by Kelli Walker
“It’s not quite like that at Stanford,” I said, giggling.
Colt shot me a look that made me throw my head back and laugh.
“Okay, it’s a little like that. But it’s only some nights. Not every night,” I said.
“Well, now it doesn’t have to be like that at all. I made sure no students actually stay in this apartment complex. You can be away from all those distractions and have your own place to retreat to after classes.”
“I can’t afford something like this, Colt.”
“You don’t have to. I’ve already rented it out for the last year of your Master’s program.”
“You did what now?” I asked.
“You heard me, Callie. Plus, I didn’t do all of these renovations specifically for you.”
“Please don’t tell me you found me a roommate as well.”
“Not in the least. How am I supposed to come visit you properly if there’s some stranger stalking around?”
“Visit?” I asked.
I turned to Colt as he reached down, cupping my cheek with his hand.
“Yes, my love. Visit. With the acquisition of this headquarters in Switzerland and the renovations already under way, I’m going to be traveling there a lot. And in my spare time, I want to see you.”
I nuzzled into the palm of his hand as his thumb caressed my skin.
“So, I renovated the apartment to suit us both. A walk-in shower we can both fit in. A tub we can both relax in. A kitchen we can both cook in. Furniture we can both fit in.”
“I can’t accept something like this,” I whispered.
“You can, and you will. It’s already outfitted for you. The desk? It’s yours. The bed? Yours as well. Everything in here is tailored to you. Tailored to us. You’ve got a space to work. Patio furniture for the balcony so we can sit out at night and enjoy wine while the sun sets. You’ve got this fantastic bed I wholly plan on breaking in with you.”
I felt myself flush at his words.
“It’s yours, Callie. And I want you to have it,” Colt said.
My eyes fluttered open and connected with his before a knock came at the door. Colt’s hand slid from my cheek before he took my hand, leading me out of the bedroom. I found my father standing in the doorway, a bag in his hand with colorful tissue paper spilling from the top. He set it down on the small side table next to the door before his eyes met mine, and the look on his face told me he was also in on this.
“You did the renovations, didn’t you?” I asked.
“Did you break the news to her?” my father asked.
“I just did,” Colt said.
“That’s why you’ve been putting in late nights ‘at the office’,” I said.
“Well, this place might as well have been my office for the past few nights,” my father said.
“I can’t take this, Daddy,” I said.
He walked through the room and embraced me in a hug.
“You have to, sweetheart. We’ve already put down the deposit as well as the entire year’s rent upfront. There’s no going back,” Clay said.
I groaned into his chest, causing the two of them to laugh out into the expanse of the one-bedroom apartment.
“Your mother always hated surprises, too,” my father said.
“I really should have known the two of you would have been in on this together,” I said.
“It was a dual job, for sure. But when Colt came to me with the idea, I couldn't have agreed more with him. You need your own space. This last year of your Master’s program is going to be intense. And I know you. You’re a perfectionist, like me. You’ll be up late and leaving early, which means you’ll need a space you can designate as your own. Away from the students and the parties and the shenanigans on campus.”
“Shenanigans, Dad? Really?” I asked.
“How many times did you call us up last year, complaining about the noise in your dorm?” he asked.
I rolled my eyes as I stepped out of his embrace.
“Did you furnish it, too, Dad?”
His eyes whipped over to his brother as a breathless chuckle fell from my lips. I stuck my tongue into my cheek, trying to keep my words at bay. I didn’t like being handed things. Never did. Never would. But looking around that apartment and knowing the two men I loved more than anything on this planet had pulled this off for me? How could I not say ‘yes’?
I turned around and slid my arms back around my father’s neck, standing on my tiptoes to hold him close.
“Thanks, Daddy,” I whispered.
“You’re welcome, sweetheart,” he said.
“Hey, what about me? I fronted the money for the place.” Colt said.
I giggled and shook my head as I settled back down onto my feet.
“What makes you think your ‘thank you’ isn’t coming later?” I asked.
“And that’s my cue,” my father said. “There’s wine in the bag on the table. Surprise for you. If you need anything, you know I’m only a phone call away.”
I reached up and placed a kiss on my father’s cheek, then escorted him towards the front door. I waved at him as he walked down the hallway, watching and biding my time until he was in the elevator.
Then, I turned to Colt and crooked my finger.
I slid into the apartment and closed the door, drawing in a deep breath as he approached me. There was a predatory stare in his eye. One that darkened his blue eyes into an oncoming storm I’d come to love about him. I pressed my back against the door as Colt stood over me, gazing down into my eyes as his hands planted against the door. He reached over to my side. His fingers wrapped around the deadbolt of the door. He flipped it with a crash, and I flinched at the sound before his fingertips smoothed my hair behind my shoulder.
“Can’t have anyone interrupting us now, can we?” he asked.
I slipped my hand into his pocket, never once breaking our connection. My eyes danced between his as I pulled out the blindfold, dangling it sweetly in front of his eyes. He growled at me. A low, rumbling, salacious sound that pooled heat between my legs. He snatched it out of my hand and dipped down, gripping my ass and hoisted me off the floor. He picked me up so quickly I fell over his shoulder, and I giggled as he charged us to my bedroom. He kicked the door closed with his foot before dropped me to the bed, his eyes roaming my body.
