by Ranae Rose
Grabbing her tablet, she flopped onto her couch. First things first: she needed to get him a gift. No ideas sprang immediately to mind, so she searched online for lists of gift ideas for police officers.
The suggestions that filled her browser were decidedly unromantic. Bite-proof sleeves? Retractable batons? A tourniquet that could be applied in as little as twenty-five seconds?
Not really her style. Although…
An ad for handcuffs sparked a wicked impulse. Smiling to herself, she clicked through and started browsing the selection at a tactical supply store.
He’d been a sheriff’s deputy for more than a decade and carried handcuffs every day. But one more pair might be nice, especially if they broke them in with a little fun before he hung them from his duty belt.
She could even buy something special to wear that night. Shiny new cuffs, delicate lace and an hour or two with Jeremy … just the thought made her heart race.
Since he never treated himself, she’d go all out to make sure the night was memorable. He’d been so good to her, and he’d been all work and no play for far too long – he deserved some fun, and she couldn’t wait to give it to him.
* * * * *
When Jeremy’s birthday rolled around, Meredith made a big deal out of him taking the first part of the day to do something fun with Lucia before a family dinner with her and Paige.
Paige played along, of course, and so did Lucia.
“You sure you’re up for going out tomorrow?” Jeremy asked her the evening before his birthday.
“Absolutely.” She was finally ready for some fun.
The next day, they went out to lunch on the boardwalk, then spent a few hours on the beach. Afterward, they drove to Wisteria, where Jeremy was expecting a quiet dinner with Lucia, Meredith and Paige.
“Crowded,” he remarked when he pulled into the parking lot by the gates.
“Well, they’re doing those ghost tours now,” she said, stepping out into the gravel lot shaded by trees swathed in Spanish moss. The air was warm and full of earthy summer scents, a combination of moss, creek water and fresh-trimmed glass. “And it is Friday night.”
As they walked the cobblestone path toward the restaurant, she bit the inside of her lip to keep from smiling. Still, she couldn’t keep the spring out of her step as she walked by Jeremy’s side, carrying a beribboned gift bag.
One of her gifts for him was at home – she wasn’t about to give it to him in front of everyone – but the gift she carried in the bag was one she planned to present him with after dinner.
“I hear Sasha’s on duty tonight, and she’s always bragging to me about what she can do with shrimp. I’m going to have to try some.”
Jeremy nodded. “Lucia…”
“What?” When he caught her eye, the look there was so serious it stopped her in her tracks. “Aren’t her shrimp any good?”
It’d be hard to believe – Sasha was gifted in the kitchen in ways Lucia could only envy.
“Her cooking’s great.” Silence reigned for a heartbeat, and a light breeze blew the scent of honeysuckle and roses from the plants winding up trellises that screened most of a utility shed from view. “I want to ask you something.”
Her pulse fluttered, and a warm flush heated her cheeks. The air was suddenly filled not just with garden breezes, but something a little like electricity. It raced up and down her spine, tickling. “What is it?”
He sank down, pressing one knee into the lush grass, apparently unconcerned about his khaki pants.
“I know this is fast, but I can’t take anything for granted, especially you. You’re the best thing that’s happened to me in a dozen years, and I know nothing better could possibly come along, even if I lived to be a hundred. I love you, Lucia. Will you marry me?”
All sounds ceased, even the chirping of frogs that populated the creek running behind the plantation house. The air rushed from her lungs, and she drew in another sweet, humid breath.
“I love you too, Jeremy.” Butterflies burst into delayed flight in her belly as shock turned to pure excitement. Seeing him down on one knee, hearing him ask her to marry him…
It was like a dream come to life, or a chapter from a book. Their surroundings made the moment seem enchanted, but it was the look in his eyes that was most impressive.
Deep within their clear blue, she saw the same sense of undisguised longing that welled up inside her every time they touched, or even locked gazes. He was the one for her, she had no doubt about it, and if he felt the same way…
“Yes.” Her heart raced, each beat drawing a smile closer to her lips. When it finally unfurled she laughed, breathless and unable to control it. It felt like someone was squeezing her heart and tickling her ribs.
His gaze was still locked with hers, and in that moment, they looked even more transparent than they had moments before. They might as well have been sea glass. In their depths, she could see a sincerity so raw it made her eyes sting.
I love you. She opened her mouth to say it again, but before she could speak, an uproar erupted from a dozen yards away.
For the first time in what felt like forever, she looked up.
More than a dozen people were gathered outside the restaurant. Liam, Alicia, Henry, Grey and Kerry. Meredith and Paige and people Lucia didn’t recognize but assumed were from the sheriff’s department.
They cheered, then applauded. Someone let out an ear-piercing whistle.
That brought Sasha running out the kitchen’s back door. “What did I miss?”
She stood in her chef’s coat, feet planted wide apart. When her gaze settled on Lucia and Jeremy, her eyes went wide too.
She was louder than the rest combined.
“Where’s the ring?” a man with a bandaged shoulder shouted. Lucia had never met him before, but he must’ve been Richardson.
