by Tonya Plank
“Rory.”
“What?”
“Don’t say that. Don’t talk about that.”
“Why?”
“Are you guys having a conversation?” the director asked. “Because I should have the sound on if you are.”
“No, no conversation at all,” Rory said. “We’re just…cuddling.”
“Because I’m thinking about it now and…it’s just not good,” I said to her under my breath, pushing my partial erection into her lower abdomen area. She almost laughed, but managed to restrain herself.
“With all these crazy cameras? What are you, a porn star?” she whispered.
The director continued to look at us quizzically.
“It’s just that I’m not feeling very well,” Rory said. “I’m really not. I think I need to finish for the night. Please?”
The crew took what seemed like an eternity to pack up and go.
The filming was generally fun, don’t get me wrong, and I couldn’t complain about how exciting our lives were now with all that was going on, but I was beginning to see how actors could get annoyed with the lack of privacy.
“Thank you!” I exclaimed, throwing my hands up in the air the second the door shut behind them.
“I know,” Rory echoed. “Not that I’m complaining about being a kind of celebrity or anything, at all. But I mean…”
“I simply need time alone with the woman I love.” I looked into her beautiful, ethereal eyes, full of wonder as ever. We penetrated each other with our pupils, just as we had the first time our gazes had connected. I could feel the muscles in the lower half of her body clenching. Along with mine.
I stood in the corner, near the doorway, holding a remote control. With one click, I dimmed the lights and played the music to which we’d first danced naked together, “Bésame Mucho.”
I held out my hand. She skipped toward me. I would have ordered her to do her sexy rumba walks but it would have taken far too much time. I took her hand and whisked her around so we were facing the floor-to-ceiling window. I stood behind her in shadow position, my arms wrapped around her, my lips to her creamy, rose-scented nape. We gazed out over the canyon. With the room so dim, you could see the lights from the houses below. This was my favorite time of day because of that view. It was simply breathtaking.
“Let’s see what you have really learned,” I whispered in her ear, sucking gently on her earlobe.
“I beg your pardon?” she said with a giggle.
I placed my hand before her eyes and softly closed her eyelids. “Keep them shut!” I commanded. Then, with lightning speed, I whisked her around again, to face me.
I knew it was dizzying. But in a good way. I made her want to fall into me, on purpose.
“Good,” I said. I gently placed my lips on her still-closed left eyelid. “I was expecting to have to get the blindfold.”
She began shaking, in a good way. I could feel her whole body tingling with wonder about what I was planning to do. “Sasha—” she started.
“Shhh, no words. Just follow. Just feel me.”
I led her into a series of underarm turns. They were slow and, in and of themselves, not very dizzying. But then I pulled her toward me. I pressed my lips ever so gently onto hers, then whisked her back out again into a step called a natural opening-out.
“Quit being a tease.” She giggled, her eyes still closed.
Now I pulled her in and turned her in the other direction, a bit more quickly. I could tell she was getting a little dizzy with her eyes closed. But now she deserved it for telling me not to be a tease. I turned her faster and faster, whipping her around me. She opened her mouth and began to speak, but before she could tell me to stop I took her down quickly into a deep dip, where she could relax for several beats and get her bearings. Amazingly, she still managed not to open her eyes. For that she deserved a reward.
I pulled her up toward me. She let herself fall into me, leaning all the way, letting me support her weight as I’d begged her to do during our first dance in my private ballroom. Her body weight issues were a thing of the past.
I wrapped my arms around her. We stood in a quiet, still embrace for a few beats before I placed her solidly on her feet, making sure she was upright and balanced before letting go.
She remained standing with her eyes still closed. I walked to the kitchen and very, very quietly, opened the top drawer, removing the box. I could tell she expected me to return to her. She waited. And waited. The music ended. She didn’t dare open her eyes. She had amazing self-control. I didn’t. I couldn’t wait any longer. I needed her answer. I walked up to her, standing inches before her.
