Page 90 of Desert Thorns

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“No, it’s—” I clamped my mouth shut when Kingsley stopped—and gaped at the scenery presenting itself to us.

Serenity Lake stretched quietly along the lush mountains, the moonlight bathing everything in silver. Crickets chirped all around us, and the night air smelled of mangoes and pine.

“Breathtaking,” I whispered.

“It is.” Kingsley kissed the top of my head. “Take off your heels.” He slipped out of his leather shoes and slid the key fob and his wallet into one of them.

I’d just kicked my heels off and propped my clutch on them, when Kingsley snaked an arm around my waist and hoisted me onto his shoulder. I let out a yelp, which elicited a low chuckle from him.

“What are you doing?” An unnecessary question, considering I knewexactlywhat.

A moment later, water splashed in my face when Kingsley sprinted into the lake. I squealed some more until he halted and slowly let me slide down his solid chest, right into his strong arms. Then he claimed my mouth with his in a deep, passionate kiss. I clawed my fingers into the collar of his dress shirt. Savored his tasted and touch. My heart nearly exploded with love for this man. He was a gift from God—one I was finally allowed to keep and enjoy.

Almost, anyway.

Kingsley pulled back, breathing hard. “This isn’t it. You’re distracting me from my mission.”

“Oops, sorry not sorry.”

He chuckled, then turned his back to me. “You know the drill. Don’t let go. And don’t worry about my back. It’s fine.”

A thrill shot through me when I held onto his shoulders as he lowered himself into the water. He would once again take me to the glowworm cave. His hard strokes quickly brought us to the entrance.

“You ready?” he asked.

I was almost giddy with anticipation. “Yes.”

“Okay. Three, two, one . . .”

And under we went. Again, I marveled at how he found the way in the impenetrable darkness. His muscles worked under my hands as he propelled us forward. Just as my lungs started to burn, we broke through the surface.

Still clinging to Kingsley, I hauled in a greedy breath. “This time wasn’t as bad as last time,” I gasped, my voice echoing in the tunnel.

“No more drowning accusations?” He wasn’t one bit out of breath.

I laughed. “No.”

“Glad to hear that.”

As he pulled me through the tunnel, I once again got lost in the glowworms dotting the ceiling. It was just as breathtaking as the first time. I didn’t realize we had reached the sandbank until Kingsley said so. We climbed onto it, then faced each other.

“We need a bit more light for this.” He unearthed something from his slacks and bent it. It made a cracking noise, then a soft green light came on. A glow stick! He cracked two more, dropping them into the sand around us. The soft light they emitted wasn’t as strong as to dim the glowworms, yet it allowed us to see each other better.

I tried not to think too hard about what we’d done in here the last time, after the dance. Over the past three weeks we’d done a great job at keeping our hands to ourselves. I didn’t want to destroy that.

Kingsley took my hands in his. “Sweetheart,” he whispered, his voice hoarse. He cleared his throat. “I spent a lot of time putting this speech together, and now I forgot it. So I’m just gonna wing it.” He let out a nervous chuckle.

I reached for his face and smoothed my fingers over his beard. “Words don’t matter. Just show me.”

“All right.” He went down on one knee.

I slapped my hands in front of my mouth. Started jumping up and down in the sand. “Yes! Yes, I do!”

Grinning, Kingsley held up a hand. “Easy there, Sweetheart. Let me do this right.”

“Oh. Yes, of course.” I stopped bouncing around and forced myself to stand still, which was pure torture with the explosion of emotions going on inside of me. Of course I’d seen it coming, but could this get any more romantic?

“Harley Summer Raines, the first night we met, you claimed a piece of my heart and never gave it back. Now I want to give youall of it—all of me—for the rest of our lives.” Kingsley extended a small velvet box and opened it. “Will you marry me?”