Page 26 of Pounded in the Patch
PUMPKIN PATCH PROPOSAL
Seraphina
Awhite gold ring glints in the candlelight, and my entire world stops spinning.
A ring.
A fucking engagement ring hanging around his neck. How did I not notice?
I scramble off of him so fast I nearly fall off the bed, the crown tumbling from my head as I stare at him in shock. My legs are shaking, my heart hammering against my ribs.
Oh my god.
Oh myfuckinggod.
"Luke?" The name falls from my lips, and I’ve instantly broken out of character.
He grins as he sits up slowly, reaching for the chain around his neck, and when he pulls off the devil mask with his other hand, I see the face I've known for the past two years. The face I wakeup next to every morning. The face of the man I'm completely, utterly in love with.
Luke.
MyLuke.
I thought we were only here to roleplay my kidnapping and primal play fantasy.
Butthis…
This is…
"Luke, are you serious?" I gasp, pointing at the ring he's now holding as tears form in my eyes. "Is this real?"
His smile is soft and nervous, but he nods. "I’m serious."
"You did all of this to propose to me?" My voice is climbing toward hysteria. "Allof this? The entire pumpkin patch, the hunting, the stage, the crown—you did all of this because you want tomarryme?"
"Not just because I want to marry you," he says gently, sitting up and reaching for me. "Because I can't live without you. Because you're everything I've ever wanted and everything I never knew I needed."
I can't breathe.
I literally cannot breathe.
"Luke," I whisper, sinking down onto the silk beside him. "When we planned tonight, you never said anything about—I thought we were just acting out my fantasy. I had no idea you’ve been planning all of this."
"It was about roleplaying," he says, his eyes never leaving mine. "But it was also so much more than that. Sera, you told me about wanting to be chased through a pumpkin patch by someone who wanted you desperately enough to burn the world for you." His voice drops, becoming softer, more vulnerable. "So I became that person. I literally became someone who would move mountains to possess you. I want to burn the world for you, and then rebuild it exactly how you want it."
Move mountains.
He moved actual mountains. He rearranged a fucking forest to build this pumpkin patch for me.
"How long have you been planning this?" I’m still shocked, wide-eyed and stunned as I look around us. My heart won’t stop pounding.
"Fifteen months," he admits. "From the moment you told me about that book you read. From the moment I saw how your eyes lit up when you described being hunted and claimed."
Fifteen months. He's been planning this for fifteen months. And I had no idea. How clueless am I?
"You built me a pumpkin patch in the middle of a forest," I say, trying to hold back the tears. "You actually built me a pumpkin patch and had hundreds of pumpkins carved and got fog machines… You created an entire fantasy world because I mentioned liking a book."
"Because I love you," he says simply. "Because you deserve someone who will make your wildest dreams come true. Because you're worth every penny I spent, every hour I planned, every detail I obsessed over."
