“You’re right about when the party is, but you’re forgetting something.” He stroked his thumb down the center of my forehead, smoothing out the wrinkle that had popped up there. “On the day we got here, I told you that we were staying as long as it took.”
He said that as though I should understand what he meant, but I just grew more confused instead. “I guess I don’t get what the ‘it’ is that you were talking about then. We’ve had sex everywhere in this place and in every position possible, shared all of our meals, and talked about everything under the sun. What more is there for us to do up here, and can we get it done by tomorrow?”
One of his hands stroked up and down my spine as he answered, “Gotta make sure you’re all mine before we leave, baby.”
“Now you’re just being silly.” I laughed softly and shook my head. “I couldn’t be more yours if I tried.”
His lips curved up in a satisfied smile, and he lifted me off his lap to set me on the cushion next to us. “Hold that thought. I’ll be right back.”
I twisted my neck and watched him stride out of the living area and up the stairs toward the bedroom. When he disappeared out of my line of vision, I tucked my knees close to my chest and pulled the material of the shirt I was wearing—another of Dax’s—over my legs and toes. The fire should have been enough to keep me warm, but I felt a little chill at the loss of Dax’s body heat.
He wasn’t gone long, but instead of settling back on the couch with me on his lap, he dropped to his knees on the floor in front of the couch. Taking my hands in his, he flashed me a sexy smile before brushing a kiss against my knuckles. His lips lingered on the ring finger of my left hand, and my heart started to race when I realized what his position could possibly mean. I figured I was jumping way ahead because our relationship was so new, but then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, black jewelry box. When he flipped it open with his thumb, I gasped and pressed my trembling right hand to my mouth. The ring was gorgeous, with a huge cushion-cut diamond centered in a simple platinum band. Nobody would ever be able to miss that sucker when it was on my hand.
“Arya, baby.” He slid the ring on the tip of my finger, his green eyes burning into mine when he lifted his head to meet my gaze. “Spend the rest of your life with me. Sleep in my bed. Eat on my lap. Have my babies. Grow old with me. Be my love forever.”
My love.
It was the first time I’d heard that particular four-letter word from Dax’s lips. I’d realized my feelings for him had grown into love days ago, but I’d been afraid to say it out loud because I wasn’t sure if Dax would think it was too soon—and I was too young—for me to be so sure about how I felt about him. “Do you really love me?”
“More than I thought possible.” He slid the ring down my finger as far as it would go, his thumb brushing the skin below the band once it was in place. “You’re my everything, Arya.”
“I love you, too.” Tears streamed down my cheeks, and my words came out watery.
He kissed away my tears and murmured, “That’s not an answer, baby.”
A startled giggle burst from my lips. “I don’t recall hearing an actual question. It was more like you told me that I’m going to spend the rest of my life with you.”
He tilted his head to the side, a considering gleam filling his eyes as he chuckled. “Damn, I guess you’re right.”
“Just in case you’re worried, my answer would’ve been yes if you’d asked instead of ordered,” I teased with a grin.
He wrapped his hands around my waist and lifted me off the couch as he stood. “Then I guess we can spend the rest of our time here celebrating our engagement instead of having me try to talk you into marrying me.”
It sounded as though he still didn’t plan on us leaving any time soon. “But what about the party? Nova and I try to get together every year to celebrate our birthdays since they’re so close together.”
“You know how much I like to give you what you want, baby.” He cupped my cheeks with his palms and brushed his lips gently over mine. “Not this time, though.”
His insistence on staying made even less sense to me now that we were engaged. “But why?”
“I can’t run the risk of us going back yet,” he muttered as he wrapped my legs around his waist so he could more easily carry me up the stairs to the bedroom.
Twining my arms around his neck, I rolled my eyes. “I don’t understand what risk you think you’d be taking. I’m in love with you, and your ring is on my finger, for goodness' sake. What could possibly go wrong at this point?”
“Your brother,” he growled, following me onto the mattress after he dropped me onto it. With his palms pressed into the mattress on either side of my shoulders, his body hovered an inch above mine. “Before you came this past spring break, he warned all of us that he’d fucking kill us if anyone so much as looked at you. And I’ve done a fuck of a lot more than look, baby.”
My heart melted at his admission. Dax seemed fearless about everything else, but his love for me made him vulnerable. “Nova might be a little mad at first, but not for long. You make me happy, and he’ll see that.”
“Like I said, I can’t risk him trying to get between us. Not yet,” he insisted.
“You do realize that Nova is probably already looking for me, right?” I cupped his cheeks with my palms, ignoring the tickle of his beard against my skin because I needed him to hear me, and laughing wouldn’t help him to take what I was saying seriously. “Not only does he call me every week but he also thinks my graduation is this weekend. I probably have a ton of voicemails and text messages from him, demanding that I call him back. And when he realizes he missed the ceremony and can’t find me anywhere, he’s going to lose his mind even more. Hiding from him will only work for so long and will probably make it harder for him to see reason when he eventually catches up to us.”
He closed the gap between our bodies, his hard-on pressing against my core through my panties and his jeans. “I just need enough time to make sure you’re carrying my baby. Even your brother couldn’t argue about us belonging together then.”
It was total caveman logic, but I was more than willing to go along with the plan since I couldn’t wait to have his babies. “With as many times as you’ve filled me with your come, I’m probably pregnant already.”
“Probably isn’t good enough,” he murmured against my ear before nibbling along my jaw.
With the fierce desire for him coursing through my veins, there was only one answer I could give. “Then I guess we’ll need to stay secluded here and have lots more sex until that probably turns into a definitely.”
10
Dax
My phone vibrated itself right off the nightstand. I'd been ignoring it since I'd glanced at the clock, and it was barely one in the morning. But someone clearly wouldn't be ignored. The crash of my phone onto the hardwood floor made Arya jump, and I silently swore at whoever was interrupting my time with my woman. “Go back to sleep, baby,” I whispered as I gently moved her off my chest and kissed her forehead.