CHAPTER 46
Kenzie
I’d been hurt when Dane had yelled at me, bossing me around like he owned me. But all of that faded as I saw the fear in his gaze.
He isn’t angry. He’s scared. And he’s afraid for me.
I’d get him to lose the anger, and talk to me about what was bothering him. While I wasn’t the kind of woman to put up with somebody bossing me around, I could handle Dane’s fear. It nearly brought me to tears that he cared that much.
“You’re not mad,” I told him. “But your concern is coming out as anger. And it hurts me.”
“Fuck! You’re right,” he said. “But I can’t fucking stand the thought of anything or anybody hurting you ever again. I’m sorry,” he said remorsefully. “I don’t want to control you, Kenzie. I just want to keep you safe. I feel so damn possessive I can’t stand myself.”
I put my hands on his shoulders as I looked down at him. “I think I can handle it. Maybe I even like the way you want to protect me.”
“Do you?” he asked.
I nodded. “It’s kind of sexy.”
“I’m glad you think so, because I can’t seem to control it. I’m one of those jealous, obsessive guys I used to laugh at, like my brothers. I never got how they could get so damn crazy over a female.”
I smiled. “But now you do?”
“Karma is a bitch.”
“I love you, Dane. I don’t want to go anywhere, and I don’t want anybody else.”
“Yeah. I find that hard to believe sometimes.”
“Believe it.”
“You could do better, but I’m not planning on giving you that chance.”
I chuckled. “Really? I could do better than the most handsome guy on Earth who has a ridiculous amount of talent? A billionaire who also happens to be kind and wonderful. Excuse me if I don’t believe that. There is no better man. And I happen to be insanely in love with you.”
Dane had never realized his worth, and it had nothing to do with money or his painting. He saw me. He always had. He was kind and generous. He was loving and protective. All those reasons made me love him.
He tightened his arms around my waist. “Then I sure as hell am not going to try to talk you out of it.”
“Good.” I leaned down and kissed him, trying to show him just how much I needed him.
Dane had become part of my soul, part of the fiber of my being. I had no idea how I’d found him, but I needed him so desperately that my heart ached.
Our mouths never came apart as he rolled me onto my back, taking possession of my body as it trembled beneath him.
I gasped as he released my lips and found the sensitive skin on my neck. “Yes,” I encouraged. “Please.”
“Baby, you don’t have to beg,” he said against my skin.
“Does it turn you on?” I asked in a shaky voice.
“Hell, yes,” he growled.
“Then I don’t care if I beg. Not with you.”
“There can’t be anybody else, Kenzie. Ever.”
As his mouth moved down to my breast, I said in a raspy tone, “Never.”
There would never be another Dane. I could never feel this way again, so I cherished what we had.
All thoughts of conversation fled as his teeth latched onto a hard nipple, jolting sensation through my body. When his fingers teased the other one, I nearly came unglued.
It was like that with Dane. All it took was one touch to make me crazy. My core flooded with heat as his fingers trailed down my belly, finally finding what they sought.
Our bodies were almost dry, so the sand had begun to fall off my body until it felt warm beneath me instead of sticking to my skin.
“Oh, God. Dane,” I moaned, needing more.
His fingers found my clit, and he was teasing rather than satisfying.
“Fuck me, Dane. I don’t want to wait this time,” I pleaded.
It had never taken him long to make me fly into a frenzy. But I couldn’t stand it. Not today. Both of us needed each other so desperately that I just wanted him to send me into orgasm. And I wanted him inside when he did.
What we felt was primitive and raw, and that was what I craved.
“What do you want, baby?” he said hoarsely.
“You!” I cried out. “I just want you.”
“You’ve always had me,” he growled as he covered my body with his.
I could feel every hard inch of him pressing against my belly.
“I want everything,” I whimpered.
“You’ve got it,” he said gruffly as the tip of his cock pressed against my core.
There was no hesitation. Dane entered me in one powerful thrust.
I wrapped my legs around his hips, silently asking him to fuck me as hard as he could.
“Christ! You feel so damn good.” He pulled out and entered again. “But I need more.”
He pulled out, making me whimper with the pain of losing his cock inside my body. But I was panting as he prompted me onto my hands and knees.
He brushed the clinging sand from my ass sensually before he grasped my hips.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Yes. Just do it,” I demanded, eager to feel him take me.
