Epilogue
Sadie
Seven months later…
The rush of waterfalls. The warmth of August sunshine on my skin. The aroma of coconut sunscreen in the air.
And Ashton half-naked at my side, the cut of his abs a temptation to my tongue as his swim trunks ride low enough to hint at…other things I’d like to lick.
Life doesn’t get much better than this.
We hiked halfway up the mountainside so we’d have a modicum of privacy from the people scattered in the area. Like us, they’re in search of a good swimming hole and some fun in the sun.
Only our idea of fun in the sun is a bit more…risqué.
Which is why it’s a good thing most people don’t venture up here, put off by the steep climb and small space.
But it’s perfect for Ashton and me.
We’re sprawled on a blanket to the side of the falls, and hidden behind that cascading wall of water is a cozy swimming hole fed by the falls as they spill over the hillside.
“Move in with me,” he says, pointer finger doodling sweet-nothings across my mid-drift. The thong of the bikini he bought me last week is riding up my ass—as I’m sure he intended. He removed the top with his teeth shortly after we got here.
“After I finish school.” I’ve told him this a thousand times, but he brings it up at least once a week.
He nuzzles the valley between my bare breasts. “I want to wake up every morning next to you.”
“Wouldn’t it be nice to wake up next to a girl with a degree in criminal justice?”
He levels me with his ice-blue eyes. “Do you know of any? The left side of my bed is in the market for a sexy chick.”
I smack him on the shoulder. “The left side of your bed better stay empty until I’m ready to fill it.”
“So,” he murmurs, pushing to his knees. He crouches over me, hands planted on either side of my head. “What should I do in the meantime?”
“Deal with it?” I raise my brows, but when his tongue darts out to wet his lower lip, my gaze is dragged to his mouth. Damn him. He’s an expert at distraction.
He lowers his lips to mine and coaxes me into a long, deep kiss. I still can’t believe I waited so long to taste his mouth in the first place, and even longer to learn what it means to be loved by him in every sense of the word.
“I’ve got something to ask you, Sawyer.”
“My answer isn’t going to change.”
“That’s okay. This is a different question.”
“Oh, well in that case, fire away.” My tone is light, but the seriousness of his gaze makes my heart skip a beat.
Or several.
“Marry me.”
I gape at him, thought processes slamming into a wall. “That’s…that doesn’t sound like a question.”
“It doesn’t?”
“No,” I breathe.
“Okay.” He lowers his forehead to mine. “Then it’s a plea. Marry me.”
“But…I mean…but I’m not even ready to move in with you yet!” Shoving against his chest, I force him back until we’re both sitting. “How the hell can you jump from moving in together to marriage?”
Mischief teases the edges of his mouth. “I figure if I go for the big guns, you’ll change your mind about other things.”
“So you’re trying to manipulate me?”
“No, Sawyer. I’m trying to love you until the day I die. Is that so horrible?”
God, he knows how to turn me to mush.
“It’s not horrible,” I whisper. “It’s sweet and sexy and completely unfair because you know I can’t resist you when you say things like that.”
“Then don’t resist. Say you’ll marry me so I can put this ring”—he rifles through the pack of supplies we brought with us and pulls out a jewelry box—“on your finger.”
I’m gaping at him again. “Ashton…”
“I can’t give you expensive houses or cars, or huge diamonds, but I can give you everything that I am.” His blue eyes darken with sly satisfaction. “And intense orgasms. I can give you those.”
I burst out laughing. Only Ashton would include orgasms in a marriage proposal. “It’s a big step.”
“No bigger than the steps we’ve already taken. You can move in with me when you’re ready. We’ll get married when you’re ready. But let’s make it official. Say you’ll be mine.”
“I’m yours.” I don’t even have to think about it. The vow slips off my lips as if they were designed to say such an oath to him.
“Is that a yes?”
“It’s a yes…someday.”
“I’ll take it.” I’ve never seen his smile so bright as he slips a solitaire diamond ring onto my finger. It’s not overwhelming in size, but it sparkles with more brilliance than any piece of jewelry I’ve laid eyes on.
It’s perfect.
“But this doesn’t mean I’m moving in with you yet.”
“Of course not,” he says with a smirk. “After all, you’re the girl that brought me to my knees long before you’d let me kiss you.”
“I believe I was the one on my knees.”
He presses his mouth to mine, and I feel his lips curving into a smile. “You’re damn good at it too.”
“I had an excellent teacher.”
“Did you, now?”
“Oh, yeah. Sexy, on the cocky side, loves to get good head. You might know him.”
“I might. This teacher you speak of. Does he enjoy pushing past boundaries?”
Shit, I know that tone. “He likes to think he’s in charge.”
Ashton lifts a brow. “He thinks he’s in charge?”
“I wouldn’t want to deflate his ego, so it’s our secret.” Before he can issue payback, I scoot out of reach and slip into the pool of water behind the falls.
He’s quick to follow, and I sense him at my back, heat wafting off his skin as he stalks me through the water. I reach the other side, the falls spilling over my right shoulder, and that’s when he makes his move. He bends me over the smooth rocky ledge, adjusts his swim trunks, and plunges inside me.
One hand tangles in my wet locks, and he pulls until my scalp tingles, and I can’t move my head. I’m completely at his mercy, clawing at the stone beneath me as I stand on tiptoes for leverage.
“Baby,” he groans, yanking even harder on my hair. “Say it. I want to hear you say it.”
“Say what?” I squeal the question.
He thrusts upward, plundering so deep that it ignites the best kind of ache low in my belly. I can’t breathe. I can’t do anything but let him fuck me from behind as I cry out with each forceful thrust of his cock.
It’s primal and animalistic and enough to hurtle me into orgasmic heaven.
“Yes! Oh fuck yes! Yes!”
“That’s the answer I want.” He jerks to a stop with a shudder, and then he’s biting into my shoulder to smother his moans as he empties himself into me. The roar of the falls lulls us into serenity, giving our breathing time to even out. Several minutes later, he whirls me to face him.
“So I guess this means we are moving in together.”
My eyes go wide. “Getting ahead of yourself there, aren’t you?”
“No take-backs. You just screamed ‘yes’ to high heaven. More than once.”
“Clever, Ash. Real clever.”
“I have a degree in clever. When should I move your things?”
“How about when you catch me?” I sink beneath the surface and kick off the rocks, shooting across the small swimming hole, but he’s got his fist around my ankle before I reach the other side. I don’t know why I’m surprised.
When it comes to getting what he wants, Ashton has had me in his clutches from the moment I met him on the playground when we were kids, and he turned those beautiful blue eyes on me.
There are far worse destinies than loving Ashton Levine.