HE POPPED THE question.
She said yes.
Please join us in celebrating . . .
A week.
There was one week left before the engagement party. I’d been so focused on Blake and me that I hadn’t begun to figure out how I would stop this party from happening. After this trip to the Hamptons, I would have to figure it out, but I was going to enjoy a few more blissfully unaware days before I allowed the shit to hit the fan. One more weekend and then I’d make Blake read the journal. Then . . .
Then I’d turn my sister’s world on end and possibly lose her for good.
The engagement of Abby and Damon.
I clenched my teeth and aimed my blow dryer at the card, reveling in the enjoyment of watching it skid from my counter and spiral to the floor. After I finished my hair, I walked into my bedroom in a red satin bra and matching underwear. Blake was asleep on my bed, his bare back rising and falling lazily, the mound of his ass tucked tightly beneath the towel that was still cinched around his waist. The curves of his spine sparkled with water droplets—the slow, even breaths entering and exiting his mouth on each puff of air, making them look as though they were dancing. I watched one drop topple from the hard peak of his muscle, down the side of his rib, and disappear into the mattress.
I couldn’t help myself. I crawled onto the bed on all fours, stopping to hover directly above him, taking in his beauty. The smooth color of his tanned skin, the deep dip down the entire middle of his muscled back. I was even in love with the way he bent his leg to the side any time he slept on his stomach. We had a long drive ahead of us, so I should have let him sleep . . . but I had droplets to taste.
My tongue scooped up the one directly above the towel on the left side. Drop by drop, I tasted Blake’s skin, swooping my tongue up along each muscle lining his back, over his shoulder blade, before sucking behind his neck. Little pebbles broke out, mingling with the drops, and I smiled as I made my way down the right side of his back, around his ribs, and right back to where I started, at the base of the towel. I dropped open-mouthed kisses along the perimeter—into the dip of his spine, around the side of his hip—when he finally trundled to his back, sending me between the V of his legs.
He smiled down at me. “Now there’s a wake-up.”
I smiled back, feeling drunk from his taste, my mind on one thing as he hardened under the soft bends of the towel. I dragged my nails up his thighs, earning a moan from him, the back of his head becoming lost in the pillows. Inch by inch, my hand disappeared under the cotton, Blake’s breaths seeming to deepen with each slide that brought me closer.
The hair turned fine, smooth to the touch on his upper thighs, letting me know I was getting warmer. Blake’s heavy breaths told me he was heating up as well. I licked my way along his lower abs, right above the tuck of the towel. My fingers roamed the tops of his legs, the curve of his hip, loving the quivers rippling over his stomach with each pass of a sensitive spot.
A hard twitch beneath the towel brought my attention to it. My fingers sought out the source, moving closer to the center. Blake’s moaning swallow let me know that’s where he needed me. I had the same reaction when I brushed the edges of the cotton aside, allowing it to drape along the outside of his legs, showcasing the hard throbbing flesh between it. I wrapped my greedy fist around it as a strangled groan found its way to Blake’s throat. The air hissed through his teeth as I stroked him, soft, gentle strides up and down, palming his head, back down to the base. The moisture that I’d collected on my palm quickly replaced itself at the head of his cock as his arousal heightened. My tongue darted to it, drawing more of his taste inside, his hips bucking at the contact. His fingers found their way to my hair, coming into the soft strands framing my face as his eyes sought out mine in a silent plea for what he wanted.
I allowed him to guide me, show me what he needed as I took him in my mouth. And I loved the strained, pleasure-filled look on his face, knowing I was the one putting it there. He closed his eyes, dropping his head back as he worked me over himself. His pecs bulged with the strain of reaching down to me, his abs tight and bunched while his cock grew even harder in my mouth.
Up and down.
In and out.
His fingers combed through my hair, caressed my face, and stroked the back of my head before locking at my nape. The urgency in his movements heightened, quickening. I rode his motions, letting him use me to bring himself down the other side. I loved that I was what sent the bucking waves of pleasure rocking through his quaking body.
A grin teased my mouth as I ran my tongue along the length of him, and he melted back into the mattress, releasing me. I lulled his dick from the high, kissing and lapping until I knew he was done, sated, and relaxed. Crawling up the length of him, I placed kisses along his happy trail, over his belly button, and the hard lines of his torso, to the valley of his chest before melting into his embrace. He used his thumb to stroke my back, my arms, a soft smile playing on his lips while his eyes remained closed.
“I love you, Blake Turner, if I didn’t already tell you today.”
“I love you, Evangelina Angel Ricci, if I didn’t tell you this hour.”
“I’m pretty sure you messed up my hair that I just spent almost an hour on,” I teased.
“No way.” His breath tickled my ear. “The I-just-swallowed-my-boyfriend’s-dick look is so much nicer on you. I did you a favor.”
I swatted at him. “Watch your mouth.”
A devilish grin broke out across Blake’s lips. “No, you watch my mouth.” He flipped me onto my back and began trailing kisses from my collarbone, down my center, headed toward my heaven. And I watched every last drop of those perfectly plump lips to my heated skin until his face disappeared between my legs.
“What should I wear?” I stood in front of my closet in only a bra and thong, swishing hangers back and forth.
“Nothing. It’ll make my job much easier later.”
I turned to find Blake with one arm propped under his head, still in his towel, staring at me.
I laughed, turning back to my chore. “Now that would make a good headline. Girl arrested for indecent exposure along the expressway.”
The bed creaked behind me, followed by some rustling noises, and I assumed Blake was finally up to getting dressed. “Whatever it is, just be sure it matches gold.” His breath in my ear startled me, and I jumped, banging off his chest.
“You’re never going to stop doing that, are you?” I palmed my heart and turned to face him. “Now, what are y—”
I choked on my words at the sight of my chain dangling from Blake’s long pointer finger. The chain Blake had given me for Christmas that I’d torn off my neck in haste the day I nearly killed myself. The chain that culminated all of the memories of our relationship. The chain that I had left for scrap as though it had meant nothing to me when, in fact, it meant the world. The chain with the hanging charms from scattered points that he had put so much thought into.
That chain.
Water filled my vision, blurring its beauty. “You fixed it,” I whispered.
“I fixed it,” Blake stated, tenderness melting on his tongue.
I threw my arms around his neck and squeezed. My tears rocking me against him. “Thank you.”
Blake kissed the top of my head and backed up slightly to clasp the chain around my neck as I swiped at my eyes, sniffling. “There we go.” He made one final adjustment to its placement. “You take that off again and you’re punished.”
I laughed through my tears, fingering my neckline, grateful to feel its return. “Never again.”
He placed his hand over my heart, the tips of his fingers resting on the necklace. “Mine.”
I covered his hand. “Yours.”