Page 102 of Savagely Yours
“I’m sure he knows,” she quipped.
I pulled her closer. “Please don’t look at me like that.”
“Like what? Like I don’t want you to go? I mean, I don’t, but that doesn’t mean we won’t do what we have to.”
“But you have those eyes. They make me fucking weak.”
“My regular eyes make you weak?”
“You see regular. I see the future.” I kissed her knuckles. “One second. I have something for you.”
I went to one of the high kitchen cabinets, reached to the back, and pulled out a mug with a chipped rim. After dumping out its contents, I returned to take her hand, nudged her onto the bed, and sat beside her.
“First of all, I want to make myself clear.” I turned my palm upward. “I’m not asking you to marry me. I’m asking you to be my wife. There’s no Justice of the Peace. There are no wedding registries or certificates. There’s no reason to have a long engagement, like we have to send out invitations and book event halls. You know what you mean to me, and I know what I mean to you.”
I’d spent weeks sifting through the stashes from supply runs to find the perfect ring. The overall plan was to sell any jewelry the runners found in the Eden’s Square jewelry boutique as a way to get people to consistently spend their credits. However, considering I’d known for a while that I didn’t want to stay at Totten, I took what I needed.
My ring was a titanium band that looked as if it had been crafted from stardust and meteorite. Larke’s looked like something out of a fairy tale, with a platinum band that twisted like vines ending in a diamond that was just the right size for her finger, in my opinion. They weren’t a matching set, but I preferred it that way. The rings mirrored our circumstances.
“I tied a string around your finger when you were sleeping. It should fit…if you’d like to wear it.”
“Dez…” She met my eyes. “Why are you doing this now? Is it because it’s the right time? Or do you want to make sure you ask, just in case you don’t make it?”
“A bit of both. But honestly, I’ve asked you like two or three times now. You keep saying no.”
“I’ve never said no.”
“You’ve never said yes, either.” I took her hand. “Tapley, we’re going to make it. We’re going to make it together and out of Totten. All this means is that I’m with you. That I love you. I’m with you forever, and I’m not too proud to beg. Please, Tapley. Please be my wife. Please. Pl?—”
“Give me your ring,” she said, laughing.
I handed it over.
She took my hand and slid the ring to my knuckle. “With this ring, I thee wed.”
I took her hand and internally cheered when the ring perfectly circled her finger. “With this ring, I thee wed,” I echoed.
I slid the ring the rest of the way.
She did the same with mine.
Then, she scrunched her nose. “That was cheesy.”
“And you loved it.”
“Yeah.” She shrugged. “I really did.”
I watched her as she examined the ring, a tiny smile on her face.
“Do you like it?” I asked.
She nodded. “I love it. It’s beautiful. It’s perfect. What’d I tell you? You’re amazing. Only you would be able to pull off something like this right now.”
“I do what I can.”
Her grin grew.
Her smile made me smile.
