Page 71 of Black Heart

“We won’t have to worry about anyone bothering us for a while,” Tristan murmured absently as he moved to place his pants on the counter, but after a slight hesitation, he placed his pants on the floor by the tub. It was a little odd, but nothing worth mentioning.

“Why?” Marty asked, wondering if he truly knew his mother at all. If Beth was determined to come over here, then she was damn well going to-

“They’ll be busy for a while helping Denny,” Tristan said offhandedly as he pulled his underwear down and made it difficult to focus.

“What happened to Denny?” Marty somehow managed to ask as she ran her eyes over him. The man truly was magnificent. She wanted to run her hands over his muscles, kiss his scars better, and trace his tattoos with her tongue.

“A freak accident,” Tristan said, sounding unconcerned as he grabbed the Coke off the counter and walked over to the bathtub. With a smile, he gestured lazily for her to move forward.

“Is he okay?” Marty asked, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth as she moved, noticing for the first time that the water was barely lukewarm. Just how long was she asleep? Marty wondered, taking the Coke as Tristan climbed in behind her.

“I guess I was gone longer than I thought,” Tristan said as he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her back against him.

“You left?” Marty asked, frowning as she opened the Coke and took a sip.

“Mmmhmm,” Tristan murmured, taking the Coke and took a sip as she closed her eyes and-

God, she could stay in his arms forever.

“Did they call you to help Denny?” Marty asked, placing her arm over his arm where it lay across her stomach.

Tristan chuckled as he kissed the side of her neck. “No, his unfortunate accident happened while I was over there getting something out of my old room. I would have been quicker, but Denny spotted me sneaking inside and decided to sell me out to distract Mom.”

“Tristan?” Marty said, wondering what could have made him risk drawing his mother’s attention. Then again, she couldn’t help but wonder what this had to do with Denny.

“Hmm?” Tristan murmured absently, carefully placing the Coke down on the side of the tub before reaching for his pants.

“What happened to Denny?”

“Nothing important,” Tristan said as he searched his pants for something. “He just suddenly found himself tied up.”

“Tied up?” Marty repeated, feeling her lips twitch as she turned her head so that she could look at him.

“Well, maybe handcuffed and hanging out the window would be a better description,” Tristan admitted, planting a quick kiss against her lips before shifting to look over the side of the tub so that he could see what he was doing.

“Please tell me that you didn’t really handcuff your brother,” Marty said, sitting up to make it easier for Tristan to do whatever it was that he was doing.

“Had to,” Tristan said as he continued his search only to sigh with relief when he found what he was looking for and sat back.

“And why’s that?” Marty asked as she leaned back against him.

“Because,” Tristan said, turning his attention back to her as he picked up her left hand and slid something onto her finger, “he was keeping me from you and I didn’t want to spend one more minute on this earth without you, Marty. Will you marry me?”

Marty could only stare at the beautiful diamond ring on her finger. It took her a moment before she remembered where she saw this ring before. It was the ring his grandmother left him when he was fifteen. She’d been a child the last time that she saw it, but she’d dreamed of wearing it one day and now, she was.

“I know that I’ve screwed up and that I’m rushing this, Marty, but the idea of spending even one more night without you in my arms is killing me,” Tristan said as he entwined their fingers together. “Please say yes.”

This was insane, Marty told herself as she stared down at the ring on her finger. They’ve never even been on a date and…

God, this was crazy, but what was even crazier was the fact that she wanted to say yes, more like scream it. They needed to slow down, Marty told herself as she sat there, trying to remember why this was a bad idea.

“I don’t want to waste another minute, Marty,” Tristan said softly as he kissed the top of her head. “Say yes.”

“Are you still going to be an asshole?” Marty asked even as she couldn’t help but wonder what the hell was wrong with her even considering this.

“Yes,” he said with absolutely no hesitation, “but you can kick my ass if I step out of line.”

“Marriage is forever,” Marty said, knowing that she couldn’t do this.

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