Page 70 of Pucking Obsessed

Our little Castlebrook family feels just as complete. Hayden suggested at one point that we could get our own place somewhere near campus, but I’ve gotten used to the noise of the home we have built with Winter, Tristan, and even Callum. Especially Callum because there’s never a dull moment. Last Sunday morning I came downstairs to make breakfast for everyone with Winter…it’s become our like girls of the house tradition, and Callum was in the living room trying to learn yoga. He broke three pieces of decor, knocked the tv off the wall, and sounded like someone let a herd of bulls loose in the house. But I wouldn’t trade our family for everything.

Hayden squeezes my leg, and I glance up at him. I think about everything it took to get here. There were some reallyrough times, and yet I can’t stop the smile that spreads across my face. Because when we first met, we didn't have anyone, and now, we have each other.

I knew where we were going before we got here, but seeing our favorite spot never gets old. It’s snowed here, which means a dusting of flakes is probably headed toward campus by tomorrow. “Oh, I needed this,” I say to Hayden, leaning forward to look out the front window at the pond. He’s brought me up here a few times to skate. I’m not very good, but he never lets me fall. I’m thinking of asking Callum to get his friend Lilac to teach me how to skate. I’ve seen her practicing in the arena when I cut through to leave little notes in Hayden’s locker. She’ssotalented, and it would be cool to surprise Hayden by not having wobbly knees.

Hayden gets out and heads over to open my door. I give him an inquisitive look because we didn’t bring our skates, so I assumed this trip was just for us to spend a little alone time together.

“What’s going on?” I ask, but he just shakes his head as if to tell me I have to wait to find out.

Hayden walks me over to the pond’s edge and wraps his arm around me as we gaze out at the mountains. It’s like we’re in a literal painting, and I don’t think I’ll ever get over this view.

“We should go up to the Falls over break and–” I start to say, but Hayden shifts, dropping down to one knee and I feel like I’m glitching because he’s holding a light pink velvet ring box out to me. My eyes bounce from the sparkling diamond ring to his face. My mouth is open in shock, and no words will process from my brain to my lips.

“It’s a princess cut,” Hayden says, grinning at me.

“Hayden,” I warn him, and I roll my eyes. I can’t stop the smile tugging at my lips. Of course, he’d pick a princess cut. He’sprobably had this planned since the moment he decided I was his.

“Madison Marie Caldwell…” he scowls like he’s tasting something bitter when he says my current last name, and honestly, I wouldn’t expect anything less from Hayden. “Will you give me the greatest honor of my life by letting me give you my last name?” he asks, his grin boyish and confident.

“Of course I will,” I manage to get out, but he’s not in the mood to wait, because before the sentence is out of my mouth, he’s already sliding the ring onto my left ring finger. It fits perfectly, like it was meant to fit my finger specifically.

“Marry me, Madison,” he’s says, still kneeling. “As soon as possible. Be my wife. Be mine for real. Have my babies. I’ve been obsessed with you since the moment I laid eyes on you, and I can’t even explain how much deeper that obsession grows every second I spend with you.”

I don’t think. I just move. My arms fly around his neck, my face burying into his shoulder. My heart feels like it’s going to burst right out of my chest. “Yes. Yes. Of course, yes. I’ll marry you,” I whisper, my voice breaking with emotion.

Hayden stands, lifting me into his arms effortlessly and spinning me around playfully. The snow falls heavier now, swirling around us, but I barely notice.

“I wouldn’t have taken no for an answer,” he murmurs against my ear, his voice rough. There he is. I love the sweet side of Hayden, but this part of him that’s feral only for me? Yes, please.

He spins me one more time before setting my feet on the snowy ground. His hand finds mine again, lifting it so he can admire the ring. His eyes meet mine, and his expression softens into something that I swear knocks the air out of my lungs.

“It’s perfect,” he says, brushing his thumb over the ring and then my knuckles. “Just like you, Mrs. Madison Lockwood.”

“Hey, we’re not married yet,” I tease, my voice breathless as I try to take in everything that just happened.

I’m baiting him on purpose, because the end result is always fun for both of us. Hayden’s lips pull into a familiar, teasing smirk. “Don’t tempt me. I’ll camp out in front of the courthouse until they open in the morning,” he says, his tone daring me to challenge him.

Before I can reply, his hand slides to the small of my back, pulling me flush against him. His other hand cups my face, his thumb brushing my cheek as he leans in.

The kiss is anything but soft. His lips move against mine and his fingers tighten on my back as his other hand slides down to grip my ass.

I gasp against his mouth, and he takes the opportunity to deepen the kiss, his tongue sweeping against mine in a way that makes my knees weak.

When he finally pulls back, his hand trails down, sliding between my legs, his touch firm and possessive even through the thin fabric of my cheer shorts.

“Fuck,” he groans as his forehead rests against mine. “When I get you home, baby, I’m going to fuck you like you’re already my wife.”

My breath hitches, my body responding instantly to the promise in his words. The heat in his gaze is enough to make me forget the cold entirely, and I know without a doubt that he means every word he’s saying to me.

I try to catch my breath, but he doesn’t give me a second to recover, brushing the snow from my hair as his hand slides back to my waist.

“You’re stuck with me now,” he says, his voice lighter, almost like he’s feeling as giddy as I am.

I laugh softly, leaning into him as he wraps his arm around my shoulders, guiding me back toward the SUV.

“I was half-afraid Tristan’s cousin was going to pop out of the woods in a priest costume and drug me,” I tease, because the Blackwood lore is so shocking, it’s hard to tell what’s fiction or fact.

Hayden snickers, his arm tightening around me. “All of those stories are alleged. I never saw him pretend to be a man of the clergy,” he says, his grin breaking through. I can see the look in his eyes, he knows things that would probably send my brain into space.

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