Page 80 of Forgotten

“Up?”

“Up.”

Shrugging, I took his hand again, and we walked into the darkness. A second or two later, my eyes began to adjust, and I saw what had made the heavy door sound. Thin attic stairs were extended from a hayloft above, and he was heading for them. He let me go ahead of him, in case I fell, and as I reached the top, I realized this must have been prepared for a while.

There were three windows and two big barn doors up there. All of them were open, letting the breeze through and giving a lovely view of the night sky. In the center of the room was a thick comforter, a few more folded blankets below it. A bucket of ice, somewhat melted, sat on a table nearby, a bottle of champagne in it and two glasses beside the bucket.

“Oh, you thought this through,” I said.

“I don’t get many chances without people crawling all over the place,” he said. “I wanted tonight to be perfect.”

“So far, it has been,” I said.

The blanket was close enough to the barn doors that it was almost outside of it. He led me to it and sat down, kicking off his boots. I sat down beside him, taking off my flats as well, and we lay back, our heads at the barn door, the night sky bright above us.

“This is amazing,” I said.

“It’s my favorite place,” he said. “A lot of times, I actually sit out on the roof itself, but I don’t want to make you go out there. It’s a little dangerous for two, I would think.”

“I appreciate that,” I said.

“But here, we can still see the stars. It’s just like out there but safer. I love it.”

“Is this where you would dream about me?” I asked sassily.

“Yes,” he said flatly. “Often.”

I curled up into his arms, forgoing being able to see the stars for being able to hear his heartbeat. The smell of his cologne mixed with the hay was intoxicating, though Ihadput away a half bottle of wine by myself, so that might have played a part.

My fingers traced the buttons on his shirt, going up and down his chest as we lay there in the quiet. A hand reached down and touched my chin, and I lifted my face to his. Our lipspressed against each other for a long, sweet kiss. When it broke, he shifted, and I sat up with him.

“What’s wrong?” I asked. “Why did you sit up? Is everything okay?”

“More than okay,” he said. “I just… I need to ask you something.”

My heart dropped. What could possibly ruin this moment? Was he still worried about Graham? Or that he wasn’t good enough? Whatever it was, I just wanted to assure him he was wrong. I was here. For good. And his.

“Go ahead,” I said, my voice trembling.

Jesse turned, reaching for the table, and I assumed he was going to grab the champagne. I breathed deeply and looked out of the barn door at the gorgeous night.

When I turned back to him, he wasn’t holding the champagne or the glasses. He was holding a small box and smiling.

My breath hitched and then simply stopped. The whole world seemed to zero in on that box. When my eyes finally floated back to his, he opened it, and the glittering diamond inside shined in their reflection.

“Charlotte April Garafalo, will you marry me?”

I couldn’t speak, but I could nod. So I did. Tears streaming down my face, I nodded until he grabbed me and pulled me into his arms. I buried myself into his shoulder and let my tears dry on his shirt. As I pulled away, he kissed me deeply.

As he slipped the ring on my finger, I felt like every part of my body was tingling with excitement. If I had been overwhelmed before, this was completely over the top. He leaned in to kiss me again, and I let myself fall back. He came with me and slowly settled over me.

His lips moved from mine to my cheek and down my neck, and I let my arms fall loose when he took the strap over my shoulder in his teeth and moved it down. I gasped as the cool air brushed over my nipple when the fabric folded past it. He took it into his mouth and warmed it, his strong, wet tongue flicking it playfully.

“I need you,” I said.

“I need you.”

My hands reached down to his belt and pulled. He hovered above me, pressing his lips into the center of my neck and moving to the other side of me. I unzipped him and pushed on his waistband until I heard him shuffling his pants down. When his lips met mine again, I could feel his thick, hot cock pressing against my soft, cotton panties.

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