Chapter Thirty-Four

Cooper

The days fly by, the weeks are but a memory. We finally get into a groove I’m okay with. I have also put my foot down with the amount of time we spend apart. No more fucking two weeks without her. I can’t do it, and I’m okay with admitting it.

She has also been a fixture in the wives’ box, making many new friends. I hear from the other teammates that their wives love her. Makes me smile because my girl can rock anything.

Thanksgiving was three weeks ago. We played away that weekend, so Parker came with the kids so we could celebrate together. Best feeling ever is sitting down, finally being thankful for something.

I’m sitting at the counter, drinking my protein shake while waiting for Matthew to come in. My palms are sweating. I’ve got nerves in my stomach.

I hear the garage door open, knowing that it’s him. I breathe out and say a prayer.

Matthew comes in, dropping his bag on one of the stools, then goes to the fridge to either get something to eat or drink. He is growing like a weed these days.

“Did you have a good day at school?” I ask him, hoping he’s in a good mood for the talk I need to have with him.

“Mmm,” he says while biting an apple and chewing.

“Good, so I kind of wanted to have a talk with you.” I place my hands on the counter.

He just looks at me, pulling his eyebrows together in confusion.

“I know how much you love your mom. I know that you are protective of her. I want to help you with that.” I’m not even sure I am making sense, but Matthew has stopped chewing and is staring at me. “Before you say anything, hear me out. I love her. I love her more than anything. I love you, and I love Allison like you were my own. I’ve never wanted to be tied to a woman in my life.”

“Tied?” Matthew laughs at me.

“I want to marry her. I want her to be my wife. I want to watch her wear my ring, knowing that she’s mine. I just want her to be mine.” I blow out, taking my cap off, rubbing my hands in my hair.

“Okay,” he says. “I’m not sure why you are telling me this.”

“I’m asking for your permission. I want you to tell me that you approve of me, of us. I want to make sure you are okay with this. You’re her main man. I want to be her other main man.”

“You make her happy. Before when we would go to Dad’s for the week, I would worry about her. Now I don’t. I know that you won’t let anything happen to her. That you would put her before anything. So, my answer is yes. Do it. Ask her,” Matthew says, smiling.

“Okay, good, one down. Now I just have to convince her to take a chance on me.”

“You got a ring?” he asks, and I nod.

“I do. I had it since I went away on that god-awful road trip.”

Matthew throws his head back and laughs. “Dude, you were terrible. I thought they would bench you, that’s how bad it was. I cringed during most of the games.”

“Thanks, buddy, glad I can make you laugh.”

Three days later, I’m standing in the middle of the family room. The decorator just left. It took six hours for her to transform my house into a winter wonderland.

When she opens the front door, what is going to greet her is the banister wrapped in garland with white lights.

Lit candles make a path to the family room, red rose petals scattered in the pathway.

The family room is what is blazing. The fireplace is lit, making the room glow. The monster of a Christmas tree is in the corner of the room. I told her I wanted a big tree. I had no idea she would walk in with a fifteen footer.

Everything on the tree is either white or silver with about a million lights, or what seems to be a million. There are huge vases on every single surface, filled with water and white branches with tea candles floating in them.

There are fake white trees all around the room as well, all lit up. The huge bay windows have tea light falling down on them. It really looks like a fucking fantasy.

I’m standing in front of the fireplace in my charcoal dress pants that I know she loves so much and beige knitted turtleneck sweater. The blue Tiffany’s box in my pocket weighs me down.

I know she’ll be here any minute. I had Meghan text me when she would be on her way home.

I mean, besides Matthew I also kind of had to get Meghan’s permission. She actually cried when I told her. But if we are honest, it’s the pregnancy making her soft. Yup, it seems that she will be welcoming a new member to the team. Even though it’s too early to tell, Tom is set on it being a boy.

I hear her car door slam shut. “Here goes nothing,” I tell myself.

I’ve played many hockey games against some of the biggest bad asses out there. Played a game with two broken fingers. That felt like child’s play to me compared to this.

I hear the door open, and I know exactly when she sees it all when I hear a gasp.

