She tapped her finger against her lip. “Let me see. Oh, I know… Yes, Deacon, you are a stud machine in the sack.”
Her grin got wider. “Better?”
“Don’t mess with me, woman, not after the last couple days. Now say it, or I’ll be forced to punish you.” He flipped her onto her back and stared down at her. “I need to hear you say the words.” He knew he sounded desperate, needy as hell, but that was because he was.
Her grin faded, and her eyes grew serious. She cupped his face in her hands and held his gaze. “Deacon West, I have loved you since I was fourteen years old. That has never changed, can never change. I will always love you. Always.”
He sucked in a breath. “Jesus.” Then, groaning, he buried his face against her throat. She rubbed his back while he pulled himself together enough to talk. But when he lifted up again, he couldn’t find the words. There weren’t any to express what he felt in that moment, so he kissed her, pouring everything he felt into that kiss. And when she wrapped her legs around his hips, urging him to take her again, he didn’t think he had ever been—could ever be— happier. He sank inside her and made love to his woman, reassuring her, loving her the way he knew she needed.
“You and me,” he whispered into her hair.
Epilogue
Four months later
Alex’s bare skin felt flushed, and not just from the sun’s heat beating down. Deacon kissed his way up to the sensitive skin below her ear. “You hungry?”
She brushed her fingers through his hair, away from his forehead, and grinned. “Starving.”
“I better feed you then.” Taking her hands, he helped her into a sitting position on the hood of his father’s Pontiac, his thighs still between hers. He took a step back, then stopped, head tilting to the side. “Wait, don’t move…just, stay like that for a second.”
“Why?” She darted a glance down at herself. “Is there a bug on me or something?”
He shook his head, laughter dancing in his gorgeous green eyes. “No. I’m memorizing the way you look right now, locking it away in my mind. Recently fucked, sitting on the hood of the Pontiac, sun lighting up that amazing golden skin, while the breeze ruffles your hair.” He rubbed his hand over his mouth. “Beautiful doesn’t cut it, Alex.”
She swallowed hard, emotion clogging her throat. “You don’t look too shabby yourself, Mr. CEO.” Bare chest, jeans still undone, sweat glistening his skin, hair mussed from her fingers tugging on it. “Like someone just rocked your world,” she teased.
Deacon had surprised her when she woke, telling her they were going on a picnic. As soon as he’d driven Jacob’s old car out of the garage, she knew what he had in mind.
The fantasy he’d told her about four months ago. It felt like such a long time ago now, when she’d been so afraid of her feelings, afraid to love him. But Deke made it easy. The guy wasn’t hard to love.
“You rock my world every damn day just by being in it.”
He moved back in close, tugged down her skirt, and lifted her to the ground. Then, taking her hand, he led her over to the picnic blanket he had laid out by the lake. The area was completely secluded, idyllic, peaceful.
She stood there and looked out across the water. “It’s so beautiful.”
His fingers slipped around hers. “Yeah, I’ve never seen anything more stunning.”
She turned back. His voice had gone incredibly deep, and he was staring up at her, already kneeling on the blanket. She tried to climb down beside him, but he stopped her. “Just stand there for me.”
“What?” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet box. “Deacon…”
“Alex…”
“Shit,” she breathed.
He chuckled nervously and licked his lips, fingers tightening around her now trembling ones. “You are the most amazing woman I’ve ever met. You’re tough, loyal—God, incredibly sexy. But you’re much more than that. I’m so thankful you let me in, trusted me with your heart.” He took a shuddering breath. “I want to spend the rest of my life with you.” He pressed a kiss against the inside of her wrist, and she struggled to breathe. “Alexandra Maria Franco, will you marry me?”
Her already weak knees just kind of gave out from underneath her, and she sank down in front of him, her vision blurred. “Yeah. Shit. Yes, I’ll marry you.”
He pulled her in tight, hand cupping her face, and kissed her hard and deep. “I’ll make you happy, baby. I promise.”
“You make me happy every day.” She was crying freely, happy tears. She’d done that more than once in the last few months. Before Deacon had forced his way back into her life, she hadn’t believed this kind of joy was even possible. That she would ever have this. But he proved her wrong every day. There was so much emotion on his handsome face, his love for her open and honest.
He smiled wide, the one that showed off that sexy dimple. “You know what this means, right?”
Sniffing, she buried her face in his neck, but he pulled her back up, wiping the tears from her cheeks. “The girls will be pissed that you’re stealing me away from them.” She chuckled. “You can tell them, but wait till I’m long gone.” Of course she was joking. Rusty and Piper couldn’t be happier for the both of them.
“I’m sure they’ll get over it. I want you waking up in my bed every morning. No more of this living in two different apartments.” He lay back on the blanket and pulled her onto his chest. “They’ll still get to see you every day, then you can come home to me every night.”
Going up onto her elbow, she stared down at him. “I like the sound of that.” Then she leaned in and kissed him. “Now how about a replay of that fantasy of yours?”
His gaze darkened. “I’m yours to command. Always.”
* * *
