His lips graze my temple. “Gonna miss you too. But I’ve made a decision.”
“Oh?” I tip my head just enough to meet his eyes.
“I want to move here. Be with you.”
My pulse doesn’t just jump, it does an entire gymnastics routine. But I rein in my giddiness, because as much as we’ve been circling the idea, this feels fast. “You know I want that, but are you sure?”
“Fear was holding me back, but yeah, I’m sure. So…” His palm slides up my spine, fingers spreading beneath my locs to cup my nape. “Wanna get married?”
My hand stills against his chest. “Ssskt. Boy, now I know you’re playing. You high off pheromones.”
He doesn’t laugh. Just rolls me over, settling his weight on top my body like he’s claiming me. His arms bracket my shoulders, his legs sandwiched between mine, his brown eyes blazing with heat and clarity.
“I’m serious,” he says. “I don’t need more time to tell me what I already know. What I’ve always known. You’re the first woman I ever loved. The only. The last. This isn’t weeks in the making, Lot. It’s been a lifetime.”
My breath snags, each inhale a struggle. My chest brushing against his feels tight. He’s not just chasing me to the airport to declare his love, he’s asking me to marry him.
“This isn’t conventional,” he continues. “No roses or a ring. I’ll do all that. But right now, this is me—raw and real—telling you how much I fucking love you. How much I want to spend my life with you.”
I’m so shook, it takes me another beat to find my voice. “I love you too,” I whisper, my hand gliding up the solid line of his back. “But moving here is one thing. Marriage is another. You just found out you’ve got a brother. A father. The past five days have been an emotional hurricane. You’re leaving tomorrow… and we just had hot, nasty sex. Everything’s gonna feel bigger, more intense.”
“All true. But not relevant to what I’m asking.” The backs of his fingers brush my cheek, and drift down to my mouth, the pad of his thumb following the curve of my lower lip. “We said we were all in. This is as all in as it gets. I’m not moving here to test the waters, Web. I’m coming for real. One hundred.”
“Marriage is a permanent commitment, Dice.”
“So were our spider and web tattoos.” His hand moves into my hair. “Even back then, we knew we were inevitable. Of course, Icould flop here. Then you’d be stuck with a househusband learning not to burn tacos. But I promise to hustle and to love you hard.”
“I know you’ll kill it here. And you’ll love me good. You already do. But our relationship’s still so new.”
“Doesn’t feel new to me.” He presses his lips softly to mine. “Feels like home.”
“You really pulling out all the smooth moves now,” I murmur, feeling warm and misty.
“Mhm. So… you got an answer for me?”
“I’m holding it in reserve.”
His brows lift. “Meaning?”
“Ask me again when you’re not between my thighs. When you’re back in Bayside and life returns to normal. If you still want to marry me then, I’ll answer.”
“And you’ll say yes?”
“You’ve got a pretty good shot.”
He grins, cocky and certain. “Okay, Web. I’ll be cashing out that reserve. Count on it.”
“He proposed?” Rayne’s eyes go round as marbles. “Dice all out here full of surprises and grand gestures.”
After our emotional goodbye—and me having a long crying jag into Queenie’s fur—I finally pulled myself together enough to FaceTime her. I’m not telling my parents or anyone else until it’s official. But I couldn’t keep it from my homegirl.
“Ssskt. The man is crazy,” I say, “but to set the stage, I’d just fucked his brains out.”
Rayne kicks back on her couch, bun high and robe loose, working from home today. “So, you telling me Dice went on one knee, inspirit, right after getting laid?” She lets out a snort. “That must be some magic-coated coochie.”
“Girl… this coochie can put a man under. But I told him to hold up. Let his dick deflate and life settle before we start planning a wedding.”
“You gave him a cooldown period?”