Being with him this way incited some kind of madness I couldn’t explain. All I knew was that nothing was more important than having him fuck me.
We’d never assumed this position, yet it matched the insane way I had to have him.
I let out a squeak as he buried himself to his balls again, his hard grip on my hips almost painful. He was so deep that it satisfied the ferocious need that was overtaking my entire body.
“I love you,” I panted. “I love you so much.”
He pulled out and entered me with an even greater force. “I love you, too, baby. Probably way too much.”
I wanted to tell him that he could never love me too much. I craved his fierceness, and I adored his protectiveness. Maybe he went a little over-the-top sometimes, but I understood it. I felt the same way.
My head dropped as he plowed into me.
Over and over.
Harder and harder as I encouraged him.
When he grasped my hair and pulled my head up, I screamed his name as my body started to come undone.
Heat fired in my belly, and it went straight to my pussy.
I didn’t even flinch when his thumb slid roughly over my ass, probing my anus. “This will be mine someday, too,” he insisted in a husky voice filled with greed.
I’d never done anal, but I could see myself giving anything and everything to Dane. He’d make it pleasurable. He always did. “Yes,” I consented with a tortured moan.
When his finger probed that untried area, my climax didn’t just begin, it rushed toward me with a speed I couldn’t control.
“You’re mine, baby. I’ll never let you go,” he said with a groan.
Like I’d want him to? All I wanted was Dane.
“Don’t,” I cried. “Don’t ever leave me.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
When that wandering hand moved to my belly and down to my clit, I imploded. He was rocking my body with sensation, and I couldn’t hold back.
The muscles inside my channel spasmed almost painfully, milking Dane to a heated release.
I collapsed, and Dane came down beside me, his hand searching and finding mine.
We stayed just like that our hands clasped, and our labored breath slowly recovering.
“What in the hell did I ever do in my life to deserve you?” he asked huskily.
I sighed. “I wondered the same thing.”
Dane let go of my hand and sat up, then grasped my hands to pull me up beside him.
“I wasn’t planning on doing this right now, but I can’t wait.” He let go of my hands to fumble in the pocket of his jeans.
My heartrate, that was almost back to normal, increased again as I saw the small jewelry box in his hand.
He flipped the lid, and sat directly in front of me. “Marry me, Kenzie. I can’t spend another minute without officially making you mine.”
I covered my mouth with my hand as a sob escaped from my body. “Dane, are you sure?”
It was obvious that he was deadly serious, the expression on his face hopeful.
“Surer than I’ve ever been in my life. I know I’m no Prince Charming, Kenzie. But I need you so damn much.”
The enormous diamond sparkled in the sun, and it was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.
I shook my head. “That’s not true. You’re my Prince Charming,” I said between sobs.
My heart was galloping as I took in the moment.
The man I loved more than anything in the world wanted to marry me?
“Being yours is all that matters,” he explained. “Put me out of my misery. Marry me. I’ll never be perfect, but I can promise that I’ll always love you.”
I could promise him the same thing. “Yes. Yes. Yes.”
“Thank fuck,” he answered in a relieved tone as he took my hand.
The diamond fit perfectly.
“How did you know my ring size?” I asked as tears flowed down my cheeks.
“Paige might have helped me a little,” he replied.
I threw my arms around his neck and sent him tumbling onto his back. “I love you so much.”
He wrapped his arms tightly around me. “I love you, too, Kenzie. I always will. There’s nobody else for me but you.”
We stayed there for a while, absorbing the sense of peace that washed over us now that we were committed to making each other happy for the rest of our lives.
Honestly, I didn’t know how a woman like me had captured a guy like Dane, but I wasn’t going to question my fate. I was too damn happy about it to keep wondering about my destiny.
The sun was getting warmer by the time Dane lifted me from the sand and carried me back inside.
Lucky followed us, barking playfully as she scampered behind, apparently approving of the way we’d just sealed our love.
In the blissful weeks that followed, we did very little except celebrate our engagement.
By the time we married in Vegas, our bond was so strong that nothing and nobody was ever going to pull us apart.
I was grateful for every day I spent with the man I loved. And knowing we had a lifetime together was the greatest gift I’d ever received.
The two of us were stronger together, and the fear that I’d always carried with me eventually dissolved.
It was funny what the powerful and absolutely undefeatable power of love could do to repair emotional damage that had been piling up for a lifetime.