Love is a game two winners celebrate victoriously, an achievement so remarkable, the two are considered to be in a league of their own. First, the pair is chosen with delicacy. Minor bumps may occur along the traveled path, but the end justifies the means. Then handled with the upmost care, sprinkling tidbits of affection and respect around. Finally, the results will astound you—pure, unconditional love. Lukas and I have run the gambit and won the ultimate trophy.

I’m somewhere between twilight and consciousness, a warm body pressed against the length of me. Firm hands securing me into position, his partial leg hiked over my hip. One hand on my breast, the other lying at the juncture of my thighs. The low, steady sound of his breathing at the curve of my neck. I’m surrounded by him, a silky blanket protecting me from the outside world—Lukas.

He loves me.

I reverently trace the muscular forearm draped across me. Tears swell and a pain squeezes my heart at the thought of being deprived of him. I was willing to miss out on loving him, choosing to forfeit happiness based off a small child’s perspective and loneliness. The lengths he went to find me assure the little girl of the sacred bond in place. The one she coveted but held little hope of ever finding. The gentle giant to slay the dragons and rescue her from the solitary tower in the sky clouds above.

I shudder at the idea of missing my chance at happiness with Lukas. It’s true that your life flashes before you when facing a life-or-death situation. The moment I lifted the heel to defend myself, I realized if this was it and I died, I would die without really living. I had wasted the precious opportunity of life to love and be loved. My time syphoned through an hourglass over without grabbing the bull by the horns and facing my fears. We are not my parents.

He moves slightly, tightening his hold, and releases a low, husky groan. His hard cock nesting at the seam of my pussy.

“Go back to sleep,” he whispers in my hair.

“Sorry, Lukas. I didn’t mean to wake you. I imagine you’re tired and need your beauty sleep.”

“It’s an illusion. I’m not awake. I’m sleeping soundly with my woman safe in my arms. Sleep.” He yawns.

I chuckle and attempt to get up.

“Nah-ah. You’re not leaving my side for a very long time, so cease your squirming around and rest.” His grip tightens.

“I’m not sleepy. I’ll get up and watch some television while you snooze.”

“No way, José. Not letting you outta my arms. Deal with it.”

“Come on, Lukas. Pretty please. I will be in the next room.”

“Way too far. Nope.”

“It’s only twenty-five feet, if that. Geez.”

“Where you are is where I want you to be. Deal with it, princess.”

“You’re awfully demanding today.”

“It’s a gift.”

I jab him with my elbow, and he feigns a painful grunt.

“What time is it?” he asks.

“Almost noon. We missed breakfast.”

“That’s a shame.”

“I just can’t believe it’s really over.”

“Yeah. No more looking over your shoulder wondering who’s behind you or around the next corner. It’s finished. Mustaf and Malik are dead. Ka-boom. Blown to smithereens. Time to move on.”

“Too bad Calista and Cade made it. Ollie wasn’t exactly thrilled.”

“There’s always tomorrow. He knows the drill.”

“I understand. The last few months have changed so many things. My home. Car. My relationship with you. Nicholas needs me in the clinic, and I want to get back to work. My charity work is extremely important to me. I don’t even know the results from the gala. So many wounded men, women, and children benefit from the proceeds. I’m just not sure where to go from here.”

“That’s a no-brainer—we’re getting married.”

“Oh, really? Do I have any say in the matter?”

“Dress and place. That’s about all I’m willing to give.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“Why not?”

“I have always dreamed if I did get married, I would have a big church wedding, bridesmaids, groomsmen, that kind of stuff.”

He crawls down the bed and lands in front of me. His prosthesis on the floor. He stares at me with love blanketing his expression.

“I might look a little silly here on a knee and a nub with my arms stretched open wide, but I love you this big, princess.”

Silly man. He’s my world. “Okay, Lukas, I’ll bite. What are you doing down there?”

“Sage Blackwood, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

I stare in disbelief.

“Lukas, this isn’t some game, right? Our connection is real, tangible—deep in the marrow of my bones, I’m aware of your presence. Your desire for me, mine for you. We share an intense magnetic force pulling us together, but there’s more. You have the power to destroy me. Wreck me.” I wait for his response and attempt to swallow the lump in my throat. I’m putting myself on the line, and I urgently need his reassurance.

