That makes me smile wobbily for a moment.
“But your mom’s alive and kicking,” I say in a small voice. “So what does that mean?”
Mace grins then but the intensity in his gaze doesn’t dim.
“I know, sweetheart,” he rasps. “Always catching me with your words. That’s what I love about you,” he says, bending forwards and pressing a kiss to my lips. “You’re so fucking smart, honey, and an MD to boot. I’ve honestly never dated anyone who even graduated from high school, much less college.”
That makes me roll my eyes a bit.
“So it’s my brain that’s sexy to you?” I ask drolly. “That big gray mass that sits between my ears?”
His eyes flash.
“Yes. Your brain. Your wit. Your way with words, and with medicine. It’s everything about you, Dr. Carter, and I’m determined to make you mine. Will you, sweetheart? Will you be my wife?” his voice chokes a little, that big form going completely still as he kneels before me on the living room rug. “I don’t have a ring at this moment, but I’ll get you one, I swear.”
The world blooms before me, happiness pouring through my veins like warm spring rain. Because this is the answer to my dreams. My man, devoted to me. Head over heels in love, with every intention of making me an honest woman. And how can I doubt him? Because he speaks with sincerity and force, the intensity of those blue eyes touching me to my very core. Even though his illness looms over us like a gray cloud, at this moment there’s a shaft of sunlight bursting through the shadows and bathing me in honeyed warmth.
So I squeeze his hands, almost unable to speak.
“Yes, yes, and yes,” are my murmured words. “It doesn’t matter if you have a ring. It doesn’t matter if we never exchange rings because I just want to be with you, Mace. I want to spend my days with you, and make sure that we live every moment to its fullest.”
And with that, the alpha male pulls me into his arms then, cradling me against that big body as he sits on the couch.
“You’ve made me so happy sweetheart,” he breathes against my hair. “So incredibly happy. And there’s going to be a ring,” he growls fiercely. “I want the world to know that you belong to me in every way, shape and form. I’m gonna put two rings on you, if that’s what it takes.”
I giggle, heady with love.
“Two rings? But what does that mean?”
“You’ll see,” he remarks darkly, a certain look in those blue eyes. “I want the world to know who my woman is, and she’s gonna wear my marks in every way possible.”
The breath catches in my chest because I know my man has something planned.
“Well, if I think I know what you’re talking about …” begins my coy phrase.
Mace seizes the moment and slowly trails one big hand over my lush tits and down to the sweet vee of my pussy.
“Oh you know what I want,” he rasps, those clever fingers slipping into my panties to pinch my clit, making me gasp. “I’m gonna put a ring here,” he says, squeezing my clit again. “How’s that gonna make you feel, little girl? Every time I run my hard shaft in, it’s gonna brush against a little silver something.”
Honestly, I’m wet as fuck. I want it. I want to be laid out on the piercing table as Mace watches, getting a tiny silver ring punched through my clit for Mace to play with. He’ll tug on it during the most inopportune moments, like when we’re at a restaurant or at the movies, to make me shriek with pleasure.
But I can’t get it. Not now, and not for another nine months at least. Because there’s a secret I have to share, and the time has come to tell my man.
“Mace,” I say slowly, my tits going up and down. They seem bigger already, although I’m only three months in. “You know how we’ve been trying lately? So hard and so much?”
Instantly, his eyes blaze with fire.
“Are you …?” he growls. “Are you pregnant? Are you having my child, Melissa?”
I smile sweetly at him.
“I am,” is my low murmur. “I’m so excited Mace. I want a healthy little boy who looks exactly like you.”
His eyes blaze again, but he shakes his head.
“Naw honey. I want a little girl who looks just like you, with the same curly brown hair and brown eyes. Plus, with your intelligence, she’ll be an astronaut for sure. Or a Nobel prize-winning scientist.”
His dreams make me giggle, and I add coyly, “See why I can’t get a clit piercing? I’m going to have a baby, and we don’t want the baby’s head to get scratched on the way out.”
He growls hungrily, pulling me close once more.