Boy in Luv

by Jay Crownover

  I chuckled and flashed the card for the door over the sensor. “No, he’s coming to keep Grandma in check. She likes you, so she’s always nice. When you cross her…” I shook my head. “Why do you think I kept myself on the straight and narrow when I was growing up? She’s scary.”

  Langley rolled her eyes at me and moved into the room when I put a hand on her lower back. She started to ask me something, but her voice trailed off as we made our way deeper into the room. It was still as fancy and over the top as I remembered from our first time here, but now, the room was filled with those damn lilies Langley loved, and hundreds of balloons.

  She stumbled to a halt, head whipping around to look at me and then swinging back around to take in the silvery, shimmery balloons spelling out W-I-L-L Y-O-U M-A-R-R-Y M-E. There was even a massive, inflated ring balloon with a big ol’ balloon diamond on it. The whole setup was a little cheesy, but I knew it was all right up Langley’s alley. There was a hint of nostalgia and whimsy to the whole thing I figured she’d appreciate.

  Pulling out the ring, which had been burning a hole in my pocket for the better part of six months, I got on one knee and waited for her to turn and face me. When she did, her eyes were glassy with tears and her fingers were covering her mouth.

  “Iker?” She sounded breathless, and she even swayed on her feet slightly.

  “Will you marry me, Langley?” If she said yes, I’d tell her I already asked her old man for her hand. If she said yes, I would tell her this moment was the most important one in my life. If she said yes, I would promise her a lifetime of good memories so she always had enough to overshadow the bad.

  If she said yes…I would be the happiest man alive.

  “I know we’ve had our ups and downs.” The last year had been all about growing together and adapting to being two parts of a whole.

  I’d needed to work on asking for input instead of always moving forward full-steam ahead, like I’d always done. Langley needed to adjust to the fact she often had to share me with the army. Even though we lived together, she still ended up on her own a lot, which meant building a fulfilling and flourishing life outside of our relationship.

  We’d had a pregnancy scare a few months into our living together. The idea of having a baby with her wasn’t nearly as frightening as I thought it would be, but like everything else in our relationship, the timing wasn’t right. The incident brought us closer together and taught us how to communicate more clearly when important issues came up.

  Einstein got out one day, and Langley was devastated. Seeing her heart break for the dog she loved like a child, I knew I would always try my best to make sure she never hurt that way again. Luckily, the little mutt turned up at a neighbor’s house, unharmed, but the ordeal was a good reminder I needed to be careful with Langley’s heart because it was fragile and delicate.

  “But I wouldn’t trade a single good or bad moment. I love all the moments we get to spend together. I don’t think I was living my life for myself until I met you. You are the first, and last, woman I’ve ever wanted to keep. You are the only one I will ever ask to wait for me. I want to marry you, have kids with you, be with you. I want you, forever.” I held out the ring and watched as tears spilled over her long eyelashes.

  “I… Are you serious right now?!” She tossed back her head and started laughing. Tears and laughter at the same time. I knew she was going to be emotional, but not that she was going to glitch. “Of course I’ll marry you. I can’t wait to be your wife.”

  She held out her hand so I could slide the simple, solitaire diamond on her finger. Classy. Pretty. Understated. Flawless. The ring was all the things she was. It looked like it belonged on her hand. Once the bauble was in place, she let out a victory shriek and threw herself at me, taking me down to the ground since I was only balanced on one knee.

  “This is why your family is coming to Colorado, isn’t it? I knew there was no way you would invite them to that stupid birthday party. You didn’t even want to come.” She dropped tiny kisses all over my face, stopping to give me a real kiss when she got to my mouth. “I’m so happy right now. This proposal was perfect.”

  I wrapped my arms around her as we lay sprawled on the floor. The hem of her sundress rode up, and we had landed with all my favorite parts perfectly aligned. The proposal was almost perfect. There was still one thing I needed to do to set everything back to rights.

  “I want to take you to bed. I want to spend all day and all night making love to you, Langley. And then, when you wake up in the morning, I want you to know I’m still beside you. I’ll always be there, right next to you.” Sometimes I couldn’t be there physically, but I would be there in spirit, always. “This time, I’m staying. Wild horses couldn’t drag me away.” No, only the army could do that.

  She smiled down at me, reaching out a finger so she could trace the line of my eyebrows. “Sounds good.” She lowered her head and dropped a sweet little kiss on the end of my nose. “Let’s save the bed for later, though.”

  She put her hands on my shoulders and pushed herself up, so she was straddling my hips. Her hair fell in a shimmery gold wave around her shoulders, and her smile was bright enough to light up the darkest places inside of me. She watched me with mischievous eyes as she slowly slid the straps to her dress off her shoulders and down her arms. “I’m impatient. I can’t wait to make love to my fiancé.”