“Sage, there is more so much more. From the moment we met, we’ve been linked by an invisible chain, shackling us together. And no matter how much you attempted to deny me, running in the opposite direction, I was bound to you, running behind you in the same direction. When I faltered, you were there. Have faith in our love that it will see us through the rough patches.”

The caress of his lips on my mouth is gentle, so many unsaid words in the meaningful act.

“I’m so in love with you, Sage. Every succulent inch of you.”

“Please tell me this thing between us won’t change. We will always want each other and no one else. The fire burning in your eyes will burn for me. Promise me you’ll also be at my side when I fall asleep at night and we’ll never go to sleep angry. Promise me when I wake up in the morning, it’s your handsome smile I’ll be graced with. Promise me this feeling will never end. Promise me you’ll never let me go.”

“I promise you as long as my heart beats, it will only beat for you. I’ll do whatever it takes to make you happy, just to see you smile. I will honor your wishes and crave you until my last day on this earth, and then we’ll spend eternity together. Because I will always be where you are. We shine brightly together, like the moon and stars. I’ll be your beacon in the darkness in case you lose your way. You are the light in my world, the air that I breathe, the part of me that was missing for so long. You complete me, Sage. You make me a whole. We are our own universe in the cosmos.”

“I love you, Lukas Rogers. I really like the way that sounds.”

“It’s music to my ears, princess. I love you, Sage Blackwood. Rogers.”

“I like the sound of that. I love you so much more, Lukas.”

“You can try, Sage.”

“Love you to infinity and beyond, Hulk.”

“That’s a new one, close but no cigar, babe. I’ll call you and raise it to infinity times infinity.”

“That’s all you’ve got? Alrighty. I’ll take your infinity and add infinity times infinity squared, Lukas. Boom. Trump that, baby!”

“You’re not right, Sage.”

“About as crazy as you are on a Sunday morning.”

“God help us, she’s quoting Lionel Richie love songs. Somebody stop the press. The eagle has landed and she’s in my arms for good.”

“Ha! Laughter will never be an issue with us. You’ve got enough for the both of us in spades. Jolly Green, quit your goofing around. Come here and have your wicked way with me. Don’t make your fiancée beg for your sexy body.”

“I thought you’d never ask. I’ll make you happy, Sage. You won’t regret loving me. Every day for the rest of your life, I will worship you like the princess you are. You’re priceless.”

I’m humbled. I’m the gate keeper to Lukas’ heart.

He raises up and positions himself in between my knees.

“Lean back, soon-to-be wife, your man is ravenous, and you’re just what I’ve been craving,” he bosses.

Fuck me ten times sideways. The mere touch of his hand sends me into a frenzy, but his playful, high-handed words light me on fire. My dominant Lukas is in the room, and I’m more than ready to be a meal. I writhe in anticipation. Massive hands slide under my buttocks, drawing me closer to his sinfully talented mouth.

“Put your legs on my shoulders,” he hisses, staring down at my center. He wets his lips. “Look at that pretty pink pussy glistening. Begging for my attention. Tell me what you want, princess.”

I take in a ragged breath and let it out. “Kiss me, Lukas.”

He bows lower, spreads open my nether lips, and takes a long lick down the seam. He releases a low guttural sound of satisfaction as he latches onto the plump nub and sucks, making circular motions with his tongue. Blood pounds in my brain and my heart races from the intoxicating sensation Lukas creates. I release the bed sheets I’m gripping and tunnel my fingers along his scalp, directing him closer to my needy body. I arch my pelvic bone and search for the impending release of pleasure, getting lost in the onslaught of his touches.

Strong hands grip my inner thighs, widening them. One beefy forearm slides over my pelvis, halting the upward motion. His skillfully hot tongue devours me like a man savoring a juicy, ripe peach, sucking and chewing until all sense of reality is swept away and the only thing that exists is Lukas.

