Page 5 of Paradise

Finally, the rain let up enough for another shuttle to reach them. No one said a word as the rescue crew hauled them up out of the bunker, other than to ask if they were okay and attach portable warmers to their clothes to start raising their body temperatures. LeeAnna fell asleep as soon as they were strapped in, but Garrett fought to keep himself awake. He couldn’t sleep yet; he still had to get home to his guys.

Martina was waiting for him back at the lab. “What happened to you?”

“Got stranded,” Garrett muttered, rubbing his hands together. The heater was good for his core temperature, but it kind of sucked with the extremities. “Lost the shuttle, lost the coms.”

“And the experiment?”

“Fuckthe experiment.”

Martina scowled. “That equipment is expensive, Garrett, and nature getting in the way is no reason to scrap months’ worth of work. Tell me you re-secured it before you took cover.”

“I re-secured it.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Don’t lie to me.”

“I’m not lying!” he exclaimed. “I’m too miserable to lie right now! I re-secured the damn equipment and uploaded the latest data to my pad before I scuttled into a hole in the ground like a fucking cockroach. Where I was cold and wet and stuck with a bitchy pilot and didn’t have my husband or my kid for comfort, so excuse me for being abrupt with my honesty!”

“Your husband?” Martina smiled slightly. It didn’t at all look like a natural expression on her. “Are you and Jonah planning on getting married?”

“We will be as soon as I ask him,” Garrett assured her. “Can I leave now?”

“Sure. I’ll even give you a lift.”

“What’s the catch?”

She sighed exasperatedly. “There isn’t always a catch when I offer to do something for someone. I’m just trying to make things convenient for you. And it will give me time to transfer the data to my own pad.”

Ten minutes later, Garrett let himself into their small, stone-sided home. He wasn’t expecting the light to be on in the living room, and he really wasn’t expecting both Jonah and Cody to be waiting up on the couch. Well, Jonah was waiting up. Codywas asleep, but seeing both of them together still sent a thrill of warmth up Garrett’s spine. “Hey.”

“There you are.” Jonah twisted as best he could and held a hand toward Garrett. He looked tired but so relieved. “Hey, darlin’.”

“Hey.” Garrett took off his heavy coat, worked his feet out of his boots, tripped over Cody’s backpack, then came over to the couch. He took Jonah’s hand and let himself get pulled down so he was sitting on the arm. Jonah lifted Garrett’s hand to his lips and pressed a tender kiss to his knuckles. It was ludicrously charming.

“You okay?”

“Yes.” Garrett nodded slowly. “I am. Just tired.”

“I bet. You wanna head up to bed? I’ll join you as soon as I put Cody back in his room.”

“I want to marry you.” The words just slipped out before he had a chance to censor them.

Jonah’s eyes went wide, and he shook his head slightly. “You must be real tired, darlin’,” he said in a joking tone, but—no. Garrett was serious even if this wasn’t the way he had meant to go about proposing.

“I am, but that’s not why I want to marry you. I’ve been thinking about it all day. I want this, this life with you and Cody. I want everything. I don’t want to leave, I don’t want that to even be an option. I want you to look at me and know that I really want to be with you. I want us to get married.” He grimaced. “And I wanted it to be all romantic, but that didn’t happen. Fuck. Can we start over?”

“This is plenty romantic,” Jonah breathed. His grip on Garrett’s hand got tighter. “No do-overs. But baby, are you sure? Marriage is a … it’s a big shift. I’d never make you do that.”

Garrett frowned. “See, that’s the problem. You think I have to force myself, but Iwantto do this. I want to marry you, I wantto be Cody’s real dad, I want … all of that. Public recognition, legal status, all the good stuff and all the shit that comes with it. You’re my … my everything. I want all of you.”

“You’re really sure?” Jonah’s eyes were darker than usual, and his lips were still open, parted just enough to tempt. Garrett wanted to fall against him and consume him, but Cody was there. “You want to marry me? Marry us? ’Cause it’s not just me, it’s both of us.”

“I love Cody, and I love you.” Garrett slid off the couch and down onto his knees so their heads were at the same level. “Marry me. We can symbolize it however you want. I’ll get you a ring, I’ll tattoo your name on my forehead, anything. Just say you’ll marry me.”

“Darlin’.” Jonah pulled Garrett closer and brushed a kiss against his mouth, just a brief caress, but it was electrifying. “There’s nothin’ I want more.”

Relief flooded Garrett’s chest, blended with a giddiness that was only partially due to his utter exhaustion. They kissed again, deeper, longer, and astonishingly, he felt his libido start to kick in despite his damp and horrible clothes and the awkward angle, and maybe, just maybe, they could—

“G’rett?”

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