Page 73 of Shot For Mercy

“Prove it.” He grins.

“I will.” I wink. Sooner than he thinks.

I know we’ve only been together for about two months, but I don’t want to keep waiting.

We put the ornaments up together, stopping occasionally to kiss, and it’s more fun than I thought it would be. Mostly because of the look of concentration on his face when he’s trying to figure out where to put the next ornament. We put ours up front and center, and I just know my brothers are going to give me so much shit over this. But I don’t care. This is special to me. Cole is.

After we finish, Cole goes to the kitchen and makes us two mugs of hot chocolate from scratch. He’s going all out with Christmas music at low volume in the background, and he’s setting the mood more than he knows. I busy myself with lighting some candles, and when he hands me the mug of hot chocolate, I breathe in deeply to stave off my nerves. We take our time drinking it, and I can’t lie, it tastes amazing. I’ve never been one for Christmas cheer, but I’m a changed man, it seems.

We finish our drinks and I get a bottle of champagne and two flutes and take them over to the rug, setting them down. I’m just about to sit too when Cole shakes his head and stands up, holding something behind his back. I raise an eyebrow, and he looks down at the champagne.

“Special occasion?” he asks softly, and I nod with a smile. “Come here, baby.”

I close the distance between us, and he shows me what’s behind him—mistletoe. It has to be the funniest and cutest thing he’s ever done. I smirk, and he shakes his head.

“Better not laugh at me.” He grins, putting the mistletoe above our heads.

“Never,” I lie.

Instead of laughing, I lean in and kiss him, sucking his bottom lip into my mouth. The kiss turns heated, and soon enough I’m thrusting my tongue into his parted mouth. He meets me in the middle, stroking his with mine. But for the first time, maybe ever, he’s submissive. We’re not battling for dominance. He’s letting me have this one. I’m not sure how that makes me feel.

Cole lets the mistletoe fall to the rug, then cups my face with both hands and continues to kiss me. My cock hardens, and I grab onto his hips, but don’t act on it. We pull away to catch our breath, and when I drop down to one knee, Cole looks at me in confusion.

“Cole.” I breathe, pulling out the ring from my back pocket. “I’ve always known you were put in my path for a reason, but I never could’ve imagined why.You’remy reason. The reason I wake up in the mornings and get out of bed. The reason I keep going. You’ve shown me what it’s like to love someone and be loved right back. I never knew it could be like this—effortless, and yet not. All I know is that I’m never letting you go. You’re my oxygen, Cole, and without you, I’ll suffocate. I’m never giving you up,never.”

Cole’s eyes fill with tears, and he’s looking between me and the ring with parted lips.

“Will you marry me?” I ask him. “Will you be my husband and spend forever by my side?”

Cole drops to his knees in front of me. He looks at me with his wide blue eyes, and my stomach flutters. “Yes,” he whispers. “It’s us forever, Em.”

I grin, slipping the ring onto his finger and slamming my lips to his once more. It’s urgent, needy, and everything I knew it would be. I’m so glad I made this decision. So glad I took a chance on us.

Cole pushes me onto my back, unbuttoning my jeans and pulling them down my legs along with my boxer briefs, then shucks off his clothes. He straddles me and grabs our bare cocks, giving them one firm stroke, and I groan.

And that’s how we spend the rest of the night.

Making each other come over and over again.

It’s been a week since Cole and I got engaged, and I’ve never been this happy in my entire life. I guess being in love for the first time will do that to you. Living in our new home is going well. We’ve had all of our furniture delivered, and we’ve unpacked most of our boxes. We’re almost settled in, and everything feels right in my life right now.

Cole lights up the Christmas tree every single night as soon as it gets dark outside, and we watch a romantic comedy before bed without fail. I do it for him, because I think it’s cute, even if I’ve never been a huge fan of them. But the thing is, I’d do anything for him. I think I’ve already proven it, but I feel the need to continue proving myself every single day.

According to him, he still can’t believe I asked him to marry me. He had his doubts, I guess. I can’t blame him for it, considering the situation. Especially the issues with Matteo. But I didn’t take our relationship lightly, and when I promised him forever, I meant it. Asking him to be my husband felt right, no matter how soon it was. My brothers were all surprised. Well, everyone but Giovanni. He thought it was the funniest thing ever. Said I was dick-whipped and honestly I couldn’t even deny it.

The least I can do is make Cole happy, considering we both lost someone important to us because of our relationship. I never want to make him doubt if this was the right decision for him, so I’ll do everything in my power to make sure he feels cherished and loved every single day of our lives.

The only thing putting a damper on my day was Matteo reaching out to me to let me know he is interested in meeting Natasha. He said he wants to be the one to reach out to her, though, and I don’t know how to feel about that. I’m nervous, that much I do know. I don’t think she wants to hear from him, and he’s going to get hurt. But now I know nothing can happen to her, and I will protect her for him. Cole won’t be too happy, but he’ll understand. I think he’s already resigned himself to that reality.

Matteo is also coming to the company’s Christmas party tonight. Cole and I are already here, mingling, but my son is nowhere to be found so far. I don’t know why he’s coming anyway, don’t know how I managed to convince him. I won’t lie, I’m a little scared he’ll make a scene when he sees Cole’s ring, he’s not above doing that. That’s the last thing I need, though. I don’t want my employees to know my personal life or just how messy it is. Though I bet they’d eat that shit up.

Speaking of my employees, everyone is enjoying themselves. We throw this party every single year, and we go all out with the plated style catering and even a dance floor. It’s a formal event, black tie, and it never disappoints. This is the first year that Cole has come, and I’m excited to have him on my arm and introduce him as my fiancé.

I look around the room and take in the decorations, smiling to myself. Everything looks amazing. Long tables are lined up with about twenty guests each. Poinsettia garlands drape over the tables on top of the tablecloths, and they drag down to the floor. There are tapered candles setting the mood as well, and white peonies hanging from a chandelier above each table. Everything is breath-taking, and it makes me wonder what kind of wedding Cole wants.

Taking Cole out to the dance floor, we slow dance toYouMake it Easyby Jason Aldean. We look into each other’s eyes the entire time, tuning the rest of the world out, and I lean in and kiss him. It’s languid, unhurried. Our lips meet in a familiar dance, and he wraps his arms around my neck as he sucks on my bottom lip. We keep the tongue to a minimum considering where we are, but it doesn’t seem to bother him. I guess we can both be professional, about nine percent of the time.

We pull away from each other just to find Matteo staring at us, his eyes wide. I mutter a curse and turn to Cole, who’s looking right at his best friend, too. He moves as if he’s going to go talk to him, but I halt him with a hand on his arm. Announcing our engagement to him should be done by me. So I walk toward Matteo with purpose, and he narrows his eyes at me.

---