Page 37 of Spring Forward

Then I’m in his arms and our mouths fuse together. I barely register when he slides the ring on my finger, but the jewelrydoesn’t matter. Well, it doesn’t matter all that much, certainly not more than showing this amazing man just what he makes me feel and how important he is to me.

“I love you,” I whisper against his lips.

Our hands pull and tug and then our clothes are gone. When Noel lays me down, I have to look below me because I have no idea when he managed to lay a blanket down for us. I should have known he would though because he’s always taking care of me. Sometimes I don’t even realize what I need, but he does and he’s ready.

As he slides into me, he growls, “Soon, you’ll be my wife.”

“In my heart,” I gasp and move my hips to meet his thrusts, “I already am.”

And that’s all it takes for his control to snap. We spend the rest of the afternoon at the edge of the lake, our lake, finding joy in taking this next step forward together.

Always together.