Page 51 of Collide

“Gorgeous, you remember what I told you about stars colliding?”

She nods, looking up at me with her hands tucked under her head.

“You and I collide, babe. I won’t let us collapse, though, Ivy. I plan to honor you and worship you and be by your side through thick and thin.”

“Gage,” she whispers, still peering up at me wide-eyed.

“We’re the kind of stars that merge, growing bigger and better together. I won’t disappoint.” I pause a second. “Well, I might disappoint on occasion, but then I expect you to call me on my shit. I want to do right by you. I want to love you, Ivy. You and the baby. But it’s more than that. I want us. A family. I love the band, and we’re a package deal, but I want something a little closer to my heart, something mine. And you’ll be it for me.”

A tear slips from her eyes, and I reach for it.

“I want all of you.” I reach under the pillow where I’ve carefully hidden something to aid me in this proposal. Holding up the item, I say, “Can you show me how these work?”

Ivy giggles as she presses up on her side. “Where did you get these?” She reaches forward for the two childlike rhythm sticks, reminding me of music class in grade school.

“Lawson gave them to me,” I tease. I asked Lawson to show me his room, and Connie directed us down his wing of the house. “I asked him if I could marry you.”

Her lids lift, and she stares at me again.

“All of you,” I whisper as I hold the sticks even though Ivy has grabbed them. Her eyes lower to the end of one. “Marry me, Ivy.”

The ring rests on the tip. A one-point-five carat square cushion cut diamond.

We both hold the sticks, and I hold my breath, waiting for her answer. She already said yes earlier in the day, but now I’m not so certain of her answer.

“Can I say something before I answer?”

My heart drops, but I nod.

“I want to be clear that my answer has nothing to do with the baby. I have no doubt you’ll be an amazing father.” She swallows. “I also think you’ll be a great husband. You’re good to me and good for me, and I want to be with you. Not just physically but every way. But do you love me, Gage?” Her voice cracks as she asks, and I want to tell her a million ways that I do, but I’d need the same assurance from her, and I don’t think Ivy’s there yet. And I’m strangely okay with that.

“Yes, but I promise to love you more as we learn more about each other. I believe we’ll get there as long as we’re together.”

She’s quiet for a second as she considers what I’ve said, and I worry I haven’t said enough.

“Yes.” She looks up at me as she takes the ring off the end of the stick. “I want to be your wife. I want you to love me.”

I reach for her cheek and lower to her lips but pause before I make contact. “And I want to be your husband. I want you to love me, too.”

“I do,” she whispers, closing the distance between us. “I promise I will.”

We kiss for several minutes, connecting our lips as a seal to our hearts. Our hands slowly cup our faces, and then Ivy pulls back. She still holds the ring pinched in her fingers.

“Will you put it on me?” I take the ring from her, and she holds her left hand out to me. My hand shakes as I take hers and slip the ring on her finger. The words I so desperately want to say to her twirl around my tongue, but I swallow them back for another day.

I kiss her again, and then we settle back to look at the hazy night sky for a while.

When we enter the room, we’re all slow lips and hesitant hands until we’ve removed all our clothing. It’s a bad idea to be completely naked with Ivy. I know it’s going to take all my strength to resist her, yet we aren’t racing as we normally do. I’ll muster the patience of a saint if I need to just to be close to her, to touch her, to feel her heart beat. We climb into bed and continue to kiss and roam. I know every inch of her body, yet there’s always something new to discover. My mouth kisses every inch of her skin. Her shoulders. Her wrists. Her ankles. Her kneecaps. I’m not rushing. I want each part of her to feel my lips from head to toes, no matter how long it takes. Once I’ve covered her in kisses, I return to her breasts to savor each swollen globe until she’s writhing with desire. I move lower, my mouth lingering to savor her sensitive center. Her orgasm comes slow and sweet, coating my lips and tongue with her flavor. Her legs wrap around my shoulders, her fingers running through my hair.

“Gage,” she whimpers, but so much more is in my name on her lips.

“I know, gorgeous,” I say to her as I kiss up her belly. “I know.”

“Do you?” she whispers. “Do you know how I feel even though I can’t describe it?”

“If it’s how I feel, then yes, I do.” I trace over her belly. “I do, I do, I do.”

Ivy chuckles and struggles to sit up from lying on her back. She presses at my shoulder until I fall on my back. She repeats what I’ve done to her, starting at my neck and working down my body. It tickles, and my skin tingles. It’s a massage of her lips, and now I understand how she felt with my mouth covering her. Her moans. Her sighs. Her subtle body shifts. I can’t keep still, yet I don’t want to move. I want to continue to feel the love she’s showering over me. When her mouth takes my dick, I need to peel myself from the ceiling. I can’t take it, yet I do. Her lips around my shaft. Her tongue along the sensitive vein. Her throat swallowing. I come so hard stars dance before my eyes, and I don’t miss the irony.