But he didn’t.
He just removed my gag.
“Michael…”
“How are you feeling, sweetheart?”
“Please…”
“Please what?”
I clamped my mouth shut. I couldn’t say it. I thought he would put the gag back in but he didn’t. He pressed a quick kiss to my mouth and then slid down my body again.
I groaned in frustration, suddenly missing the gag. I felt so foolish. The sounds I was making… the way my body was responding… the way my hips rocked against his face as he kissed me there…
There was no mistaking my state. I was an animal in heat. Nothing more. Nothing less.
“Marry me.” He demanded, looking up from between my legs. I wiggled and gasped, trying to get him to take mercy on me. But he asked again. I nodded eagerly, hoping he would put me out of my misery. Hoping he would finally let me come.
“Wha… what?”
“You heard me. Marry me. Today.”
“You want to… ohhhh…” I moaned as he pulled my clit into his mouth and sucked on it. My hips jerked and I came so close to the edge, but he pulled away.
“Yes, I want to marry you. I want you by my side for the rest of my life.”
My mouth dropped open. I stared at him in shock, my body momentarily forgotten.
“Why me?” I asked, I couldn’t help it. I hated the weakness in my voice. I hated the need of reassurance.
“Why you?” He echoed, looking astounded. “Because you are remarkable. You opened my eyes, Theresa. You think you are the only one having firsts?”
“But you… you know everything.”
“I know nothing. Knew nothing. Not about what matters. You have integrity. Sweetness. And more beauty than God should give to any one living person. And I am so in love with you that it hurts. It physically hurts. I can feel my heart breaking, even when you aren’t in the room. I loved you from the first moment I saw you. I need to know you won’t leave me.”
“I… I won’t you leave you,” I said hastily, trying to process what he was saying to me. He relaxed instantly.
“I need a guarantee,” he said, letting the words dangle.
“Okay.”
“Okay what?”
“I will give you my word. Not to leave.”
“Not good enough,” he said, glaring at me. “Marry me.”
“Isn’t that fast?”
“When you know, you know,” he said, pulling away from me. “And I know. Clearly, you don’t.”
“Wait,” I said as he reached for his robe. He stopped, looking over his shoulder at me. He stood there, all beautiful, strong man. But he was hurting. He was afraid.
I took a deep breath. It was time to come clean.
“I didn’t want to fall in love with you,” I started, cautiously choosing my words. His hand froze on the robe. His whole body tensed. “I fought it. I even ran away. I ran because I knew I was lost. I had no hope of making someone like you love me back.”
“You love me?” He asked, his shoulders rigid.
“Yes, Michael. I love you.”
“Then marry me. Why wait?”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, goddamn it, I am sure!”
“Then my answer is yes.”
He closed his eyes and swallowed. Then he reached into his robe and brought out a box. The look in his gorgeous eyes was breathtaking as he carried the box back to the bed.
“Are you going to propose to me like this?” I asked, looking up at my tied arms.
“No,” he said, showing me the ring and then sliding it onto my finger. “You already said yes.”
I laughed, the surprised sound turning into a sigh as he kissed me. It was long, slow, and tender. And it reminded us both what we had been doing before his ‘proposal’.
“Untie me,” I finally said. “Let me taste you.”
“Not now. I can’t wait,” he said as he quickly untied me. “Sorry,” he said absently as I was freed. Our bodies came together like magnets, two immovable forces that could not be separated by any force on earth.
We grasped each other so tightly that I was sure we would both be bruised. We fell backwards onto the bed. And he was inside me before my back met the mattress.
Our combined breathing was the only sound in the room for the longest time. Dawn was just starting to break outside the window. But our passion did not slow or peak. Not for the longest time.
He told me he loved me a dozen times at least when we finally came, together as one.
As we lay there trying to catch our breath, he kissed my shoulder. I caught a glimpse of his face and it stunned me. He looked… relaxed. At peace in a way I had never seen before.
“Micheal?”
“Yes, sweetheart?”
“I love you, too.”
Chapter Thirty-One
Michael
“What, now?”
I grinned at the beautiful girl sipping coffee in the early morning Paris sun. We were sitting just inside the suite with the doors to the terrace flung open. The air was fresh but the chairs were cleaner, and more comfortable, than the table and chairs outside.