  Holy shit.

  I was someone’s fiancé.

  I was going to be someone’s husband.

  And chances were, I would eventually be someone’s father.

  Whose life was this? I’d gone from being chronically alone, to having so many important people filling up my days. I couldn’t remember the last time I was lonely, and that was such an amazing feeling.

  I let her tug my shirt up and over my head. I stayed mostly still as she wrestled with my belt buckle and the fastening of my jeans. I didn’t manage to remain compliant when the front of her dress dropped down and I caught a glimpse of her pert, pink nipples poking against the lace of her strapless bra. Muttering my approval of her quick hands and even faster tongue as she licked her way up my throat, I grabbed a handful of her dress and tugged the fabric upward until I could get my hands on her underwear. The lacy material matched her bra, because she always matched, and was super delicate. I knew from experience most of her undergarments tended to be expensive, but flimsy. All it took was a twist and swift jerk of the wrist to tear them off of her. I’d add this set to the running list of ones I needed to replace.

  Langley moaned and dragged her nails down my ribs. Goose bumps lifted across my skin, and my hips shifted under her weight when I felt her already-damp center press against the tight muscles of my lower abdomen. Her teeth locked down on the spot where my pulse started to hammer at the base of my throat, and her fingers skated across my abs and down the length of my happy trail until they wrapped around the base of my rigid cock.

  Langley’s teeth nipped at my earlobe and she giggled. The sound shot desire, hot and sharp, all the way through my body. She kissed her way across my jawline while her hands stayed busy stroking and sliding up the length of my now throbbing and aching cock. Her lips landed on mine, tongue immediately demanding entrance.

  While she was distracted, licking and nipping at my mouth, I got my hands on her breasts, fingers plucking at her nipples hidden behind the lace. The dual sensation of my hands and the intricate pattern of the lace must have been a sensation overload, because she immediately moaned into my mouth and started to shift and grind where she was sitting on top of me.

  Who knew getting engaged was such an aphrodisiac? Our sex life was never lacking, but there was something special about being with the person you officially belonged to, and the one whom officially belonged to you. Not the creepy, possessive way, but in the heart and soul kind of way. In the “your heart wasn’t whole without them” kind of way.

  It was hot. Both of us tangled together, half-dressed and impatient on the floor. I lik
ed the way she writhed on top of me, and she liked the way I rocked up against her silky, soft folds, dragging the tip of my eager dick through the moisture already dotting my skin and the inside of her thighs. This was going to be fast and messy.

  I couldn’t wait.

  She kissed me breathless, hands braced above my head as she rocked her hips to meet the slow press of my cock into her sweet opening. Her eyes glittered down at me, the love she felt clear as day.

  She sat up, her body sinking down fully on mine. We both gasped as pleasure sparked and swirled around us. The atmosphere got heady and sensual as she started to glide in a sexy rhythm, our bodies always seeming to be in sync. She moved her hands so they cupped her breasts. I watched with avid eyes as her fingers started to pluck and play with her nipples.

  So hot.

  And so was that velvety place between her legs where we were joined. She threw her head back and closed her eyes when I snaked a hand between us, blindly searching for the little bundle of nerves that was guaranteed to make her go crazy. Her eyes widened, her mouth opened, and her hands stilled where she was touching herself. She whispered my name and started to rotate her hips in erratic circles. The back of my knuckles brushed against my erection, dragging through the wetness coating the stiff flesh.

  It was a lot of sensation and a lot of emotion.

  It was so much goodness I would never understand how a guy like me deserved any of it.

  I would never get used to the fact that I got to touch Langley like this.

  I would never get tired of hearing the way she said my name, like she was asking for both forgiveness and punishment in the same breath.

  And I would never, ever forget the way she looked when she put my ring on, and then made love to me on the floor of the hotel room that held our best and worst memories.

  We hit our completion within moments of one another. She whispered that she loved me, and I told her she was my everything.

  That was it.

  She. Was. Everything.

  And I… Well, I was a boy in love.

  The End

  First and foremost, I want to thank Rebecca. Thanks for agreeing to write a book with me. For helping me push it at readers. For dealing with my bossy, nitpicky personality. (I’m that way always, but when I work… oof… I wouldn’t want to deal with me AT ALL… lol) Thanks for answering a million questions about military life in the middle of the night so Iker could be an authentic hero as possible. Thanks for being the best neighbor and friend a gal could ask for. You’re awesome… I mean it. One day you’ll believe me when I tell you that.

  I love my editor, Elaine York. I love how she makes each book I send her better, and forces me to think harder, longer, deeper about each story we work on together. She’s the best. She also makes the guts of my books really pretty, so she’s basically my secret weapon!

