“Did you think I was just dragging your ass up this mountain to see the top of some trees? I could have shown you that fromthe back deck at home,” he says, a smirk on his lips, and as the excitement rushes through me, I suddenly have all the energy in the world and wriggle free from his shoulder.
Knight helps me to my feet, and I take off, leaving him in my dust. “Well, come on,” I say, waving him along. “Put a little haste in your step.”
Knight shakes his head, rolling his eyes at me, but I simply march on like a good little soldier, following the trail ahead of me as I feel Knight’s laser stare focused on my ass. “I really like those little shorts, doll.”
“Yeah?” I ask, glancing back over my shoulder with a grin, making sure to shake my ass in the process. “I would have preferred seeing them on our bedroom floor, but you wanted to be one with nature.”
Knight laughs and moves in behind me, squeezing my waist before sliding his hand into mine and dragging me along, reminding me just how sore my thighs are. “Come on, it’s just around the corner.”
The corner that it was just around ended up being another thirty minutes of agonizing twig-tripping, but with every step, the sound of the waterfall got louder until it was almost deafening.
Knight and I push through an opening in the bushes, and as I follow him, I come to a stop and gaze out at the world beyond.
“Holy shit,” I breathe, finding myself at the top of a huge waterfall, the rushing water sparkling like a million diamonds under the great blue sky. “It’s beautiful.”
“Yeah, doll,” Knight murmurs, his gaze on me. “It is.”
My cheeks flush, and I give him a stupid grin. “That was corny.”
“Still made you squirm, though.”
I roll my eyes, and he takes my hand again, leading me right to the edge to show me the stunning views below. “Wow,” Iwhisper, my heart racing a million miles an hour as I stare out at the vast world around me, making me realize just how small I really am. I spend my days stressing about work, about life, about what I’m going to eat for dinner, but this right here is what really matters. Having love, peace, joy, and happiness, and this is it.
“Doll,” Knight murmurs, turning into me, watching the way I watch the world pass me by. “I have to ask you something.”
I take him in, his dark eyes fixed on me with adoration as we stand on top of a literal waterfall. I suck in a breath, realizing what he’s about to do. “Oh no.” I panic, my eyes going wide. “Please don’t. It’s going to be one hell of an awkward walk back to your truck if you ask me to marry you and I have to say no because like what the fuck are you even thinking? I’m like, barely even a grown-up yet.”
“You’re twenty-eight.”
“Shit, Knight,” I groan, dropping my forehead to his chest. “We can’t. Not yet. I’m not . . . I’m not ready. I love you, and I know every day of the rest of my life will be yours, but I’m—”
“Would you shut the fuck up?”
My head snaps back up, gaping at Knight. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me, doll. You’re out here jumping to conclusions so fast that you broke the fucking sound barrier and offended science. Now, let me make this clear enough that even the likes of Harper-Rayn Madden can fully understand. I will be making you my wife. Don’t doubt that. With or without your consent, I will marry you, but I know you’re not ready, and that’s okay. I’m not in a rush because that little marriage certificate isn’t going to change how I feel about you. I’ll wait as long as you need me to.”
“So, wait . . . You’re not asking me to marry you?”
“No, doll. Not yet,” he says with a smirk. “And besides, if I were, you wouldn’t need clarification. You’d know.”
“We’re standing on a fucking waterfall. You’re holding my hands and looking at me as though you can’t live without me. Not to mention, when you had me move into your place, it’s not as though you really asked nicely. You just showed up ready to start packing, so the fact that I tend to jump to conclusions is basically your fault. You’re the one who conditioned me to expect the unexpected.”
Knight gives me a blank stare. “Are you done?”
I shrug. “I mean, I could keep going, but I suppose I could also be done.”
“Good, because like I said, I have to ask you something,” he says, his hand slipping inside his pocket and making my heart race just a little faster, but when he pulls out a familiar canister of pills, my heart races for a whole new reason. “I know you haven’t been taking your pills, doll. I don’t want the bullshit or the denial. I saw you wash it down the kitchen drain last week. I’m not angry. I’m not going to jump down your throat. I just want to know what’s going on.”
Well, fuck.
I take the little canister out of his hands, guilt washing through me. “You’re right. I wasn’t taking them, only for a little while,” I tell him. “However, I achieved what I wanted, and since then, I’ve been back on the meds train. I’m good now.”
His brows furrow, and he’s looking at me as though I’m legit crazy. “What are you talking about? What the hell were you trying to achieve?”
I cringe and reluctantly pull away from him. “You’re gonna judge.”
“I swear, doll. I just need to know what’s going on with you.”
