Page 65 of Always Mine

“It’s loud all right.” She hooked her arm with his. He loved how she leaned into him. “So, what’s your favorite machine?”

“I can’t remember.”

“Come on.”

“I’ll know it when I see it.”

They wandered through the rows of machines and people concentrating on them. Then he spotted one. “I always liked the Quick Hits.”

“There’s two seats available.” She slid into one and said, “Hurry before someone else takes it.”

He sat beside her, content to just watch her.

Annie checked the bidding levels. “You can play five dollars a pop?”

“Yep.”

“What do you play?”

“Usually, I start out with a dollar, then go up depending on if I win.”

Annie put a bill in. “Yikes, a whole dollar.”

“You gotta take a chance, baby.”

She held his gaze. “Okay. I’ll jump right in.”

Annie won. And won. And won.

Diego lost his shirt.

They were laughing when they got back on the elevator. He took her hand and they rode up to the top floor in silence. In expectation. They hadn’t made love in all this time. They werestarting over. But she’d picked this place, so he was hopeful. And he came prepared.

Once inside, she threw herself at him. He picked her up and she wrapped her legs around him. “Make loud and messy love with me, Diego.”

He didn’t have to be asked twice. When they got to the bedroom, he let her down by the bed. Started to undress her. “No, take our own clothes off. It’s faster.”

When they were naked on the mattress, he touched her all over. Her nipples were hard, and she was already wet. At one point, she pushed him to the mattress and tortured him with kisses and little love bites everywhere.

“Lay on your side.” She did. He faced her. And held her gaze as he slid on a condom and slowly inched inside her. At one point she had to close her eyes. He smiled. Soon, though, his body took over. He drew back and thrust inside her. Once, twice, and that was enough. She exploded in pleasure. Soon, he did too.

Annie was breathless. “God, I thought the top of my head would come off.”

“I think I blacked out for a few seconds.”

They chuckled.

Annie cuddled into him and he wrapped his arms around her. He grazed his fingers down her bare arm. They stayed that way for a long time.

Then Diego drew back some, turned and reached over to the nightstand. When he turned back, he held a maroon square velvet box in his hand.

Her blue eyes widened. “Diego?”

He opened the box. Took out a ring. Her eyes filled when she saw it was the same one he’d proposed with all those years ago. She raised her eyes to his. “You kept it?”

“I wanted to throw it in the lake. I gave it to Sara to sell. She never did, even though she could have used the money. She told me about it after I was injured.”

“I love you so much.”