by Dez Burke
“I’m so very proud of you,” I say. “You’ll make an incredible mentor. I think you’ve found your calling in life.”
“Maybe,” he agrees. “And I haven’t had a nightmare in a long time either. Now my dreams are mostly good. Do you know what I keep dreaming about the most?” He tugs my hair for me to look up at him.
“I can’t imagine.”
“Spending the night with you wrapped in my arms. Doing nothing but sleeping.” He laughs when he sees my doubtful expression. “That sounds crazy, right? Especially for a sex-crazed maniac like me. To know that you feel safe and secure enough to fall asleep in my arms without worrying about nightmares would mean everything.”
I raise my eyebrows at him. “I never really thought of the Steel Infidels as being cuddly teddy bears. Think of what it would do to your image if word got out.”
“It will have to stay our little secret,” he says with a wink. He leans down and picks up the picnic basket. Tilting his head toward the end of the dock, he says, “Let’s go sit down and talk. We have a lot of catching up to do.”
We walk hand-in-hand to the end of dock and sit down. Sadie comes over and drops down beside me, placing her head into my lap.
“She’s glad you’re back too,” Toby says. “The house has been too quiet with only the two of us lately. It’s funny how I thought it was fine the way it was before you came along. Then after you were gone, everything seemed empty and quiet.”
I lean my head against his wide shoulder and slide my arm under his. With my fingertips, I trace the lion tattoo on his arm. Every time I look at it, I see an intricate detail that I’ve missed before. “Being here with you now is paradise. Do we ever need to leave this spot?”
“Not if you don’t want to. We could always buy a houseboat and tie it up right here. I’m game if you are.” He picks up his fishing pole and grabs the end of the line. “Would you mind opening the tackle box for me, sweetheart? I need you to hand me something from there. The fish are biting today.”
I hide a smile. Even in the most intimate moments, Toby’s mind is never far from fishing. I lean over to pick up his big metal tackle box and sit it beside me. “This thing is heavy! What do you keep in here? Bricks? What do you need?” I ask. “Not that I know what any of this stuff is anyway.” I flip the latch and open the lid. It’s crammed full of assorted fishing gear.
A black velvet ring box is sitting right on top.
My heart skips a beat.
“Never mind,” he says with a sly grin. “I’ll get it myself.” He reaches over me and picks it up. “You might be wondering why I have this in my tackle box.”
I let out a shaky breath. “Yeah, actually I was wondering that.”
“From the beginning, I’ve always known that I wanted to propose to you here at the lake. What I didn’t know was when the time would be right. Or even if I would get the chance. So being the Boy Scout that I am, I believe in always being prepared.” He grins, and the lines around his eyes crinkle. “I’ve been carrying this ring around for weeks. Every night I take it out, shine it up, and think about how great our future can be.”
Tears spring into my eyes. All this time he was thinking of me and planning for us while I thought I’d lost him forever.
He takes my left hand in his. “I love you, Maggie. I never said it before because I was a coward and afraid. I want you in my life forever because I need you by my side. To encourage and believe in me. You make me want to be a better man.” He opens the box slowly and takes out a beautiful, sparkling silver ring with a solitaire diamond. “I’m not perfect. In fact, I’m seriously fucked up. We both know it, so no surprise there. I’m full of love though. I’m a big man with an even bigger heart.” He spreads his arms wide to show me. “And I’ll give you all that love inside me if you’ll be mine.”
Tears are sliding down my cheeks. I wipe them away with my hands. There’s no point in trying to stop them.
“Should we stand up to do this proposal properly?” he asks. “I don’t want to screw it up.”
“No,” I say, trying not to sniffle. The delicate ring is so tiny between his large fingers. I’m terrified he’s going to drop it into the water. Knowing Toby, he would dive headfirst down to the bottom of the lake after it. “Right here is just fine.”
Toby takes my smaller hand in his and slides the ring onto my finger.
“Will you marry me, Maggie?”
The most important question of my life, and I’m too choked up to answer. There’s a huge stinging ball of emotion in my throat, and I can’t speak. Toby is watching me carefully and thinking that I’m having second thoughts.
As if I would ever turn him down.
Never in a million years.
A dream man like Toby only comes along once in a lifetime, and only then if a woman is unbelievably lucky.
“Say yes,” he whispers softly in encouragement. He takes both my hands in his. “Say you’ll love me forever. Say you’ll be my wife. Say you’ll grow old with me and we’ll raise a whole houseful of rowdy kids together. Say we’ll sit on the front porch and watch our grandchildren play with puppies in the yard. Say we’ll be there for each other through all the good times and the bad. Say all these things and I’ll be the happiest man alive. Say that you love me, Maggie.”
“Yes!” I say through my tears. “I’ll marry you.” I reach over to cup his face in my hands. “I love you more than I would have ever thought possible. Knowing that I’ll be able to wake up next to your handsome face every morning for the rest of my life is all I want.”
Toby suddenly scrambles to his feet, cups his hands around his mouth, and yells across the empty lake to nobody. “She said yes!!!”
The sound echoes back to us, startling a flock of migrating geese that have landed on the water. They take off and fly mere feet over our heads.
