Without thinking about what I'm doing, I lean down and press my lips to hers again—this time with a much greater purpose than before. One hand tangles in the silk of her hair as the other slides down her body and pulls her closer to me.
"Marry me," I say softly, my heart thundering nervously even though I know that this is what we both want.
The morning air grows still around us, and I pull back slightly, pressing up on my elbow so I can look into her eyes as I add, “I willneverwalk away from you. From us.”
“I know that,” she gasps, tears fill her eyes as she nods and throws her arms around my neck in a tight hug. "Yes, Josh. I’ll marry you."
A feeling of pure joy washes over me as I pull her close, breathing her in, knowing that she has been and will be my perfect mate. We belong together.
“I love you,” I whisper.
“I love you too,” she returns, letting out a slow exhale as I roll my hips against hers, my hard length fitting perfectly between her thighs, gliding through her juices while the ridged tip rubsagainst her engorged clit. She gasps. “This move is definitely going in our book.”
Chuckling, I bury my face in the curve of her neck, kissing and sucking her soft skin as we continue to move, slowly bringing her to climax before I slip inside her and find my own release. I seal my mouth over hers, in a kiss that deepens with each passing second as we revel in the intensity of what it is to be us—to beengagedand us.
Finally I pull back, both of us breathless and tinged with pink flush. She smiles up at me and my heart swells with a love that I can hardly contain. “I can’t wait to make you my wife, flick. But…”
“Oh god. There’s a but?”
Taking both of her hands in mine, I stand up and gently pull her off the bed. "It’s well past time to feed the sheep. And since you’re the reason they’re waiting on breakfast, you’re gonna come help to speed things up," I say with a grin.
“That’s fair,” she says, rising up on her tiptoes to give me a kiss. “And since it means I get to spend more time with you, I’m in. Gotta learn how to be a farmer’s wife at some point too, I suppose.”
“Reggie, I would get up at the crack of dawn to let you sleep in for all my days.”
“Interesting. Because I would get up at the crack of dawn just to help lessen your load.”
“Then I guess we’re a perfect pair.”
She smiles up at me sweetly. “I guess we are.”
With a final kiss, we get ourselves dressed and take off for the barn—leaving a note for Mariah, of course—spending the next couple of hours filling troughs, checking on animals, and making big plans for both our future and our unwritten book. The sun is just beginning to peek over the horizon when we finish up our chores and stand in companionable silence watching its ascent,the sheep providing a stuttered soundtrack in the absence of music.
“Can I ask you something?” she says, turning to me as I take a deep breath and nod.
“You can ask me anything.”
“How long would you have waited?”
“For you?”
“Yeah. I know I caved super-fast—”
“That’s only because I’m incredibly charming irresistible.”
She giggles and nudges me playfully in the side. “It’s true. Iwaspowerless against your charms.”
“Knew it.”
“But seriously, though. Had I not caved so soon, how long do you think you would have waited?”
“Forever,” I say immediately and without further question. “There’s no one but you for me.”
“I feel the same way.”
“Good,” I start, taking her hands in mine. “Because if there was one single iota of worry in that pretty head of yours, then I haven’t done my job properly. The moment I saw you, I knew I was put on this earth to be everythin’ you’ll ever need. I love everything about you. And not only can I not wait to see you walkin’ down that aisle toward me, I can’t wait to get you back home so we can get busy making babies together.”
“Well, we should probably work out how many of those we’re planning to have.”
