Page 11 of Paradise (Alphas Forever 4)

“I can’t believe I just did that.” She giggles a little. “I’ve been the little sister for so long. I never thought I’d stand up to Brandon. And I thought for sure you two were going to go hand-to-hand there for a minute.”

She lets her breath out in a whoosh and flops onto the sofa.

I turn and head down the hall.

“Hey,” she calls out after me. “Where are you going?”

I go into her room, grab the bag slumped against the wall, and toss a few of her clothes inside.

“I’m going back to my boat,” I say, coming out of her bedroom, “and I’m taking you with me. Put these on.”

I drop a pair of shorts into her lap. Once she’s slipped them on, I pick her up, toss her, giggling, over my shoulder, and take her to my truck.

* * *

Gemma spendsthe last week of her vacation on my boat with me. She’s practically my second mate, going with me on charters, helping me book excursions and keeping the boat clean.

And she makes me take her out to the reef every day, just the two of us, so she can sunbathe naked on the deck. She makes sure she has plenty of sunscreen, and I’m more than happy to help spread it over her naked body. And, naturally, the naked sunbathing always leads to fucking. And fuck her, I do. Over the rail, on the deck, on the bench seats, in the cabin, in the pilothouse, and once, at midnight on the pier at the marina.

Funny, how much my girl loves to sunbathe.

But as her vacation comes to an end, I catch her a couple times with tears in her eyes, staring across the bow of the boat. I know she’s thinking about leaving. I’ve been thinking about it a lot, too. We haven’t said anything to each other about the future yet, but I know what I want.

I want Gemma.

Forever.

On the last day of her vacation, we’re out on the reef again and Gemma is below, washing the salt out of her hair from her swim. The sun is starting to drift below the horizon and a few stars are beginning to twinkle where the sky meets the sea. I quickly light a few candles around the deck and grab a bottle of wine from the galley fridge. When Gemma comes back up to the deck, I’ve spread a blanket on the boards, and am waiting for her with a glass of sparkling wine.

“This is sweet,” she says. She takes the glass and leans forward for a kiss. “Are we celebrating something?” She sips from her glass and smiles at me.

“I hope so,” I say.

Her brows draw together, and she has a question on her face. And, well, I have a question for her, too. But first I have a few things to say.

“I love you, Gemma,” I say.

The candlelight catches the tears that begin to well up in her eyes.

“I love you too,” she says softly.

I take a deep breath and grab her, pulling her to me. I take the wine glass out of her hand and set it aside.

“I love you. I want you. I’m never going to want anyone but you. I want to have babies with you. Fight with you. Grow old with you. You’re more than I could have ever imagined, and I can’t believe fate somehow dropped you, ass first, onto my boat. Gemma, marry me. Be my wife. Be my always.”

I’m sure she says yes. But I don’t even hear it. All I know is that her arms are around me, her lips are on mine, and her hand is on my cock, guiding me into her. We make love twice on the deck, as the ocean sways the boat and the stars wink in the sky above us.

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