Laughing, he pulls me up beside him and wraps his big, muscular arms around my waist. “Our life is going to be better than either of us could ever imagine. Thank you for coming here today to light a fire underneath me, and thank God we don’t have to waste another precious second being apart. I love you with all of my big heart, and I’ll tell you that every day of our lives.”
“I thought you were a show-not-tell kind of guy.”
“Now that I’m going to be a husband, I’ll work on being both.”
Leaning down, he presses his perfect lips against mine. I cling to him as the kiss grows fierce, desperately clutching onto his wide shoulders. After a moment, he reluctantly breaks the kiss and pulls his lips away.
“Did I mention how much I’ve missed you?” he murmurs against my ear before pressing warm kisses down my neck and shoulder, sending delicious shivers through my body.
“I don’t remember,” I fib. “Tell me again.”
“How about showing you,” he suggests with a wicked grin that makes my stomach do flip-flops.
“Here? On the dock?”
He wiggles his eyebrows at me in question.
“Are you serious? You are so bad! I’ve never made out in a public place.” I glance around the lake, checking to see if I can spot anyone who might be watching.
“Having a hot new wife would make a man want to have sex in all kinds of places. Don’t worry. I don’t think you could find a more secluded location for miles around. By any chance is there a blanket in the picnic basket you brought?” He points to the wicker picnic basket sitting beside his tackle box.
“A small, thin one,” I reply. “Not much bigger than a towel.”
“That works for me.”
He bends down to open the latch of the picnic basket and quickly checks out the contents. A big smile crosses his face when he realizes I went to the trouble of packing his favorites.
“Stella Artois beer?” he asks, holding up a bottle. “How did you know?”
“As a reporter, it’s my job to pay attention to details.”
He digs down farther and grabs the red-checkered blanket from the bottom of the basket.
Carefully, he spreads it out on the dock.
Sadie thinks the blanket is for her comfort and heads toward it to lie down. “Look. Sadie!” he calls out to distract her. “Go get that squirrel!” He points to the direction of the woods. She immediately takes off running and quickly disappears into the trees.
“There’s one problem solved,” he says. “Now we’re all alone.” He sits down on the blanket and takes up the entire space. “Why are you so far over there? Come closer, darling.” He pats the blanket.
I give him a suspicious look. “What do you have in mind? Just to be clear, I don’t want wood splinters in my ass.”
“As your future husband, I vow to spend my life keeping your luscious booty splinter-free. Trust me. Now quit fooling around and come on over here, woman. I’ve missed you. Let me show you how much.”
I slowly walk over to him and stop when his nose almost brushes my sundress. He reaches up with both hands to touch my thighs above my knees. Slowly he slides them up under my dress, with his eyes never leaving mine.
I grab onto his broad shoulders with both hands to steady myself.
“What are you doing?” I ask. “What if someone sees us?”
“They won’t, I promise you,” he reassures me. “I’ve never seen or heard another soul, and I’ve been coming here for years. It’s just us, so you can make as much noise as you want.”
“Why would I do that?”
“Because I’m going to make you cum so many times you’ll be begging me to stop,” he promises. “Turn around so I can unzip this pretty dress.”
I hesitate for only a split-second before turning around and flipping my hair over one shoulder so it won’t get caught in the zipper. He reaches up and tugs the zipper down, then slides the white cotton sundress off one shoulder and then the other before letting it drop in a pool at my feet. Placing his hands at my waist, he turns me back around to face him.
He’s watching me silently, his eyes going dark blue, almost black, with lust. His harsh intake of breath tells me how much he loves what he sees, his body stilling as he stares at me.
He doesn’t need to tell me what else to do.
I instinctively know what he wants.
I was made for this man.
49
Toby
I can’t decide whether to look or touch.
Or even where to begin.
Maggie is my fantasy girl, more lovelier and sexier than any calendar pinup or porn star. To be with her now is a gift that I will never take for granted.
Not for one single day.
Knowing how close I was to losing her forever scares the crap out of me.
The instant I heard her footsteps on the dock and turned around to see her coming my way, I knew in my heart things were going to be okay.
The last few weeks have been absolute hell.
The monsters trying to rip me apart inside didn’t want to let go without a knock-down, drag-out fight. Maggie will never know the depth of pain I had to crawl through on my hands and knees before I could rise again.
Through it all, I always had a plan and kept my eyes on the prize.
Maggie.
I might not have been able to see where I was at the time, but I could sure as hell see where I was going.
My life has been like driving through one of those long, pitch-black tunnels in the Smoky Mountains, with only a glimmer of sunlight at the end. As long as I kept my focus on that shining light, I could find my way out of the darkness.
Now my light is standing in front of me looking more desirable than I could ever imagine. The sight of her almost nude body makes my heart hammer wildly in my chest. As gorgeous as her body is, it’s nothing compared to the love I see shining in her eyes.
Maggie fills the holes in my damaged soul in a way only she can.
“Do you like what you see?” she asks in a low, sexy voice.
“I do because I love everything about you,” I reply. “Your taste, your smell, the way you tremble when I nibble your ear. I would’ve waited forever for you to come along.”
