Page 24 of Beauty Becomes You (Beauty 4)
With sex. Masturbation, to be specific. But more than that. With an attraction so deep they had to act on it. With respect so strong they’d been careful and mindful and joyful every step of the way. Unconventional, unique, or just freaking weird—she didn’t care. This was the way their relationship had started, his moment of vulnerability a gift to her, and she’d wanted to propose to him and return the favor.
“Well, Professor?” Her heart started to beat faster.
A slow smile spread over his face. “Erin.”
Which wasn’t an answer, really. She raised an eyebrow.
“God, you’re beautiful.” He reached over to the side table.
Still not an answer. “If you’re going to grab a sex toy right now, I might have to rethink my proposal.”
But he didn’t have a sex toy, judging by the little black box. If she’d thought her heart was beating fast before, it was nothing compared to now. He opened it to reveal a sparkling princess cut diamond with small, even diamonds circling the band. Her heart stopped.
The words came to her in a rush: If you can paint…I can walk… If he could move past his scars, return to the world, the very least she could do was move past her own fears and trust him not to leave. The world can turn upside down… And it did.
“Yes,” he said simply. “I’ll marry you.”
He did more than answer her; he asked, with the ring that had been stowed away in his side table drawer…for how long? Happiness squeezed her throat, robbing her of breath. She had to force the words, to feign levity or she’d never be able to speak at all. “Now, I said no sex toys. But I have to tell you, that right there is very sexy.”
His mouth curved in a self-satisfied little smile. “I think it’ll look great on you. Wearing nothing else.”
“Oh, so this was all a ploy to get me naked,” she said, clearly teasing since she was already naked and so was he.
“It seems to be working,” he said, slipping the ring on her finger. It sparkled in the dim evening shadows, reflective even with barely any light. But no glittering facets or sleek metals could compete with the stark, painful beauty of the man in front of her. The man she loved.
* * *
Blake lingered in the hallway, watching Erin flip a page in the newspaper. His body tightened at the sexy sight. Sun streamed in through the bay windows, glinting golden off her hair and illuminating the lines of her body within her white dress shirt. His dress shirt, although she still wore it much better than he ever would. The top buttons were undon
e, allowing him a glimpse of the curve of her breast as she bent her head, intent on her reading.
She glanced up and smiled. “Good morning.”
“Morning.” He wandered into the breakfast nook, feeling reluctant to disturb her. As if it were her room, her house. And God, it was.
She’d agreed to marry him, which meant all this was hers as much as his. A sense of contentment filled him at the thought. He’d be able to take care of her. And, he thought wryly, he’d be taken care of in return.
He didn’t slow until he reached her, standing beside her chair, tilting her chin up to look at him. He brushed his thumb over her lips, loving the way she shivered in response.
“You’re happy,” he said. A statement, a question? He wasn’t sure.
“Too much.” She smiled shyly. Was she blushing? “I’m not sure what I did to deserve this.”
Jesus, she killed him. Humble and proud, kind and fierce. A study of contradictions in a beautiful package he would never get tired of worshipping. Like a magnet, his lips sought hers; he bent to kiss her, leaving them both breathless.
Sometime during the onslaught, her hands grasped his bare shoulders. He was wearing only his dress pants from last night, picked up off the floor. It seemed they could only find a full set of clothes between them—and no underwear. No bra, that much he could see. Damn, he was going to have a hard time leaving her in peace today. And every day. Especially considering the ring that sparkled on her finger. His ring. The sight of it filled him with possession.
With peace.
“I’m not going to let you go now. You know that, don’t you?” He didn’t know why he was always warning her. Even now.
Maybe because he knew she wouldn’t balk.
She grinned. “Do you think I’d let you go either? Not a chance. So get comfortable, mister.”
Ah hell. No way was he leaving her in peace today. He pulled her from the chair, flush against his body, molding his hands to her curves. “God, I already am.”
He kissed her again, debating whether they could make it upstairs to the bedroom. But then she kissed him back—actually nipped his lower lip—and he stopped thinking at all. He surrounded her, body and heart; he sank into her, finding refuge in her sweet acceptance and limitless love.
