Total pages in book: 235
Estimated words: 224334 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1122(@200wpm)___ 897(@250wpm)___ 748(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 224334 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1122(@200wpm)___ 897(@250wpm)___ 748(@300wpm)
I don’t want to wait. Now feels . . . right.
So fuck you, John.
I start the delicate task of peeling Ava off me, holding my breath when she stirs, breathing again when she settles and I’m free from beneath her. Then I stand by the edge of the bed staring at her, for the first time wondering how the fuck I’m going to do this.
I think back to the barrage of questions Hans hauled at me. When, where, and how?
Now.
Here.
But the how? Fuck, this is harder than I anticipated. And what if she says no? What if she runs away, scared? Because that’s what Ava does. Especially when she doesn’t want to face facts. Face the truth. And the truth is, she wants to spend her life with me, which means she should want to marry me. But I can see it now. Resistance. Other influences getting in her way. So, yes, asking her parents would be a bad idea. She’s too young. The age gap. The whirlwind romance, although romance is a stretch. Ava will overthink this. Moving her in was a task. Every step of our relationship has been a mammoth effort. This is going to be no different.
I need to stop her running. Make her hear me.
I think for a moment, considering my options. And then I smile, my eyes falling to the bedside table and the drawer where those handcuffs are kept.
Memorable, to put it mildly.
Perfect.
So us.
I creep to the bedroom door and hurry down to my study, going to the safe and pulling out the ring. My stomach flips. Fucking hell. I open the box and stare at the diamond. The damn thing sparkles, even without light to bounce off. I pull it from the cushion with delicate fingers and snap the box shut again, blindly putting it back in the safe as I study the showstopper. Simple. Elegant. Perfect.
Heading back upstairs, the ring firmly in my clenched fist, I mentally practice my proposal. “I adore you. Will you marry me?” I stroke my chin, pondering the words. “You’re my world. Will you do me the honor of also being my wife?” I stop at the top of the stairs. Will you promise to be mine forever and never break that promise?
In a nutshell.
Tick, tock, tick, tock.
I enter the bedroom and find Ava’s rolled onto her back. “Handy,” I muse to myself, setting the ring on the bedside table next to the giftbag I brought home from the party. Because I know she was curious about that too and, actually, it’s going to be useful. I retrieve the cuffs from the drawer and gently, holding my breath, stretch her arm to the headboard, looping the cuff around her wrist and securing it, taking the weight of her arm as I lower it until I’m sure it’s not going to jar and wake her. I repeat on the other side, gingerly kneeling on the bed, my attention constantly split between Ava and the cuffs. I secure her other hand, gently releasing my hold as I pull away, watching her, arms spread, eyes closed, lips parted just a fraction.
And . . . breathe.
I step back and admire her as I drag my boxers down my legs, kicking them off, then take the ring and slip it onto her left finger, watching her oblivious face as I do. Perfect fit. My moves might appear confident. It’s a front. I’m just covering all my bases, making it pretty impossible for her to say no. And what Ava and I both know is that she can’t say no to me when she wants me. So I’ll ensure she wants me.
Smiling, I take a picture of her in all her glory, then put on the track that was playing in the communal room last night.
I crawl onto her, not taking as much care now because it would be really handy if she’s awake and alert when I pop the question. She stretches, rolling her entire body into mine. I quell a groan, lifting my hips when her groin presses into my cock, which is also now waking up. Stirring. “Lord above,” I whisper, talking the rampant fucker down. Not now. I never dreamt I’d think it, but there’s something I want to do more than have sex with Ava.
Ask first, fuck her after.
Celebrate.
Because she will say yes. She will say yes.
I get her lips close to mine, circling our noses, scanning her eyes, waiting for them to open. I see a small flicker. “Good morning,” I whisper, pulling back a fraction to get her entire face in my sights. She squints, and a slow smile pulls at her lips when she finds me gazing down at her. It falls the moment she attempts to move and the clang of the cuffs sounds.