“But if he breaks your heart, I will hurt him.”
I pull away, and the grin is gone from his face. I can’t tell if my son is joking or if he would attempt to beat up an ex-Navy SEAL for me. Whichever way, I raised a good boy.
Dean and I leave Kieren with his friends, and half an hour later we’re back at his cabin. I park my car next to Dean’s pickup, and he’s waiting for me by the front door. He lets me in, and I’mnot even through the door before he pushes me up against the wall. He takes my wrists and pins my arms above my head. His muscles strain, and I’m instantly needy for him.
“I’ve finally got you alone,” Dean murmurs as he kisses my neck.
“Oh yeah? What are you going to do to me?”
I roll my hips against his, sending delicious shivers through my body. I expect Dean to kiss my lips, or tug my nipples, but instead he drops to the floor on one knee.
“Lauren, I’ve been wanting to do this since the first night you moved into my cabin.”
He pulls a box from his pants pocket and opens it to reveal a ring.
“I’ve loved you since the moment I caught you peeping at me in the bushes.”
“I was not peeping,” I try to protest, but he stops me with his grin.
“You’re strong and capable, and you certainly don’t need a man to look after you. But I want to be that man anyway.”
“You want to be the man who doesn’t look after me?”
“I want to be the man who stands by your side, who supports you along whatever journey you want to take in life. I want to be the quiet strength next to you, and I want to be the one you turn to when life gets to be too much. I want to be the man who quietly anticipates your needs, who takes care of you in ways you don’t even notice. I want to be the man who makes your life better every day.
“You might think this is too soon. But I want to give you my commitment, so you and Kieren have someone you can rely on from now on. I’m that man.”
I stare down at Dean with my mouth hanging open. It is rushed, but it feels right. I’ve been alone so long and I thought that was fine, but I don’t want to be alone for another moment.I think about what this means; staying in Hope, building my family here, giving Kieren a proper father, and most of all, giving my tired heart a place to call home. Because I can’t imagine life without Dean. It’s only been a short time, but he’s my person. I feel it, and I never want to lose that.
“Yes!” I squeal. “I love you, Dean, and yes. I’ll marry you.”
He slides the ring onto my finger, and I pull him up off the floor.
“Come on then, Bo. Let’s celebrate.”
“How are we going to do that?”
He pushes me up against the wall again. “Let me show you.”
13
DEAN
Lauren trembles beneath me as I press her against the wall of my cabin. The ring glints in the entryway light, a symbol that she’s really mine. Like I knew she would be.
And it’s not just Lauren. Kieren is my family now too. She’s done an amazing job with him. Now I get to show him how to be a man, with all the complexities that involves.
But there’s only one kind of man I want to be right now, and that’s a man pleasing my woman.
Lauren moans as I run my hands down her body to clasp her hips. Her body softens against mine, and I pull her closer toward me.
“I love you,” I whisper into her ear. As I nibble her neck, her hot skin trembles under my lips.
She changed out of her scrubs before we got pizza, and I unbutton her shirt and slide my hand underneath. My fingers slip inside her bra, and she gasps as I stroke her nipples.
She breathes my name, and her voice is needy and sexy as hell. Damn, I love this woman. And it’s time to show her that.
I should take her to the bedroom, but I can’t wait that long. Not when she moans and whispers my name as her hips grind into me.
