Page 32 of Babe

His other eyebrow came up to meet the first one. “With what, exactly?” he asked, sounding a bit cautious.

I reached into my pocket and pulled out one of Gunner’s rings. I’d checked last night to make sure it fit him still, pretending to just play with his fingers. Wasn’t like it was unusual for me. I was obsessed with constantly touching Gunner. I handed it to Jax. “Can you make a ring this size? You’ve been whittling wood for the past few weeks, and I want a ring for Gunner.”

Jax stared at the ring in his palm for a moment before looking at me. “It’s not going to be pretty, kid. I’m still rough at this shit.”

I shrugged. “I don’t care. I can’t go into a city and buy him one. So, I need you to make it. You can sand down the edges or something. I don’t know. But I need a ring for him.” I drew in a deep breath. “Please,” I tacked on.

Jax snorted. “That sounded painful to say.” I glared at him. He pushed the ring into his pocket, nodding at me. “Yeah, kid. Just give me a few days to get it done.” He patted my shoulder before striding past me, heading for the kitchen.

Blakely smiled at me, her book lowered to her lap. “Going to ask him to marry you?” she asked.

I nodded, a small smile tilting my lips. “I want him bound to me in every way I can make possible.”

“Just buy a chain, a lock, and a key,” Jax called from the kitchen.

I snorted. “Not everybody is into bondage, asshole.”

Blakely’s cheeks burned red. I snickered and headed upstairs, intent on soaking in a hot bath until Gunner was done being a backwoods mountain man.

Gunner slipped out the back door just as Jax was coming inside. He shuddered when the heat inside the cabin washed over him, toeing out of his boots so he didn’t track snow all over the floors Blakely and I had just cleaned. I hated cleaning with a passion, but Blakely had roped me in, insisting if I wasn’t going to do anything outside, I needed to help inside. And Gunner had, of course, backed her up, leaving me no choice but to comply.

Because Gunner and I both knew I’d never disobey him.

Jax reached into his pocket and pulled out Gunner’s rings. I beamed and snatched them from him, shoving the old one into my pocket and inspecting the wooden one.

Jax had done an amazing job on it. He’d even taken the time to carve my initials into it. My throat bobbed as I swallowed. “Thank you,” I croaked. “This is?—”

The back door opened, and Gunner blinked at the two of us before his eyes dropped to my hand, which was still holding the wooden ring. My stomach dropped to my feet.

No, no, no.

This wasn’t happening. This wasn’t how this was supposed to go. Everything was ruined.

Everything was fucking ruined.

“Ace baby, is that a ring?” Gunner asked, stepping further into the cabin and shutting the door behind him. When I didn’t answer, he impatiently crossed the room, tracking mud and snow all over the clean floors.

“You’re ruining the floors,” I whispered, my throat so thick, I could barely breathe.

“I don’t give a fuck,” he retorted. He grasped my hand, forcing my palm open so he could look at the ring. Then, he looked at me, reaching up with the hand that wasn’t cradling mine to cup my cheek. “Baby, what is this ring for?”

Tears blurred my vision. “It’s for you. It was supposed to be a surprise.” My lips trembled. I was seconds away from falling apart. “I was supposed to ask you to marry me, and you were supposed to say yes, and then we were supposed to have really hot engagement sex, but then you came inside and ruined the whole fucking stupid thing.” Hot tears ran down my cheeks. “It’s ruined now.”

“Baby—come here,” Gunner rasped, pulling me into his arms. He cradled the back of my head, holding me to his chest. “Nothing is ruined, sweet boy. It just has to be done a little differently now.” He pressed a kiss to the top of my head, then gripped my damp cheeks, tilting my head back to look up at him. Leaning down, he softly kissed me. I squeaked when he dropped his hands, gripped the backs of my thighs, and lifted me. I wound my arms and legs around him, staring down at him with wide eyes as he carried me toward our loft.

“What are you doing?” I croaked, sniffling.

“Taking you to bed.” He kicked his boots off on the step right before the loft before stepping onto the plush carpet. When he laid me back on the bed, he shucked his clothes, then crawled over me, his cock hanging heavy and hard between us. He pressed his hands into the mattress on either side of my head. I tightened my hand around the ring, the wood biting into my palm. “You going to ask me, Ace baby?”

I licked my suddenly dry lips, my heart slamming against my chest bone. Surely, he wouldn’t deny me when he was asking me to ask him to marry me, right?

Right?

Fuck, why was this so nerve-wracking?

“Will you marry me, Papa?” I asked, hating how small my voice sounded.

He leaned down to kiss me before pulling my shirt over my head, tossing it to the floor. I shivered when the cooler air washed over my heated skin. Leaning down, he sucked a nipple into his hot mouth, laving his tongue over the peak. I whimpered, my free hand sliding into his hair to tug on the strands. Moving up my body, he kissed me again, thrusting his tongue into my mouth. I groaned, my mouth soft and pliant beneath his, letting him take whatever he wanted from me.

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