There was no chance to respond. He grabbed the back of my neck and pulled me in, kissing me with a fierce, burning passion that tasted like salt, tears, and a brand new beginning. I kissed him back with everything I had, my hands tanglingin his hair. It was grounding knowing that the man kneeling in the sand with me was no longer my scripted rival, my secret, or just my boyfriend.
He was going to be my husband. And I was going to make damn sure the entire world knew it.
8
MONDAY — SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO
Now playing: BITE - Troye Sivan
Weleftthebeachhand-in-hand and headed for our room. The sun was fully up, the last licks of saltwater clinging to us, while the adrenaline of the proposal vibrated under my skin. When the door finally latched, I turned around to follow him, but I didn’t get the chance to take another step.
Silas was already there.
He crowded my space, pinning me back against the door. His brown eyes were entirely black, pupils blown wide and filled with lust and longing. The hand currently wearing my matte-black tungsten ring, gripped my jaw, his thumb pressing firmly into my cheekbone. Cold metal brushed against my skin, sending a shiver straight down my spine.
“Say it again,” he demanded in a low, gravelly rasp that shattered what was left of my self-control.
I swallowed hard as my hands moved to his waist, feeling the heat of his skin even through his clothes. “Say what?”
He leaned in until his lips were hovering a fraction of an inch from mine. “What you asked on the beach,” he breathed. “Say it.”
My heart hammered against my ribs as I looked into the eyes of the man who owned every piece of my soul.
“Marry me,” I whispered.
Silas let out a rough, ragged groan and crushed his mouth to mine, his tongue pushing past my lips. I moaned into his mouth, but this time, I didn’t let him take control.
I grabbed the front of his hoodie, pulling him to me as I deepened the kiss. The moment he leaned into me, my hands slid down over his ass to grip his thighs. With an explosive surge of strength, I hoisted his massive frame clean off the floor.
Silas’s breath hitched, a soft whimper escaping as his legs wrapped around my waist, and his arms locked around my neck. The way he anchored himself, surrendering and letting me carry him like it was nothing, sent a rush straight to my head.
I walked us forward until my knees hit the edge of the mattress where I dropped him onto the crisp white hotel sheets so I could crawl over him.
“You’re mine. My fuckinghusband.”
“Yeah,” Silas choked out, his chest heaving as he reached up to grip my hips. “God, Cal.Yes.”
Without wasting a single second, I dragged him toward the edge of the mattress, my hands ripping at the damp waistband of his board shorts. They joined his sweater on the floor, allowing me access to his hard length. With him trapped beneath me, I pressed searing kisses against his skin as I inched my way down his torso, only stopping when I was between his spread legs. My arms wrapped around his thighs, and his calves rested on either side of my shoulders, keeping him spread wide for me so I could tease his ass with my tongue.
Silas let out a violent, shuddering gasp, throwing his head back against the mattress. I took my time, my tongue hot, wet, and relentlessly filthy as I laved over his hole and dipped occasionally inside to taste him. My thumbs spread his cheeks wider, providing more access for me to bury my face against him and swipe slow, torturous circles.
“Cal,” he whimpered, his fingers tangling in my hair, pulling firmly. “Fuck, baby, please.”
“Look at me,” I ordered, my lips vibrating against his skin.
He cracked his eyes open to look along his flushed skin. Every muscle was pulled taut, every pore slick with a thin sheen of sweat. I flattened my tongue, dragging a line from his ass, up and over his balls, and along the underside of his shaft. His body shivered as I licked through the slit of his head before wrapping my lips around him and taking him to the back of my throat with a small gag. My fist pumped his base while I sucked hard, aiming to achieve the wettest, dirtiest sound in the quiet room and strip away every defense he had left.
“That’s it,” Si moaned, his hips thrusting up to meet my mouth. His left hand was gripping the sheets so hard, his knuckles were white. “Fuck yeah, baby. Take it. Show me what my husband does for me.”
Those words sent a jolt straight to my groin. I pulled back, leaving him a panting and thoroughly-wrecked mess on the sheets. My bare feet hit the carpet as I stood with a wicked smirk taking over my face.
His arm reached out, grasping at the air. “Wait—”
“Hold that thought.”
I walked over to my open duffel bag and dug through the front pocket, pulling out the vintage Polaroid camera. It was Silas’s. A beat-up, retro thing he’d owned for nearly a decade. From surviving years in the swamp, to each one of our road trips, this thing was a constant.
I walked back to the edge of the bed and shoved the device into his trembling hands. “Make it count,” I ordered, my voice low.