“Be careful what you wish for, beautiful. Because you might not like what you receive,” Colt said.
“Oh trust me, I enjoy a great deal more than you could ever believe.”
He fell to the bed, crashing his lips against mine. He robbed my breath from my lungs. Shot electricity through my body as we peeled one another’s clothes off. I felt his skin sliding against mine. I felt his muscles blanketing me as we scooted up the bed. My hands raked through his hair before running down the pebbled muscles of his back, his hands exploring my body. Massaging my breasts. Tugging at my nipples. Spreading my legs wide before allowing his cock to nestle between my pussy folds.
“Oh, Colt,” I whispered.
“Oh, Callie,” he groaned.
Then, I felt him lay me down onto my back before he sat up on his knees.
He reached for his tie and bound my wrists to the bed. Above my head, helpless to move and reach him. I saw him grab the blindfold and my tits puckered at the thought. Restrained and sightless. The combination alone sent fire surging through my veins. He tied it behind my head, his lips dancing along my shoulder. And every cell in my body came alive at the slightest touch of him.
“Holy shit,” I whispered.
“Oh, you have no idea the things I’ll introduce you to. The sensations I’ll make you feel. The ways you’ll cry out for me. You won’t be the one annoyed by your neighbors this year, Callie. You’ll be the one doing the annoying.”
His lips came down onto my chest and an explosion happened within my body. Tears rose to my eyes. The kind of tears that exposed the happiness seated in my chest. His lips dragged down my body. His hands pressed my knees open.
I felt his hot breath against my dripping pussy lips, and as if I had lost all sense of self-control, I blurted out the one thing that had been rattling around in my dreams for days.
Weeks, even.
“Marry me.”
The whispered plea left my body and I felt myself tense. Colt’s lips hovered over my pussy, his body completely still. I tugged at the restraints. I felt the need to cover myself up. I pulled away from him and felt him scramble to my wrists, undoing the tie with the tug of his fingers. I sat up straight and ripped the blindfold off my face. I pulled the covers over my naked form, aching for barriers between us.
“Callie. Look at me.”
I shook my head, squeezing my eyes shut and hoping I hadn’t said what I thought I just did.
“Callie, I need you to look at me,” Colt said.
I felt his finger crook underneath my chin, his strength pulling my gaze up. He traced his fingertip along the edge of my face, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear. A tear leaked through the slit of my eye and tumbled down my cheek. A sight that caused him to sigh as I slowly opened my eyes. I’d ruined it. I knew I had. There was no coming back from this. No turning back and resetting things.
I’d asked the fucking man to marry me, butt naked and tied down to my new bed.
“I’m so sorry, Colt. I don’t know where--.”
But his kiss silenced my words.
I melted into him. I felt his arms snake around my waist and pull me close. I straddled his lap, leaning into his strength as his hand stroked through my hair. Tears dripped down my cheeks. Soiling his skin as they dropped onto his chest. He held me close, his throbbing cock reminding me of how much he still wanted me.
Of how much I really hadn’t ruined the moment.
Colton sank his back to the bed with my body on top of his. I wanted him to say something. I needed him to say something. For the first time since I entered college at eighteen years old, I felt a completeness in my life. I felt grounded. Rooted. Confident in my future for the first time since figuring out what I wanted from it. I wanted to spend the rest of my days with Colton. I wanted my future to have him in it. Not as a family member or some man I called up for advice. But as my partner. As my lover.
As my husband.
“Are you listening?” he asked.
My eyes fluttered open as I gazed down into his stern gaze.
“I am,” I said.
“I want you to know that I heard you. I also want you to know that I processed it.”
I nodded my head slowly, bracing myself for the pain that had the potential to come.
“I also want you to know that marriage is my end goal,” he said.
“Wait, what?” I asked.
A grin spread across his cheeks as he smoothed his fingers through my hair.
“Now isn’t the right time. Or the right place. But when it is, know I do intend to ask. And when I do, I fully expect you to say ‘yes’ now.”
A smile unlike none other spread across my face.
“When I say ‘I love you’, Callie, it’s forever. I don’t love. I don’t let people in. But when I do, it’s forever. Like my brother. Like your mother. Like you.”
My forehead fell to his and I breathed the air he gave me.
“I love you, Callie Roper. And one day, I will watch you walk down the aisle towards me.”
And as we broke in my bed with the sun sinking down over Stanford’s campus, the last piece of my life settled into place.
Colton was there. Colton was with with me. And Colton was mine.
Epilogue
Epilogue - Colton - Nine Months Later
Clay and I rose to our feet, our hands clapping and our mouths whooping. Watching Callie walk across that stage to receive her Master’s Degree was one of the proudest moments of my life. The graduates tossed their caps into the air before the ceremony ended, and everyone began to file out of the auditorium. I grabbed my brother’s arm and wrenched him towards the exit. I knew Callie. She’d talk with her friends before she even came out onto the lawn. The quicker we could get outside, the quicker I could get into the exact spot I wanted her to find us.
