Page 58 of Never Less

He chuckles. “Yeah, but it gets better.”

And it does. The longer I stare upward, the more stars I see. It’s more beautiful than any pictures I’ve ever seen.

“Look to your left,” Marcus says softly.

I do, and I gasp. There, sprouting up from the trees, is the Milky Way. I sit up with an excited squeal. “Oh my god, Marcus! It’s beautiful!”

“Mmhmm.” Sitting up, he pulls my back into his front and presses his face into my neck. His arms come around my body, anchoring me to him.

“If I’d known it was this pretty, I would’ve done this ages ago.”

“I’m glad you’re doing it with me.”

One of my hands trails down Marcus’s arm, coasting over his bracelet and the back of his hand. I try to intertwine my fingers with his, but he’s holding something, which makes it difficult. Something hard with a soft, velvety exterior.

My stomach flips. “What’s that?”

“You weren’t supposed to notice yet,” he says, but he doesn’t sound disappointed. “Liliana, you’ve brought so much into my life over the past six months. You’ve filled up the empty space in my heart. You’ve made home feel like a place I want to be again instead of something I need to escape. I want things to stay that way. I want to keep building a life with you and hold you close until the day we die. Marry me, Liliana.”

“Marcus,” I whisper as he opens the box and slips the ring onto my finger. It fits snugly, not too tight but not loose enough that I’m worried it’ll fall off. I can barely see it in the low light. “Where’s the flashlight?” I feel around for it. “I want to get a better look.”

He must’ve known that’s what I was going to want because he clicks it on instantly.

Tears fill my eyes as I look at the pear-shaped sapphire surrounded by tiny silver leaves. “It’s exactly what I wanted. Oh, Marcus, it’s beautiful.”

“Lori and Char helped me,” he confesses. “I wanted to make sure it was perfect.”

“It is,” I whisper.

“So, uh…” He chuckles. “Does that mean you say yes? Because you haven’t actually said—”

“Obviously I say yes!” I tackle him onto the mattress and press my lips to his. I’m crying and laughing at the same time, all while trying to kiss him, and eventually I settle for a tight hug. “I love you, Marcus.”

“I love you, too, little star.” His voice is tight, and he sniffles.

Pulling back, I cup his cheek. “Are you all right?”

“Just happy you said yes.” I can barely make out his smile, and his tears glisten in the starlight. “Get back down here.”

When he tugs me down, I don’t resist. He kisses me, our tears falling together as he holds the back of my head. With Marcus’s body underneath me, his arms encircling me, and the starlit sky above us, my heart is full. This man is everything to me.

Everything.

“Liliana,” Marcus murmurs.

His fingers tangle in my hair as he deepens the kiss, morphing it into something that has heat curling low in my stomach. His tongue slips into my mouth, gently stroking, and I roll my hips into his almost automatically. His dick is just beginning to harden, and one of my hands slides in between us so I can rub him through his pants.

We stay like that, pressing our bodies into each other and doing everything we can to get closer, closer, closer. It’s not until our tears are dry and my panties are soaked that Marcus finally makes a move. I could’ve first, but I like it when he takes over, and he likes it when I wait.

So when me pushes me onto the mattress so I’m on my side, I’m nothing short of compliant. He comes up behind me, one arm propping himself up and the other sliding down my body. His touch sends a shudder of anticipation through me as I spread my legs for him.

“This is what you want?” he asks, his voice barely a whisper as he kisses my temple tenderly.

“Please,” I whisper back.

His hand dips below the waistband of my shorts, teasing the lacy edge of my panties before he slips beneath those, too. When his fingers slide over my pussy, he groans. “So wet. You want me to fuck you under the stars, don’t you? Is that what has you so turned on?”

I grind against his hand and nod, touching the ring on my finger. It’s not just that he brought me out here to see the stars for the first time that has me so wet. It’s also him. Us. I’ve settled into my life with Marcus, but getting to be his wife? I’ve never felt more special in my life.

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