“Cooper,” she calls softly. I hear her heels click on the floor. Meghan made an excuse that she wanted to go girl shopping with her just to make sure she dressed nice. I couldn’t care less if she came in with battered up pants and a stained shirt.

She rounds the corner, her hand in front of her mouth. She looks at me with tears in her eyes.

“Hey.” I smile at her. She’s beautiful. She stands there in her tight dark blue jeans, her white V-neck sweater fitting her perfectly. Her black jacket, big bulky black scarf, and heeled booties complete the look.

“I got a tree,” I tell her, watching her take in the room.

“I see that. Santa also came and threw up everywhere.” She giggles. “What’s going on?” She turns around, making sure she sees everything.

“Come here for a minute.” I take my hand out of my pocket. I hold it out to her, and she slides her fingers through mine. “I want to ask you something.” I look at her and then finally get down on one knee.

She covers her mouth. I’m not sure what the sound was. It was a mix between a scream and a sob. “Cooper,” she whispers.

“I’ve never been in love. I never thought I would be. I thought that this feeling everyone spoke about was a myth, something that was made up. Till I met you.” I kiss her hand, my throat starting to grow thick. “The first time I saw you, I knew you’d be trouble. I just didn’t know how much trouble you would actually be.” I laugh, thinking of the first time I saw her getting out of her car. “When you got on that ice, that is when I knew you would possibly kick my ass. I watched you from afar at first, till I couldn’t take it anymore. The minute I sat with you my world tilted. It was like it was finally right. The more time I spent with you, the harder it was to stay away from you. Then I met the kids, and I have to say if you weren’t the whole package before, you were definitely the whole package in that moment.” A tear falls down her cheek. “I want to be there every single step of the way. Holding your hand. Wiping your tears, hearing your laughter, cringing when you yell to put the garbage out.”

She laughs, her smile lighting up her eyes.

“I want every single tomorrow that you have. I want every single memory to be made with you. I want to make a family with you. I want to see my kids grow in you. I want you to be the mother of my children, but most of all I want you to be my wife.” I pull the ring out, opening the top, and revealing the three-carat princess cut diamond ring. The whole band is covered in diamonds also. I know it’s too much, but to me it isn’t enough.

“I love you, more than anything in the world. Please be my wife. Please be with me. Please want me.”

Her tears are running down freely now. My eyes fill with tears, too, my throat full. I don’t know how long it takes her to answer, but it feels like a lifetime.

“I love you. You gave me hope again. You gave me so many tomorrows that I look forward to. You complete me fully. You love Allison and Matthew like they were your own, and nothing could make me love you more.” She gets down on her knees in front of me. “Marry me, Cooper. Be my husband.”

She doesn’t wait for an answer. She just grabs my face in her hands, leaning in and kissing me softly at first then with force. Our tongues slip into each other’s mouth. Her arms wrap around my neck, pulling me closer.

“Wait.” I pull away from her. “You didn’t answer me.”

“Neither did you,” she counters me.

“I asked you first.” Damn, this woman is impossible.

“Yes,” she whispers.

I take the ring out of the box, reaching for her hand and sliding it on her finger.

“Holy fuck, this thing is huge. Are you out of your mind?” She glares at me.

“Nope, not at all. But you know what I want. I want to see you wearing my ring and nothing else.”

“Oh really, because I was thinking we could hold off on the sex till after the wedding.” She grins.

I pull my phone out and start looking through my contacts.

“What are you doing?” she asks me, confused.

“Trying to find someone who can marry us tonight, because there is no way in fuck I’m waiting all that time.” I continue scrolling down. “You must have something white in your closet, right?”

The phone is ripped out of my hand. “Calm down there, big boy, I was just kidding.” She shrugs out of her jacket, throwing the scarf with it. “I don’t even know if I’m wearing matching panties.”

“Parker, I don’t give a shit what you have on. I want what’s under it.” I lean in to kiss her neck, nipping her earlobe next.

She stands up in front of me. Pulling off the white shirt she was wearing, she shows me that under that she is wearing a white bra that is half silk half lace with small flowers on them. The lace part shows me her nipples are ready. A white silk bow is tied in the middle. I go to reach for it, but she moves out of my way, kicking her boots off. Unsnapping the button on her jeans, I see the white under. The panties are the exact same lace as her bra, not keeping me from seeing her pussy. She shimmies out of her pants.