In the middle of the front lawn underneath the shade of her favorite reading tree.
“You ready?” Clay asked.
The graduates finally started to file out of the auditorium as I drew in a deep breath.
“Honestly? I thought the hard part would be talking with you about this, brother.”
“You know what she’s going to say.”
“And yet it settles my mind in no way, shape, or form,” I said.
Clay chuckled. “Trust me, I know what you mean. But the best thing you can do is not overthink it too much.”
“Colt!”
Callie’s voice ripped me from my conversation with my brother. My eyes whipped over to hers and I watched her run across the lawn. She had her cap in her hand and her gown fluttered behind her, trying to catch up with the speed at which she dashed. I held my arms out for her and she leapt into them. I hugged her so tightly I thought she’d stop breathing. My heart burst with pride. My stomach swelled with joy. My Callie, the psychologist.
My Little Callie, the graduate.
“I’m so proud of you,” I murmured into her skin.
I set her down and she promptly threw her arms around Clay.
“I’m proud of you, Callie. You know that, right?” he asked.
“I do. And I know Mom would have been as well,” she said.
“You’re damn right she would have been,” I said.
She turned to me and smiled as I slipped my hand into my pocket.
“So, how do you feel?” Clay asked.
“Relieved. Like I can breathe. Like all of these plans I’ve slowly been set into motion can finally come to fruition. That last class this semester really gave me some trouble. I wasn’t sure I was going to make it out alive,” she said.
“And speaking of future plans…”
Clay nodded his head as I pulled out the small ring box, then settled myself down onto one knee. Callie turned around before her eyes widened, and her back turned to her father quicker than I’d ever seen. Her jaw dropped with shock. People turned around and began staring at us. It was the best opening I could have been given, and I wasn’t going to squander another second of it.
“Yes,” Callie said.
Everyone around us chuckled as a broad smile crossed my face.
“Then let me get this out before you tackle me, okay?” I asked.
She nodded her head while drawing in a broken, bated breath.
“I know you’ve got plans for your life, Callie. Big plans. Great plans. Plans for your own business and your own future. To stand on your own two feet and conquer the world, just like me and my brother did. And I want to experience that journey with you. This next phase? The one that comes after this? I want to experience it with you at my side. And the one after that. And the one after that. Until we’re old and gray and done moving forward. Until we’re sitting in rocking chairs, living off our retirement fund, and recalling memories just like this one. I love you, Callie. I’ve always loved you. And I’ll never stop loving you. Callie Roper, will you marry me?”
I watched her look back at her father and Clay nodded his head. The nod of approval both of us had been secretly hoping for over the past nine months. Callie whipped back around and threw her arms around me, falling into my grasp. I wrapped my arms around her and felt her fall to her knees in front of me as her eyes slowly found mine.
She went to go part her lips to answer, but I held up my finger. Just to silence her one last time so I could get this exactly right. I slipped the ring out of the box and took her left hand within mine, then looked into her eyes as I slid it against her skin. I didn’t stop until it bottomed out against her hand. And then, I let her speak.
“Will you, Callie?” I asked.
And the resounding kiss that followed catapulted everyone into a celebration.
People
around us cheered as she grabbed my cheeks. She crashed our lips together and my hands fell to her hips. I cloaked her in my arms. Tasted her tongue on the tip of mine as people clapped around us. I heard cameras going off and shudders closing at rapid speed. I heard Clay whistling and I heard Callie giggling.
Felt her giggling against my lips.
“Yes, Colt. I’ll marry you,” she whispered.
A silent answer, just for the two of us to hear. And it was perfect in every way.
When I stood from the ground, I took her with me. Rose her up and supported her in the way I knew I always would for the rest of my days. I spun her around as laughter fell from my lips. I could no longer contain the excitement and happiness that spread throughout my body. I held her close. I didn’t want to let her go.
But I knew this wasn’t the only surprise waiting for her today.
“Okay. Okay. Okay. Time for Dad to have his moment,” Clay said.
I felt Callie furrow her brow as I settled her down. I steadied her on her feet and watched as a tear of happiness cascaded down her skin. I brushed it away with my thumb. Cupped her cheek and held her gaze just a second longer. I gazed into her brightened amber stare and memorized that look in her eye. I ran my fingers through her raven locks and committed the feel of them to memory. I wanted to waste nothing of this moment. I wanted to remember every single detail so I could recall it to her every night for the rest of her life. I wanted to be able to tell her of this moment if she ever had a point where her memory failed her. I wanted to be able to read to her our life story every night while regarding me as nothing but a stranger, if that was our fate.
And when I was done, I kissed the tip of her nose before turning her around to face my brother
“Hey, Dad,” Callie said.
“Hey there, sweetheart,” Clay said.
“I’m engaged,” she giggled.
“I can see that. How does it make you feel?”
“So happy, Daddy,” she whispered.
“Well, then I can only hope to have the same reaction.”
“Wait, what?”
Callie looked back at me, but I nodded my head. Beckoned for her to turn back to her father as Clay pulled an envelope from behind his suit coat.