“I was getting to that,” Jeremy said, just loud enough for Lucia to hear.
Reaching into his pocket, he produced a little black box.
“I hope you like it.”
Before he even opened it, she knew she’d love it. She’d love it because it was from him, and because of what it symbolized. Its appearance was an afterthought.
As it turned out, it was beautiful: a solitary diamond on a golden band, elegant in its simplicity.
She stood frozen while he slipped it onto her left ring finger.
“Looks like a perfect fit,” he said. “Lucky.”
Keeping his hold on her hand, he stood.
She wrapped her arms around him and couldn’t hold back the tears that crept from her eyes and dampened his dark blue shirt.
“Thank you.”
He just grinned.
Eventually, his gaze shifted toward the crowd by the restaurant, questioning.
“Oh yeah,” she said, her heart still pounding. “Surprise.”
She had a feeling she was far more surprised than he was.
“Let me guess – this was my mother’s idea.”
“Paige and I were both co-conspirators.”
Speaking of Paige, Lucia suddenly found her gaze drawn to her. Over time, they would become family. The thought made her heart feel even lighter.
They made eye contact, and Paige’s shy smile bloomed into a grin.
Lucia grinned back. “I think we should go say hello to everyone.”
They disentangled from each other and walked toward the restaurant hand-in-hand. The weight of the engagement ring circling her finger made it feel even more intimate.
Meredith hugged them both as soon as they came within her range, and Paige did the same.
Jeremy wrapped one arm around Lucia and the other around his daughter as people clapped hands on his back and congratulated him.
The women gravitated to Lucia, radiating warmth she’d rarely felt the likes of. Before they stepped inside, she cast a searching look over her shoulder, at the mansion’s lawn. She half expected to see a woman in white standing lonely in the distance, but there was no o
ne.
The only people within sight were friends, and their congratulations rang in her ears. She’d never felt luckier, happier, or more alive.
* * * * *
The food was excellent, but it could’ve been cardboard and ash and still tasted good. A sense of joy and rightness stayed with Jeremy throughout his birthday dinner, and he split his energy between studying his bride-to-be and talking to the people who’d shown up for the party.
He was glad to see them all, but one thought kept echoing through his mind like the report from a .45: she’d said yes.
He hadn’t been one-hundred percent sure she would, but she had and his gut feeling was that she was truly happy to be wearing his ring.
That was by far the best gift anyone ever had or ever would give him. The pile of wrapped presents she drew his attention to after the meal seemed like frivolous excess.
“This one’s from me,” she said, handing him the bag she’d carried in from the car.
He took it and sank a hand into its depths, past the curled blue and green ribbon. His fingers brushed something metallic and angular, then a cool expanse of glass.
It was a framed photo he’d never seen before. In it, he and Paige stood side-by-side near the surf, centered in a panoramic view of sand and sea.
“I took it that day we were at the beach together,” she said. “What do you think?”
His chest constricted, and he was torn between looking at her and admiring the photo. “I love it, but next time, we should get one with you in it, too.”
Her smile was brighter than the sun reflecting off the waves in the photo. “I’d like that.”
* * * * *
The day had been long and full of more celebration than Jeremy had realized could be packed into a week, let alone a day. When he walked Lucia into her house at eleven o’clock that night, he felt absolutely spoiled.
Sharing the occasion with friends and family had been nice, but nothing compared to getting his fiancée behind closed doors for the first time. As soon as the deadbolt slid home, he had his hands on her waist and his mouth against her temple.
Scents from the day lingered in her hair: sea salt, earthy moss and even sugary notes that reminded him of the frosting on the birthday cake. The combination hit him like a ton of bricks, stirring up fresh awe that she was his – that she’d be his for life.
“I have another present for you,” she said.
“You do?”
“Uh-huh.”
“As if I wasn’t spoiled enough today.”
She looked up at him and smiled. “I couldn’t give this one to you in front of everyone. I think you’re going to like it, though.”
Her words and her smile combined to send fire rushing through his veins, and thoughts of protesting that she’d already done too much for him vanished. The look in her eyes assured him that whatever she wanted to give him now, he wouldn’t be able to resist accepting.
“I’m sure I will. Let’s see it.”
“Wait right here.” She hurried off to her bedroom and was back within minutes.
He lost his breath at the sight of her, and barely noticed the wrapped box in her hands.
Her sundress had disappeared, and in its place was a confection of bright blue lace that left very little to the imagination. What it did hide, though, was strategic – designed to drive a man crazy.
“Here you go.” When she reached him, she handed over the box.
He accepted it, though the contents didn’t interest him half as much as she did.
Barely able to keep his gaze off her nipples showing dark through the vibrant lace, he peeled the paper from her gift.
The black box held a pair of silver cuffs.
“Thank you,” he said as his blood quickened. “I can always use another pair for work. That’s not what this pair is for though, is it?”
A flush highlighted the planes of her cheekbones. “No. At least, not tonight.”