And then I knelt.
“I have a prrrroposition for you.”
Her eyes bolting open, she looked down at me. I was kneeling before her, on one knee, the view of the canyon behind her, its lights producing a glow around her, making her look like she was encircled by a heavenly halo.
“Rory, you’ve completely changed my world. Life since I met you, life with you is just…filled with…crazy. But in good way. In wonderful way.”
Her eyes began to tear. Yes, I was getting caught up in emotion. To hell with perfect English.
“You are the only constant in this ever-changing landscape,” I continued, after a deep breath, making up for my grammatical flub. “You make me so happy. You make me sane.” My voice began to shake. “Who knows what the future will bring us. All these…TV shows and movies.” I shook my head and held out my hands. “I just know that whatever comes next, I want to share it with you. I want you always to be in my life.”
I pulled a small midnight blue velvet box from behind my bent knee and held it up to her.
“Oh my God, yes!” she cried out before even taking it.
“Ahhh…” The words I think you are supposed to open the box and I am supposed to ask first were what I’d intended to say, but instead I just said, “Yes!”
She grabbed the box and giggled as I scooped her up and twirled her around in the air. When I finally brought her down, she opened it. I so loved the ring, and knew she would too. Sadie’s nephew, the tattoo artist, had given me the name of a jewelry designer in West Hollywood. She was Russian and knew exactly what I wanted. The diamond in the middle was cut into the shape of a star, and it was flanked on the sides by two sapphires, close to the color of my eyes. Above and below the diamond were two radiant green stones. Those gems represented her eyes.
“Oh my gosh, I’ve never seen such gorgeous stones!”
“If you don’t like it, we can definitely exchange—”
“Shut up!” she screamed. “It couldn’t be more perfect and you know it!”
She was right. I did know it. “You told me you like sapphires. And the beautiful green, it is called Russian jade. It reminded me of your eyes.”
She teared up as she slid it on her finger. Where it fit perfectly, of course, since I’d measured her ring finger in her sleep.
She held her hand up. The ring glowed in the light of the canyon.
“I am glad you like it,” I said, hoisting her up.
She wrapped her legs around my waist. I circled us around for a few beats, then stopped, and in one motion, swung her back and flipped her sideways, so that she was now in a cradle position in my arms. I nudged her chin toward mine and kissed her softly but deeply.
Holding her in that position, I carried her up the winding staircase, down the hallway, and over the threshold into our paradise.
The End
Acknowledgments
Thank you to Julia Ganis, my eagle-eyed editor, Marisa-rose Shor, my fantastic cover designer who can do absolutely anything, publicist Liz Donatelli, my friend and fellow romance enthusiast, and all the wonderful people in the Los Angeles chapter of Romance Writers of America for their generous advice, encouragement and words of wisdom. Thank you to my parents for their never-ending support.
But mostly, thank you to you, dear reader. To an indie author, reader support is absolutel
y everything. There are so very many books out there and I am so beyond grateful that you chose to read mine. I would really appreciate it if you would leave a brief review on Goodreads or wherever you purchased this book. And I love to hear from readers. So please do connect with me at www.tonyaplank.com!
About the Author
After working for many years as an attorney in New York and Los Angeles, Tonya Plank returned to Southern Arizona, where she grew up. A former amateur ballroom dancer, she wrote the dance blog, “Swan Lake Samba Girl.” Her first novel, Swallow, won several awards, including gold medals in the Independent Publisher and the Living Now Book Awards, and was a finalist in ForeWord’s Book of the Year and the National Indie Excellence Awards.
When she’s not hard at work on her next dance romance, she enjoys taking road trips with her rescue dog, Sofia, devouring Mexican food and Cadillac margaritas, cuddling up with her cats and a good book, and watching dance performances of any kind.
To connect with her, please find her at www.tonyaplank.com where she tries to blog regularly, or visit her Facebook page. For information on her upcoming releases, sign up for her newsletter.
