Page 46 of Magnetic Temptations

For the next two hours, we ride through the back roads of the town. Mason’s voice comes over the airways of my helmet when he says, “Follow me, gorgeous.”

Waving to the others as they drift off in the other direction, I stay catty corner to Mason as I follow him. I don’t want to stick to his side since I have no clue where we’re going, but every time I tried to pull back he’d bark out the word no. So my positioning is my way of compromising. He can still see me but he’s able to lead the way.

When we pull into a clearing, my jaw drops with awe. The background setting is stunning as the sun shines off the foliage and field. My eyes are captured by a picnic set up that is sprawled out on a blanket beneath one of the larger trees. Its leaves are thick and large enough that they’ll keep the sun’s rays off of us and provide a little shelter so neither one of us ends up burnt.

As I dismount and remove my helmet, I glance over at Mason with tears in my eyes. A wobbly smile crosses my face when I realize what this romantic gesture means for the two of us. He picked a special day for me to ask a very important question. If the man who’s bent on his knee is any indication of what’s to come.

CHAPTER

TWENTY-SIX

MASON

I’m petrified, not that she’ll say no, I don’t think she will. I’m literally shaking in my boots because this is a commitment I want to make with her that’ll pave the way for the rest of our lives.

My biggest fear is that she won’t realize that she’s my number one priority and that nothing will ever come before her.

Not the club.

Not my brothers.

Not my parents.

She’s intimately knowledgeable with the inner workings of club life, but that doesn’t mean that if I have to rush from our bed without telling her where I’m going or letting her know how dangerous that errand may end up being that she won’t question my loyalty or her importance to me.

That’s what’s kept me from popping the question before now.

It feels like my thoughts are jumbled in a whirlwind of activity. I can’t get them straight in my head. Gunner talked me down, reminded me that as long as I show her every damn day that she’s my everything, when those times do arise where I can’t share club issues with her, she’ll understand. That statement may be true, but I’ve never had to divide or separate my loyalties before now and it has me anxious and unsure of how to act.

Before she dismounts, I grab the blue velvet box from the side pocket of my saddlebag while she’s distracted so she doesn’t see the logo emblazoned on the box. Standing behind her as she shakes out her hair, I drop to my knee and pop the lid so the diamond shines and sparkles from the sun’s beams.

As she twists around her hands go up to her mouth and tears shine in her eyes.

“Mason,” she whispers, her voice raspy.

“Charmane Hope Alvarez, once upon a time you literally helped save my life. You came in like a thunderstorm and struck me in the heart with your rod of light. Ever since then, the darkness that shrouded me in shadows has been bearable. Your zest for life is contagious and I can’t wait for the time to come that you and I can be together because you make me feel alive. You stole my heart and soul, beautiful. I never knew love like what I have for you existed and I want to spend the rest of my life giving you back what you’ve given to me. I love you, beauty. Will you marry me, love me, and spend the rest of your life with me?”

“Forever and always, yes. Yes, Mason, I’ll marry you, love you, and be by your side through thick and thin,” she answers, falling down to her knees before me. “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me, Mason. Thank you for loving me.”

Grabbing her left hand, I remove the ring from the box and slide it over her ring finger. It’s a perfect fit and for some reason, it doesn’t surprise me that Gunner knew the size of her finger.

“Gorgeous,” I murmur as she turns her hand this way and that, the sparkling diamond reflecting the sun.

“Oh, Mason, it’s stunning,” she replies, as she wraps her arms around me and kisses me.

If I were a more poetic man, I could write odes to the way her lips feel against mine, but I’m not. I’m just a rancher who rides and is prospecting for the very club her grandfather founded and her father now presides over. So, I return her attentions, falling back so she’s on top of me as we pledge ourselves to one another after my proposal.

One thing I can honestly say about my beauty is when I told her I wanted to wait to make love with her until after we’ve said our vows, she didn’t downplay it or try to convince me that it would be okay since we were going to be together. I realize it may be old-fashioned, but it’s one of the tenets from my church upbringing that I fully support.

While a past relationship means I won’t be coming to our marriage bed a virgin, doing that and remembering how empty I felt when we broke up cemented in my head why I was taught to wait. Because now there’s a small part of me that Mane will never have. But, she’s going to be my last, my forever, and at some point, if we’re fortunate enough, we’ll raise our kids in a hybrid blend I’m sure.

The funny thing is, I don’t look down on others for their choices. My brothers and I have had many conversations about this topic since I’m the oldest of us three. Both Mav and Myles have a more cavalier attitude about getting up close and personal with women than I have, but there are things they abide by when it pertains to their future. Myles said when he finally met the woman he planned to marry, he was burning his mattress and buying a whole new bedroom suite. Mav won’t allow anyone in his bed, he goes to their house. Because they both eventually want what our folks have as well.

Having to get to know her without tossing in sex has been a beautiful thing, and I know once we add physical intimacy into our lives, it’ll further cement our bond. Somehow, I got lucky as hell when she said yes she wanted a relationship with me, because in the past, waiting was a no-go with other women I had thought I might have a future with down the road.

I guess I can thank my parents, as well, because my mom may ‘rule the roost’ so to speak, but it’s done respectfully toward my dad. I’ve watched the two of them my whole life and seen how they’re almost in sync with each other, instinctively knowing without words what the other needs.

Some of that comes from the time when my dad served his country. They wrote many letters when he was overseas and got to know each other that way instead of hopping into bed with each other then hoping things would work out along the way.

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