Page 15 of Painting Him Mine

I cupped the back of his neck and pulled him close enough to allow me to kiss him with a hunger borne from his erotic show. If I had any doubts before about being too impulsive about agreeing to marry Ezra after knowing him for one day, his actions eradicated my lingering qualms. I’d be a fool to let him go when he had proven over and over again that he was the perfect partner for me. I needed more mornings to start the same way. It also excited me to think about giving him sexy baking lessons, although the odds we would burn our desserts as we got distracted were pretty high. It would be a worthy sacrifice to the baking gods to enjoy the pleasures of his body.

Now that we had satiated our lust, it was time to indulge my curiosity.

Chapter Twenty

EZRA

After we cleanedup from our breakfast fun and put on clothes, Mauricio wandered over to my easel with my latest work in progress. He stood in front of my canvas to admire it with a look of awe on his face that further endeared him to me. “Wow, this is even better in person. You can really appreciate the impasto detailing in your paint.” He glanced over at me. “What inspired you to do this?”

“As a lifelong Vincent van Gogh fan, I couldn’t resist the challenge of painting the Brooklyn Bridge at night in hisStarry Nightstyle. I’m pleased with how it’s turned out so far, but I still have quite a way to go before it’s finished.”

“It’s truly remarkable.” His smile was beautiful and lit me up inside. “I’m in awe of your talent. As amazing as yourStarry Nightsketch on my ten-dollar bill is, this is next-level awesomeness.”

I hugged him to indulge in a cuddle. “I’m glad it brought us together.”

He wrapped his arm around my shoulder as he held me close. “So am I. It makes me even more excited to have you design a flower for me.”

I slid my hand up to rest over his heart, where my flower would eventually take root on his skin. “I already know what I’m going to do, too.”

He covered my hand with his and squeezed it as he pressed it against his chest. “Are you going to tell me, or is it going to be a surprise?”

“I think it’ll be more fun as a surprise.”

“That makes sense, considering everything about you has been a fun surprise.” He leaned down to give me a sweet kiss. It melted me into a puddle as I held on to him for support. “I look forward to finding out what you have planned for me.”

“The only hint I’ll give you is that it will be a flower like nobody has ever seen before.”

He smiled at me with a fondness that made me heady. “I love that it’ll be as unique as you.”

“It definitely will be.” I placed a kiss above his heart. “I’ll make sure it’s as perfect as you.”

“You’re adorable.” He kissed my forehead with a gentleness that melted me.

Taking his hand, I led him over to sit on the couch. I hesitated before I figured I had nothing to lose by asking. Why start being timid now? “So, while I work on designing the perfect flower for you, how do you feel about engagement rings?”

He stroked his chin as he mused on the subject. “I don’t have a specific preference.”

“If we tell people we got engaged on the first date, we’re going to get alotof shit for it from our friends and family if yours are anything like mine. But what if we wear secret rings just for us?” I got more excited about the idea as I continued. “It’ll allow us to celebrate being engaged while letting our friends and families warm up to the idea of us dating without jumping down our throats about moving too fast.”

“I like that idea, but I don’t think it’ll be very secret if we’re both wearing the same rings.”

His protest didn’t deter me. “We can always say the coincidence was one of the things that brought us together. After all, it’ll technically be true. I think Etienne can help us.”

“How?”

“I promise you’ll love it. I just need to check one thing first.” I gave him a quick kiss before getting up to get my phone off the charger on my nightstand. Returning to the couch, I sat next to Mauricio as I texted with Etienne. After a few back-and-forth exchanges, I lit up with excitement. “He said he has them!”

He seemed a bit lost. “Has what?”

Putting my phone down, I moved to straddle myself over his lap. I wrapped my arms around his neck as I made myself right at home. “Etienne specializes in enamel jewelry and art history. He has the perfect rings for us.”

“Do I get to find out ahead of time what they are?”

“No, that’ll ruin the surprise.” I gave him an enigmatic smile. “But we can go there today to pick them up.”

“Can I at least get a hint first?”

I tapped my chin as I pretended to think of one. “They’ll be perfect for us. Trust me, Etienne’s an amazing artist in his own right, so they’re going to be spectacular and worthy of our love for sure.”

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