Heat coats the insides of my core, spreading out of control. My muscles tremble at his persistent nibbling. His tongue flicks and probes, lapping the moisture. Just when I believe my body has reached the maximum level of undeniable pleasure, it ignites and an explosion of cataclysmic power rips through me.

I’m free falling into oblivion. My over-sensitized form reeling, overloaded, short-circuited from the intense climax.

Floating slowly back to the land of the living, I become aware of his lips when they come in contact with an already marbled, hard nipple. His scorching-hot tongue washes the nipple, bringing me almost to the brink of insanity. He doesn’t miss a beat and directs the same amount of affection to the other one.

His hand sears a path down my abdomen; a blazing trail of fire-hot need pulses through me—consuming me. I adjust the position of my legs when his rock-hard body comes over me.

“Open for me, babe.”

He toys with the soft fullness of my bottom lip with that wicked tongue, seducing me one touch at a time. I open my mouth and seal it over his, reeling in the taste of me on him. He takes back control and deepens the kiss. Our tongues duel. Pent-up emotions from the rescue and the idea of losing what we share emerge with every stroke of our tongues. The gorgeous man is loving me with a ferocity of a ship being tossed on turbulent waves out in the vast blue ocean.

Softly, gently, he finds my entrance. The tip of his cock nudges me, requesting passage into heaven. I wrap my jelly-like legs around his torso, crossing my ankles securely across his muscular buttocks. Rocking his pelvis into between the seam of my nether lips, he lubricates his steel rod. Butterflies flitter in my belly, anticipating the moment when he enters and fills me. I desperately want to be one with him. To be joined until there’s no Lukas or Sage, only us. The ultimate connection between a man and a woman.

My heart feels like it’s going to explode with happiness when Lukas gazes at me with that goofy grin of his and slowly submerges into me. My muscles tighten, clamping down, not wanting to release him when he pulls halfway out and probes once more into my channel. Moving slowly, he retracts his hips and tenderly glides back, building his pace with each long, drawn-out stroke. Love and adoration for me shining in eyes.

“Princess, your pussy’s clamping down on me, drawing me into its silky, warm home. Undeniable pleasure so perfect I’m growing harder by the second. Each time I rock into you, you squeeze my dick so hard I don’t want to leave. Fuck. My balls ache begging to release inside you.”

Our gazes remain locked as he continues to thrust not at a fast speed, languishing in the intense feel of our connected bodies.

I skim my nails down the length of his bronzed stomach. His body becomes rigid and tense. His movement stops, and then he abruptly drives into me with a powerful thrust.

“Yes, Lukas!”

“Fuck, I can’t stop.”

His breathing transforms from slow and steady to fast and harsh, a hungry expression masking his face. Like the flood gates on a damn when opened, he drills into me over and over. Hardened muscles flex above me with each stroke of his glorious cock. I buck my hips, matching his pace. Both of us reaching for the culmination, the highest crest on a wave of pure bliss. His forearm lifts my thigh, opening me wider to his pummeling cock. Every wave of his body drilling deeper into me, permanently branding me his woman.

The bed moves with the motion of his stiff rod through the opening of my pussy, bumping my clit with every sway of his hips while his massive balls trail along, tagging my ass. The stimulation is overwhelming. The sensual massage sends currents of desire through me. His fingers tease and taunt a jeweled nipple, twirling and pinching, heightening my arousal to a fevered pitch.

Then he hits my sweet spot. I scream as pure rapture overtakes my body and my pussy clamps down onto him, tightening like a vise. He thrusts once more and releases warm semen into my clenching channel.

We are both surfing a wave of satisfaction and bliss. Hearts pounding. Breathless and sated, he collapses, twisting at the last minutes onto his side, pulling me along with him. We stay intimately joined, panting and catching our breathes.

“Unbelievable. Every time we make love, it’s like the first time.”

“I love you, Lukas.”

“Ditto, princess, love you the mostest on toastest.”

Jolly Green shattered doubts and my childhood falsities into a million fractured pieces with the touch of his heart. The future is unpredictable and uncertain. We aren’t promised today or even tomorrow. We have the moment to cherish and enjoy. He is the reason my heart is full.