  Thank you to Jenn Wood~ for digging in and copyediting BIL! Sorry I’m the world’s worst at writing run-on sentences. I’d say it’s part of my charm, but really, I know it is just annoying...lol.

  Also thank you to Mayhem Cover Creations~ for making the outside of the book as beautiful as the inside.

  Shout out to my team, Mel and Stacey. Girls rule the world, and none of these words would be in your hands without these wonderful women I get to work with day-in and day out.

  Lastly, the biggest thanks go out to the readers who pre-ordered Last Letter and Justified so they could experience this co-writing journey with Rebecca and me in real time. Thank you for trusting us to give you a great story. Thank you for your support. Thank you for your excitement… thank you for reading! YOU ARE AMAZING!!!!

  Acknowledgements take two:

  First up, thank you to Jason for being the soldier I met in a bar nineteen years ago. You still get me, baby.

  Next and bigger thanks go to Jay, not just for the sheer amazingness of you writing this with me, but for suggesting it in the first place. For putting your name next to mine. For giving me a safe, quiet space whenever I need it. For answering every time I call, even though you hate the phone. For driving the minivan when needed and never forgetting a kid at cross-country practice while pulling off your best nanny impression. For showing up time and again and making me do the same. For being the wolf to my rabbit, and the tough love when I’ve had it with the universe. Secret’s out, lady. You’re a pineapple. Also, I’m not saying that I haven’t forgiven you for the Kpop docu-drama experience of 2018, but I am saying you may have forfeited all movie choices for the next five years.

  Thank you to my kids. I really appreciate the decreased time at the orthopedist, so let’s keep that up, shall we? In all honesty, you are the best of me and teach me far more than I could ever hope to teach you.

  Elaine, thank you for editing this for us and making sense out of our little co-written baby! Jenn, thank you for copyediting and not mocking me for my love affair with commas. LJ, I adore our cover, and every other one you’ve done for me! Shelby, thank you for chasing my squirrels. I promised you to keep them under control, but we both knew that would be a lie. Here’s to the military guys we love.

  To the readers, man, you guys ROCK for coming on this little trip with us. Thank you for preordering The Last Letter and Justified.

  Also, let’s be clear: Jay made me spell Luv that way. She also dresses my daughter in Kpop shirts, yeah… it’s easier if you just smile and nod. ;)

  MEET JAY CROWNOVER

  NEW YORK TIMES & USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHORJay Crownover is the international and multiple New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Marked Men series, The Saints of Denver series, The Point series, Breaking Point series, and the Getaway series. Her books can be found translated in many different languages all around the world. She is a tattooed, crazy-haired, Colorado native, who lives at the base of the Rockies with her awesome dogs. This is where she can frequently be found enjoying a cold beer and Taco Tuesdays. Jay is a self-declared music snob and outspoken book lover who is always looking for her next adventure, between the pages and on the road.

  This is the link to join my amazing fan group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/crownoverscrowd … I’m very active in the group, and it’s often the best place to find all the latest happenings including: release dates, cover reveals, early teasers, and giveaways!

  My website is: www.jaycrownover.com and there is a link on the site to reach me through email. I would also suggest signing up for my newsletter while you’re there! It’s monthly, contains a free book that is in progress so you’ll be the first to read it, and is full of mega giveaways and goodies. I’m also in these places:

  https://www.facebook.com/jay.crownover

  https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJayCrownover

  Follow me @jaycrownover on Twitter

  Follow me @jay.crownover on Instagram

  Follow me on Snapchat @jay crownover

  https://www.goodreads.com/Crownover

  http://www.donaghyliterary.com/jay-crownover.html

  MEET REBECCA YARROS

  Rebecca Yarros is a hopeless romantic and a lover of all things coffee and chocolate. She is the author of the award-winning Flight & Glory series and The Renegades. She loves military heroes, and has been blissfully married to her Apache pilot for seventeen years.

  When she’s not writing, she’s tying hockey skates for her four sons, sneaking in guitar time, or watching brat-pack movies with her two daughters. She lives in Colorado with her husband, their rambunctious gaggle of kids, and their menagerie of pets. Having adopted their youngest daughter from the foster system, Rebecca is a passionate advocate for children through her non-profit, One October.

  Join my reader group for exclusives, giveaways, the latest info, teasers, and shenanigans! https://www.facebook.com/groups/RebeccaYarrosFlygirls/

  Follow me on Facebook: www.facebook.com/rebeccaelizabethyarros

  Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RebeccaYarros

  Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagr
am.com/rebeccayarros/

  For deleted scenes, blogs about our insane little life, and my signing schedule, hop over to Rebeccayarros.com!