“Just the ring, right?” she asks, reaching behind her, and in one move her breasts are free, the cold air making her nipples pucker more.

“Just the ring,” I confirm, my cock trying to bust out of my pants like it’s the fucking Hulk.

She strips her panties down her legs, throwing them into the pile of discarded clothes.

“Is this what you wanted?” she asks, putting her left hand to her stomach, showing me the ring I just placed on it.

“Come here, babe.”

She walks to me, swaying her hips. I can already tell they will have my fingerprints by the end of the night.

“I love you,” she tells me while playing with my hair. I pull her down on her knees, pushing her till she is lying on her back.

“So fucking beautiful,” I say while I rip my sweater over my head.

Her eyes are starting to glaze over. She moves her left hand to her pussy right in front of me. She takes her ring finger and makes it disappear inside her. She moans softly when she takes it out and slowly starts to make circles with the same finger on her clit.

My eyes find the ring that is shining in the room, her pussy glimmering with her wetness.

Seeing her wearing my ring with the promises of what’s to come makes me lose my mind.

I grip her knees, pulling them back till she is fully open for me. Getting on my stomach, I reach out, dipping my tongue in her wet pussy. Tasting her. Teasing my tongue all the way up her slit to her clit, which she’s still rubbing. My tongue plays with her fingers, each one following the other, chasing. Two fingers enter her slowly, making her arch her back.

“More,” she says, trying to move her hips so she can fuck my fingers. And as much as I want to drag this out, I want inside her.

I finger her twice more before biting down on her clit, feeling it get hard, her pussy tightening around the three fingers I have in her. I added one more to make her fuller. Looking up, I see she’s watching me eat her pussy, watching me devour her. That is the last straw. I whip my fingers out of her and undo my pants. Pushing my pants down, my hips make my cock jump out, knowing exactly where he wants to be.

I jerk myself twice, watching her watch me.

“I don’t know how long I’m going to last,” I tell her. I swear with that ring on I feel like a fucking virgin.

“I just need you.”

And in one hard stroke, I’m balls deep in her. It’s like I’m coming home. It’s like it’s always led to this moment. Placing my hands by her head, she wraps her legs around me, the heels of her feet urging my ass to move. I look into her eyes once more while I slowly slide out of her to the tip and then shoot home again.

“I love you,” she tells me while she places both hands on my face, her thumbs rubbing my bottom lip. I’m slowly going in and out. Rotating every second thrust to give her clit the pressure I know she needs.

“Going to have babies with you.” I lower myself to kiss her while I make love to her.

“I want to have your babies. I want those blue eyes staring at me all my life.”

I think of the time when we will actually start trying to have babies. “I want to be with you forever.”

She matches my thrusts now.

“I want to wake up to you every day of my life.” I look into her eyes. My hips try to hammer away at her, but my head plays it slowly because I know I’m almost there.

“I want to love you forever. I want to be Mrs. Parker Stone. That’s my Christmas wish.” She rubs herself on me while I’m buried in her. “You made my wish come true. I promise to spend the rest of my life making all your wishes come true.”

Her pussy grips me, and I know she’s coming, her moaning also letting me know. I plant myself inside her and release within her. Her pussy continues to spasm around my cock, pulling everything from me. I roll to the side so I don’t squash her. I’m trying to get my breathing back to normal when I hear her screech next to me.

“Holy fuck, did we just get engaged?” She pulls her hand closer to her face.

“I think we did.” I laugh at her.

“I have to call the kids, I have to call Meghan. Oh my God, I have to tell everyone I know.”

“Babe, I’m not finished with you yet. You can call everyone tomorrow. Right now we have to celebrate, and I want to do it naked.” I pull out from her, then step out of my pants that were still around my ankles.

Picking her up, she wraps her legs around my waist.

“We should see how the ring looks in water. Shower, bath, or hot tub?”

“Last time we did that in the bath we almost flooded the kitchen,” she says, making me think back to the time she rode me so hard there was practically no water left in the tub with us. “I say we hit the hot tub. It’s a beautiful night.”

“Only going to get better,” I say, making our way outside where I plan to make love to her all night long.