too, Harry."

The next thing I know, he's pulling himself up to sit against the plush headboard. Without a word, he moves my body over his so that I'm straddling his lap and now my heart is racing so hard I'm afraid it will either leap out of my chest or stop all together. As he kisses me, he also touches me, making sure we're both ready for what's coming next. 

And what comes next is both beautiful and painful, intense and overwhelming; I'm slowly moving down until I'm completely sat on his lap and he's seated fully inside me and our faces surely reflect the profound connection we have in this moment.

His nose brushes against mine as he asks in a broken whisper, "Are you o..okay?"

I nod and swallow thickly. "Yeah, I'm fine. It hurts a little but not bad." Then I kiss him deeply while we begin the movement of our lovemaking, a tender ebb and flow of our bodies connected in a way that now binds us together completely, in a way that's far more than physical.

Eventually, as our dampened skin glides together in a dance that we know without ever rehearsing, Harry's panting becomes louder and more vocal, an invitation for me to join him in expressing his pleasure. There are no words to describe how good it feels to be one with my husband, to have him take me completely, to give myself completely to him and to receive him as my own. It's physically overwhelming, yet it goes far beyond the tangible.

As we move harder and deeper, I wonder if it's possible for us to be entirely absorbed in one another and never be able to separate again. In the moment, it seems as possible as the sun rising the following day. Soon, however, our bodies and rhythm and desires meet into one intense explosion of everything our words alone can't say.

Harry holds me fast while we allow ourselves to feel every single bit of this moment, every flutter and rush and burst. He holds me firmly until our bodies are spent and our heart rates are returning to normal.

While still holding me, stroking my back with the backs of his fingers, Harry murmurs softly, "There's nothing in the world I would trade for that moment with you. It was hard to wait, but I'm glad we did because that was perfect." He pushes me away enough so that I can see the sincerity in his eyes. "You're perfect."

"Then we agree that this was the best way to do it because you're perfect, too, Harry." I kiss him deeply and once again, we're lost to the world outside, losing track of anything but each other for the rest of the night.

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There you have it. The final chapter of Strong. I hope you enjoyed it and I hope that you will read Brave because I love that story as much as I love this one. I'm working hard on getting some new material to put out but life has different plans for me right now, so please pray for me to get some writing time soon.

Thank you so much! xoxo