Before I can take another bite, Jin’s hand darts out and snatches the paper plate right out of my grasp, holding it up over his head where I can’t possibly reach it. I make a grab forit anyway, stretching up on my tiptoes, but he’s got a foot of height on me and it’s a lost cause from the start.
“Jin! Hey! Give it back!”
“I thought we were sharing,” he says innocently, tearing off a piece of the fried dough and holding it just out of my reach. “Open.”
I narrow my eyes at him, but my stomach wins out over my pride. My mouth begrudgingly opens to accept the offering. He places the piece of funnel cake on my tongue, his thumb brushing against my lower lip, holding my gaze as he does.
The innocent yet not-so-innocent gesture feels sensual and erotic and sends a cool shiver tingling down my spine despite the warm afternoon sun.
When he pulls his hand back, hunger flashes in his dark eyes. I realize a split second later it’s because I’ve gotten powdered sugar on my lip.
He takes it upon himself to lick it off, cupping me by the chin and tilting my face up toward his. He comes in swiftly, his tongue flicking out to wipe the sugar off—and indulge in his own greedy taste of me.
Okay… so maybe I’m not that mad about the funnel cake theft.
I’ve lost my train of thought as my heart flutters and my body buzzes with pure raw attraction. Basically, the never ending lust I have for Jin and that’s gone unfulfilled since that evening in the abandoned building.
It’s only been twenty-four hours since Jin and I have gotten back together, and so much has happened that we haven’t had time to truly enjoy each other yet.
But as we’ve spent this breezy afternoon together, it’s become increasingly obvious we’re ticking time bombs.
“I’ll get even at the next game,” he vows. His arm slides around my waist and pulls me close as we continue our walkalong the pier, the squawks of seagulls and distant music and happy tourists filling the air around us.
“You’re such a sore loser,” I tease, leaning into his warmth.
“This from the woman who nearly flipped the table when we played Yutnori,” he fires back. He shoots me a look with his left brow cocked and his mouth twitching at the corner. “Such an angry little rabbit.”
“That game is rigged and you know it,” I mutter bitterly. Yet I’m smiling too as he presses a kiss to my temple and my heart gives a flip.
This is what I missed.
Our easy banter. Our teasing and laughter and how Jin’s harsh, hard exterior falls away only around me. How we always seem to be so tuned into each other that nothing else registers in the moment. We’re too busy being off in our own little world.
It’s as we’re continuing down the pier that Jin’s energy shifts from taunting and playful to contemplative. We’ve reached the waterfront, the warm summer sun baking our skin and the sea air filling our lungs, and we slow our pace to a lazy stroll.
I sense what’s on his mind before it ever comes out of his mouth.
“I have something for you,” he says, reaching up to his neck. “Something that belongs to you and I want you to have.”
He pulls out the engagement ring on the chain he’s been wearing. The same ring he’s told me he hasn’t stopped carrying with him from the moment I gave it back. He carefully slides it free of the unclasped chain and then holds it out in his palm for me to take.
My gaze falls to the ring and how the diamond shines in the afternoon light. I’d worn it so proudly and happily for months, instantly one of my most prized possessions.
“This is yours, Monroe,” he says, his tone earnest. “It was always yours. I would still very much like the honor of someday making you my wife… if you’ll have me.”
I stare at him for a moment, stunned to my core yet unsurprised at the same time. Our feelings for each other haven’t changed.
They’re still just as intense and unending as they’ve always been. We’ve encountered several hardships and had to fight our way through, but we’ve always loved each other every step of the way. Even as we broke up and went our separate ways.
A handful of seconds pass before a smile tugs at my lips and I look up at him.
“Seo Jin-tae, is this your new way of asking me to marry you?” I tease. “Is this your latest version of a proposal?”
His ears go red—possibly the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen on a deadly man covered in tattoos and who is normally so stoic and unflappable—but he gives a nod. He clears his throat and answers, “Yes. I’m proposing, Tokki-ya. Nothing has ever changed on my end. I’m still deeply in love with you, and in my mind, you’re already my wife.”
My smile widens into a full grin, my cheeks rounding and my heart beating faster out of joy. I hold out my left hand to him and tease him some more.
“Then it sounds like you better put a ring on it and make it official.”