Every nerve in his body hummed in anticipation as he lifted the cuffs from the box. “You’ll look good in these.”
She already looked better than good. But the cuffs would be the perfect accessory to her outfit. The thought of her bound for their pleasure had him harder than stone.
“You can put them on me wherever you like.” Her devilish smile sent even more of his blood rushing south.
He took her to her room, wanting to have her against something soft when he took her hard.
When he cuffed her hands behind her back, he felt her pulse beating strong and quick beneath the soft skin on her inner wrists. It was a feeling he’d never take for granted – not tonight, not ever.
After securing her with a double click, he stepped back to admire his work.
Her hands were bound above the perfect curves her ass, and her cheeks were barely touched by what little lace covered her there. He could just imagine her pussy, hot and maybe even wet already just inches below.
With a groan, he sat her down on the edge of the bed. He couldn’t wait anymore – he had to touch her, had to taste her.
The lace she wore was thin and elastic, with a plunging neckline that went almost to her navel. It was easy to pull the lace aside until the full curve of one breast was exposed.
She sucked in a breath when he leaned in and gasped when he stroked her nipple with his tongue, eventually closing his mouth around it.
When he slipped his fingers beneath the lace to touch her pussy, she moaned.
She was wet already. The feel of her slick heat filled his head with visions of burying himself deep inside her.
He could hardly wait, but he resolved to, for just a little while.
His resolve crumbled when his fingertips slipped over a row of hard, metallic little disks at the crotch of her lacy outfit: snaps.
He drew back from her chest, raising his head and meeting her gaze.
Her eyes were shining with the same lust that was consuming his patience.
“You sure you’re all healed up?”
She’d been energetic and uninhibited throughout the day, but the faint smudges of fading bruises still lingered on her arms, where they’d hit the ground the day she’d been attacked.
“Yes.”
“If you’re just putting on a brave face, now’s the time to say so.”
Her mouth curved in a smile. “I’m completely serious. What do you have planned?”
He took her word for it. “On your knees, and you’ll see.”
She knelt on the mattress and he grabbed the pillows, stacking them in front of her. “Face down on those.”
Her dark hair spilled over the neat stack when she rested her head on a pillow, putting her ass in the air.
Every muscle in his body tightened and throbbed at the sight of her like that, bound hands resting against the small of her back. Still, it was nothing compared to the sight of her once he unsnapped the buttons between her thighs.
And that was nothing compared to the feeling of stripping off his clothing and rolling on a condom, eyes on her all the while, and then finally kneeling behind her and pressing the head of his dick against her pussy lips.
He felt every inch of the initial thrust with an intensity that shocked him. It was so good, he grabbed her hips and squeezed until she squirmed.
He loosened his grip immediately, though he didn’t want to.
She pushed back against him. “That wasn’t a request for you to stop.”
Sighing, he held her as hard as he wanted, pulled back and slid home again. The tight heat was still overwhelming, almost more than he could bear without coming.
Then again, he’d never fucked her in cuffs before, or in this position, with her ass in the air and her face on the bed. And he’d definitely never fucked her as his fiancée.
A month ago, the thought of ever getting married again would’ve boggled his mind. Now, it was something he wanted with more certainty than he’d ever known before.
He went slow and hard, lingering on the edge and denying
himself several times when the urge to finish in a fury nearly got the best of him.
The thing that enabled him to keep his tenuous grip on restraint was the feeling of her pussy tightening around him every few moments, hinting that she was close.
When she moaned, he slammed his cock deep into her, like he’d been longing to.
She rocked against him, arching her back. Her face was turned to one side and her hair had fallen over it, but hints of the flush that colored her cheeks showed through. From the first tightening to the last shuddering contractions, her orgasm was almost as intense for him as it seemed to be for her.
The shine of silver metal catching the light drew his attention to her clenched fists. Her knuckles were pale and her glitter-lacquered nails were biting into her palms, shining almost as brightly as the diamond on her left hand. The sight was just as appealing as the sound of her crying out as he continued to thrust, succumbing to the coaxing pleasure of her tight walls pulsing around his shaft.
He came hard, his gaze riveted to her hands bound above the shapely swell of her ass. All he could hear, feel and see was her – all of her, naked and face-down in front of him with his cuffs on her wrists and his ring on her finger.
He hadn’t thought anything could feel better than hearing her say yes to him when he’d still had that ring in his pocket, but this did, beyond any shadow of a doubt. Every pulsing beat of pleasure overlapped with the next, consuming him in a surge of ecstasy. He’d never come so hard, and probably never so much, either.
When he pulled out, he was aching. He’d pushed himself long past when it had ceased being comfortable, just to draw it out.
It’d been worth it.
She was panting, and it took him a few seconds to realize that he was too.
When she wriggled back up onto her knees and looked up at him, he placed one hand on her jaw and the other in her hair, tilting her head back so he could press his mouth to hers in the deepest, sweetest kiss he’d ever tasted.
Minutes later, after he uncuffed her and they lay down together, the friction of her hip against his still-hard cock was the sweetest kind of torture.
