Page 77 of Marked

Okay. Fuck. Here we go.

Reaching into my jacket pocket, I pulled out a small black box and dropped to one knee in front of my girl.

“Lanie.” I opened the box, revealing a two-carat, pear-shaped diamond ring.

“Holy shit.” She stared at me, not even paying attention to the bling in the box.

“We were always going to end up right here. Our fate was etched in stone the first time you threw sass at me. I should’ve known then you were going to be my center of gravity. You ground me even when you sprinkle bits of chaos into my controlled life. There’s no one I’d rather spend an eternity with.”Deep breath, Noah.“Alaina Lyn Biggs, will you do me the honor of being my wife?”

A single tear clung to her bottom lash, then fell down her cheek when she blinked. “You’re my reason for breathing, Noah. I wish we had more than this lifetime together, but I’d love nothing more than to be your wife.”

“Is that a yes, Darlin’?”

“That’s a hell yes, Cowboy.”

The restaurant erupted into cheers as I leaned in and took her mouth. Their sound was drowned out by the pounding of my heart.She said yes!Her taste exploded on my tongue as our kiss went deeper than was publicly appropriate, but I didn’t give a fuck. She was mine.

When the outside world began to filter back in, and the hoots and hollers of our friends became impossible to ignore, I gave her one last swirl of my tongue, then pulled back.

“Can I have my ring now?” Her smile stole my breath but her laugh gave it back.

Taking the ring out of the box, I slipped it on her finger. It fit perfectly, thanks to the little trick Keaton told me about withthe string around her finger while she slept. Worked like a charm.

“I can’t believe you hijacked my best friend’s baby shower with your proposal.” She tilted her head back to meet my eyes. “It’s beautiful, Noah.”

“You’re beautiful, Lanie.” Lowering my voice so no one else could hear, I said, “When we get home, I want you in our bed wearing only this ring.”

“Good girl.”

She was naked and spread-eagle in the middle of the bed, wrists and ankles secured loosely to the bedpost with silk rope. We hadn’t explored bondage more than the time I’d used her panties, but for what I had in mind, I needed complete control. Stripping off my clothes, I grabbed a champagne glass off the bedside table, taking care not to slosh it over the side as I knelt on the mattress beside her.

“We should celebrate our engagement, don’t you think?”

“I’m definitely on board with a celebration.” She licked her lips.

Tipping the glass back, I took a long sip, then pointed it in her direction. “Would you like some?”

“Yes, please.”

“So polite.”

She lifted her head off the pillow, then gasped when instead of pouring some into her mouth, I let the cool liquid drip against the heated skin of her breasts.

“Oops.”

I bent without spilling any more and licked across her chest from one pebbled nipple to the other. Moving backand forth between her breasts, I alternated between hard sucks and quick flicks of my tongue against her turgid peaks. Lanie arched her back, pushing her breasts farther into my mouth. My cock ached to fill her, but that had to wait a little longer. There was another part of her body I wanted to taste first.

“Do you want more, Little Lamb?”

“I want everything, Noah.”

“Good answer.” I winked.

With my hand on the back of her neck, I lifted her enough to take a sip. When I moved the glass away, I replaced it with my lips. The fruity notes of the champagne tasted better in a kiss than it did from the glass. I swore this would be the only way she’d get me to drink the stuff again. Scraping my teeth across her bottom lip, I sat back on my heels, then tipped the bubbly goodness directly over her pussy. She cried out when the chilled champagne hit her clit.

“Oh my God.”

Setting the glass back on the table, I moved to the end of the bed, then grinned as I crawled between her luscious thighs.

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