Smiling, she reaches around with both hands and undoes the clasp of her lacy bra. Slowly, she slides it off her arms and dangles it teasingly by one finger before letting it drop into my lap. Her firm, heavy breasts rise and fall with each shaky breath, swaying deliciously in front of my face. I can’t resist taking a hardened, rosy nipple into my mouth, tugging and sucking until I hear her gasp.
Leaning in, I bury my face in the thin fabric between her legs and inhale the sweet smell of her warm skin. My hands slide to cup her ass, pulling her closer still.
“I’ll spend a lifetime pleasing you and claiming you as mine,” I say. “Starting right now.”
I slip my fingers under the band of her panties and slowly peel them down over her hips and legs. She carefully steps out of them and I toss them aside.
“Spread your legs wider for me,” I murmur. “So I can taste you.”
She hesitates only a split second before willingly moving her feet farther apart to give me better access. I start at her knees and work my way up with my lips, rubbing my two-day-old beard stubble against her tender inner thighs. I close my eyes and linger, drinking in the essence of my girl.
“Oh god,” she moans and grips my hair tighter with both hands.
My hard cock throbs and strains against my jeans when I hear that sound. Her responsiveness to my touch turns me on as nothing else can. I want to drive her wild, to have her grinding uncontrollably into my face until I’m smothering and can’t breathe. To make her want me as much as I insanely crave her. As long as I live, Maggie will never have reason to doubt my love for her again.
When I move my lips to the juncture between her legs, Maggie spreads them farther apart and I drive deep with my tongue. The taste of her makes my brain explode. Her inner thighs start to tremble and I move up slightly to lick her clit.
She’s on fire, wet and melting onto my eager tongue.
She bucks against my face and I grip her ass, holding her tight, forcing her to accept the relentless assault of my mouth.
I can never get enough of this woman. I’m insatiable where Maggie is concerned. If this means I’m an addict, then I never want to be cured.
When I hear her whimper and tense up, I glance at her face. She’s watching me with her luscious lips parted and her glazed eyes half-closed. I blink twice to clear the fog of desire from my brain and concentrate on her clit, flicking my tongue faster.
“Oh…Toby!” she cries out.
She tugs harder on my hair, grinding her body against my mouth as she cums in a series of spasms.
Fucking hell!
How I love the feeling of her orgasm around my tongue.
Nothing can beat it.
The absolute best sensation in the world.
She moans and closes her eyes until the last tremor passes. I support her with my arms so she won’t collapse, then lie back on the blanket and pull her onto my chest.
After a minute, her breathing slows. She raises her head and places her hands on either side of my head.
“Now it’s your turn, big fella,” she says, licking her lips.
Oh fuck!
I’ve been dying to feel her hands on me. She flattens her palms on my chest and moves from my pecs to my abs, lovingly touching every muscle. My cock throbs painfully.
“One day, will you tell me what all of your tattoos mean?” she asks, leaning down to trace the lines with her tongue.
“I’ll tell you anything you want to know. All you have to do is ask.”
When her hands reach my waist, she slides her fingers just inside my jeans, teasing and tormenting. My stomach muscles clench when her fingers graze the tip of my cock.
“Touch me and you’ll feel how much I want you,” I urge. “I need your hands on me everywhere because I swear it’s been forever.”
Moving downward, she unbuckles my belt and then lowers my zipper, freeing my hard cock. I close my eyes and suck in a deep breath.
She circles it firmly with her hand and strokes the full length all the way down to the base and back up. I groan loudly, straining into her hand.
“Why are you the only one still wearing clothes?” she asks with a breathless laugh. “I want to feel your bare skin against mine.” Quickly she tugs off my jeans and boots and then straddles me.
Growing bolder, she wraps her hand around me again. I place my hand over hers, guiding her, as she strokes up and down. She looks up at me to make sure I’m watching her before licking her lips slowly and lowering her mouth to the tip.
I swear loudly and grab her head before it goes any further. “As much as I would love your mouth on me,” I say regretfully. “I want to be deep inside you more. And once you start sliding my dick in your mouth, there won’t be any stopping.”
Moving my hands down to her waist, I raise her up so that she’s positioned right above my cock. She reaches down and guides the tip into her, sliding all the way down to my balls in one, long smooth motion until I’m completely buried inside her.
I’ve suddenly forgotten how to breathe. I can’t take my eyes off her naked beauty or where our bodies are joined. Neither one of us wants to make a move. I reach up to slide a hand from her cheek, down her neck, and over her heavy breast. My thumb teases the nipple and she arches her back into me.
“Fuck,” I mutter when she braces her hands on my chest and begins to move slowly, riding me. I take a deep breath and steel myself not to rush her, to let her move at her pace, when all I want to do is drive up into her, over and over in a mad frenzy. She rises and sinks down, again and again, driving me to insanity.
“I can’t hold out much longer,” I warn. “You feel so fucking tight and amazing.”
It’s sweet agony trying not to completely lose control. I want to make it last forever even when I know it’s an impossible task. Especially when holding out another three seconds seems just as unlikely.
