“Hmm?”
“I know I said I’d propose properly. I’ve been thinking about it for weeks now, trying to come up with something. Stunts, romantic getaways, even flash mobs.”
“Oh, please, no flashmobs.”
“That’s the thing. Nothing’s…good enough.”
I hugged his shoulders and kissed the top of his head. “Youare.”
“Huh?”
“You are good enough for me, baby.”
He inhaled, his back rising under my arms. “So, when I ask you, you’ll say yes, won’t you?” His voice got quiet, almost fearful. How could he still doubt my commitment?
“I’ve almost lost you twice now.”
“I’m fine.”
I shook my head. He wasn’t getting it.
“Sit up.” I pushed on his shoulder as I spoke, and he scrambled up. I rose as well, so we sat face-to-face, and I caressed his jaw.
“Terry, I…”
I put a finger on his lips.
“Just listen. You’re not a compromise, not a burden, and I’ll never regret being tied to you. You make me laugh one minute and burn with passion the next. You make me feel alive. I love you, Lothair, and I know I’ll never want anyone else the way I want you. Will you be my husband?”
His smile lit up the entire room. Hell, it set my entire world alight. Eyes crinkling at the corners, Lothair nodded.
“Yeah,” he breathed.
Then he was on me, kissing me wildly until we rolled off the bed and fell to the floor in a tangle of sheets and laughter.
26
Engaged
LOTHAIR
The matching tattooswere Terry’s idea, and Iadoredthem. I’d been breaking my head trying to come up with jewelry that wouldn’t be an issue when our fingers changed into claws, but aside from superficial piercings in strategic places, I’d come up with nothing.
Luckily, my mate was a genius on top of being gorgeous, so now I had a thin dark band tattooed around my ring finger, and I couldn’t stop admiring it. It still itched, and the tattooist warned me that it would fade a little once it healed, but I could always have it retouched.
Terry had the exact same dark band adorning his left hand. In half-shifted form, it stretched into a gray shadow around his claw.
I leaned back, bracing my arms in the grass so I could admire my beast of a fiancé from a better angle. Straddling my lap, he spread his wings above us. His tail lay curled in a half circle, resting over mine. Our enlarged, hard cockspressed together between our bellies, but we weren’t in a hurry to do anything about them.
We were all alone in the world, on top of a mountain under the night sky, the city lights too far away to outshine the stars. The tourist season was over, and half of the national park was closed because of wildfire risk. We’d spent the past couple of hours flying around and swimming in the tarn below, and now, we just were.
I’d never felt so at peace with myself and everything in my life as I did now, and it was all thanks to Terry.
“Being engaged is great,” I said, palming his ass cheeks. I ran my fingers along the base of his tail, and Terry grinned, licking his lips.
“You’re awfully smug about it.”
“How could I not be? It’s my life’s greatest accomplishment. I want everyone to know. I want to shout it at random people in the street. See this guy here?Hewants to marry me!”
