We landed beside the others, and she kissed my cheek, her nose pressed against me afterward and I felt her smile. Her arms remained around my shoulders while I gripped her waist, stroking her firm sides and breathing her in.
"Auntie Lolo," Elara called Harlow and we turned to see her pointing at the sky. "Meaters!"
"Meteors, yes." Harlow grinned, releasing me to lean down and smooch Elara's hand. "They're beautiful, aren't they?"
"Yes." Elara looked from the sky to Harlow, her adorable, excited smile lit up her whole face. "Like Auntie Vey's eyes."
Harlow gulped as a swell of emotions seemed to catch her. "Just like Veyda's eyes."
I smiled and glanced to Nalea. She tossed me a wink and nodded toward the sky. Audra grinned and hid her face in Ezra's mess of curls. I drew in a deep breath then gave Harlow's shoulder a squeeze while she and Elara stared in the same direction. She looked up at me, her brow furrowed as she stood.
I held my arms to her again, and she moved into them fluidly.
"What's the matter, baby?" she asked, her lips against mine.
"Well…" I swept her off her feet, my hand behind her knees in my favorite way. "How about we get a closer look at the stars?"
Her brows flicked upward, and she wrapped her arms around my shoulders. She gnawed her bottom lip and a small giggle escaped her. "I'd go anywhere with you."
"Right back at you." I kissed her sweetly as I walked off the edge of the roof, catching the sway of the constant breeze flowing across the rooftops.
Elara clapped as Nalea pulled her into her lap. All four of them waved at us as I soared upward with Harlow in my arms. She crossed her ankles as casually as if we sat together on the living room sofa. Her hair whipped wildly off her face as I angled us toward the skyline of the city in the distance.
"Where are we going, love?" she asked, gasping when I hit break-neck speed. "Veyda!" Her laughter rang out over the rooftops, and she tossed her head back. "Don't hit any drones. Or birds!"
I laughed hard as I cradled her to me, urging us higher to accommodate the taller buildings as we approached them. The Great Wheel shone brightly in the mix of angular buildings, and I turned us in the direction of our destination.
"No bird splatter, baby. I promise." I grinned as I hovered above the edge of the Space Needle a few moments later before landing in the perfect blind spot as always.
No masks covered my face now, and I set her down after my feet firmly planted on the edge. She held tightly to me, her arms around my middle and gripping my belt with one fist. We looked up together, at the glowing rings of Saturn and the tighter weave of the planets to Earth than they used to be hundreds of years ago. Meteors coated the sky with sparks of white, yellow, and blue as the atmosphere burned them up, protecting us from their impact as always.
"Imagine how many wishes people are making right now around the world?" said Harlow, her gaze turned upward, but I wasn't watching the stars. Her eyes lit up with each passing meteor, and I couldn't help but watch the reflection in her moody grays.
My heart slammed in my chest as my nerves got the better of me. When I couldn't find words to make it to my lips, Harlow turned her attention to me, her brow wrinkled with concern.
"What's wrong, honey?"
"Um…" I gulped, swallowing the lump in my throat as my stomach churned. "There's something I need to say to you."
"Okay. Anything." She released her grip on my belt to stroke my face, then tucked my hair behind my ears a few times. Her hands came to rest on my chest after she adjusted the corners of my bowtie. "Tell me…"
I drew in a slow breath while holding her around the middle, the heat of her pressed against me in the cooler air that rushed around us. I searched her expression, my gaze landing on hers when I managed to calm myself.
"Do you remember the first time I brought you up here?" I asked, watching as she tilted her head.
"I do." A chuckle accompanied her smile. "Very much so. I remember it all the time…"
"Remember when Nalea and Audra teased us about our ship name?" I stroked her cheek then, smiling at the silly memories as they pieced together the way I hoped to deliver my words.
"Veylow." She chuckled, nodding. "And they're still Naedra."
"Yes." I smiled and thumbed her chin. "And how they always said Veylow Endgame, hoping we would get together and stay together?"
"They were right about that." She nodded again while nibbling her bottom lip. "We are endgame."
"We are. And I would like to make that a formal, proper endgame." I reached into the small pocket of my jeans and looped my index finger around the ring I'd hidden there this morning.
Harlow's brow furrowed with my declaration, but before she could open her mouth to say anything, I held the ring between us. The shiny double-halo of diamonds sparkled under the shimmering sky, giving it a silver hue. Light from the full moon hit the center of the largest diamond, setting off flickers of iridescent rainbow whenever I moved the ring. Harlow's eyes widened as she stared at it, and tears immediately poured down her cheeks.
I fell to one knee in front of her, keeping a tight hold on her hand. "Museum Curator Harlow, will you be endgame with me?"
"Yes." She laughed hard as she covered her mouth, emotions overwhelming both of us. "Yes, History Professor Veyda. I will."
I laughed through my tears and slipped the ring on her trembling finger. She looked down at it before leaping into my arms when I stood up to catch her. I spun her in a circle when she lifted her feet, and she cupped the back of my head when I buried my face in her hair. Both of us giggled through our tears until we came to a halt again.
I cupped her face in my palms, and she caught me in a heavy kiss that lifted me to my toes. Our bodies collided in an overheated tangle six-hundred feet above the ground.
"All my life," she began when we parted, gulping down the crackle in her voice. "All my life I searched for love. Yearned for someone to love and the moment I met you, Veyda, I never looked again. I knew I'd found you. I just knew."
"I waited a long time for you." I sniffled and brushed my thumb over her bottom lip. "My whole life."
"And we'll have each other for the rest of it," she said, leaning in to kiss me again. "Veylow endgame?"
"Veylow endgame." I grinned and yanked her into a firm embrace.
"I love you so much, Veyda." She squeezed me tight, her whole body wrapping around mine when I lifted her again. "So much."
"I love you, too. And I am so happy that you will have me as your wife." I walked off the edge with her in the way that always made her gasp, before rocketing us off over the city lights.
"We're both lucky," she whispered against my ear. "I'm so glad you broke into my museum."
"I'm so glad you got mad at me for doing that. How did we get so lucky?"
"Hmm. Let's do it again together." She grinned and nibbled my ear. "Right now."
"You are my favorite insatiable jawbreaker. Did you know that?" A shiver ran up my spine as I flew us off in the direction of the museum.
"Mhmm. I do." I felt her smile against my cheek when she said it, then repeated, "I do."
THE END
Titles by Max Ellendale
Four Point Trilogy
Four Point
Point Two
Mirror
Four Point Universe Romance Series
Anita
Wildrose
Rabbit
Mermaid
Hart & Stocker
Entanglement
Nocere
Moonflower
Relevé
Borrowed
Mercy
Solanum
Maverick
Jawbreaker
Infinitum
Lesbian Romance
Skyclad
Midsummer
Try Pink & Indigo
The Legacy Series
Glyph
Birthrite
Sacred
Bound
Marked
> Paranormal Lesbian Romance
The Wolf's Consort
www.maxellendale.com
This author is part of iReadIndies, a collective of self-published independent authors of women loving women (WLW) literature. Please visit our website at www.iReadIndies.com for more information and to find links to the books published by our authors.
For always…
Jawbreaker (Four Point Universe Book 14) Page 39
