Page 68 of Promised Summer
“I love you, Ryan. And I don’t need any grand gestures. All I need is for you to stay by my side,” I told him.
“I’m not leaving,” he promised me.
It wasn’t the first time he’d said that. All the other times, there was always a trickle of doubt that crept up to tell me that promises could be broken so easily. This time, the nagging voice inside my head was peacefully quiet.
I took his left hand in mine and rubbed his ring finger. “Don’t make me wait too long,” I said.
“Okay,” he replied, knowing I was talking about him proposing.
“I love you, Sparkles. I’m going to make both you and Karla very happy.” Karla looked up at the sound of her name and ran towards us with a laugh.
I scooped her up and let her hold the yellow bouquet while I held her in one arm and Ryan with my other.
They had become the most important people to me.
They were mine.
Epilogue
RYAN
Five years later
Warm arms wrapped around my waist, and I didn’t even have to look in the mirror to know my husband had joined me in our bathroom. Jones kissed the base of my neck and pressed a line of kisses up to my jaw.
“God, Sparkles, I missed you so much. I hate when you have to go on these work trips,” he whispered against my skin, then turned my head to steal my lips.
I turned around in his arms and pulled him in for a deeper kiss. I’d returned from my work trip this morning while Jones was still at work, and he’d just gotten home. He was still in his work clothes and smelling likemanafter a hard day of physical labor. That, mixed with his natural scent of sun and fresh dirt, had me pitching a tent.
Jones noticed. I could feel his smirk against my lipsas his hands massaged my ass cheeks. He rubbed his erection against mine, making me fully hard.
“Fuck, stop. Karla’s gonna be back at any moment,” I gasped and broke our kiss. I tried to struggle out of his arms, but Jones held me tight.
“Did she have fun at Gigi’s today?” he asked, kissing down my neck again. I tried to push down the swirling fog of lust and keep my head clear.
“Grandma was helping with Karla’s summer homework. Some arts and crafts assignment. When I arrived, they looked like I’d come to ruin their fun,” I told him, breathing ragged.
Jones laughed.
At ninety-five, my grandma was officially the oldest resident in Kither Springs. She had shrunk another inch in height, but aside from that, she was still going strong and loved spending time with her great-granddaughter.
Jones kissed the sensitive spot at the back of my ear. “And where’s Karla now?”
I couldn’t think straight and tried to push him away again. I had a hard time thinking when he was so close.
“She’s, uh, hanging out with Imani and their friends,” I replied when I found my voice again.
“We have time then,” he said, then spun me around and bent me over till I was resting over the bathroom vanity.
“Jones, we really shouldn’t. We’re gonna get?—”
All my weak protests turned into moans when Jonespulled down my pants and underwear, spread my cheeks, and feasted like a man ending a hunger strike.
“God, I missed the taste of you. I’d keep you here and eat you out all day if you let me,” he said, taking a nibble of my right cheek.
He speared his tongue into my hole and wasted no time sliding in a thick finger alongside it.
“Fuck, Jones. Stop teasing and get inside me already,” I cried when he kept hitting my prostate just lightly enough for me to get a taste. All it did was make my desire for him burn even more.
