Page 99 of Daddy's Bodyguard

“Good plan,” I grumble, glaring at her after checking the ring. It’s modest, the best I can do. “I’m so nervous. It’s not good enough for her.”

“It is.” Daisy holds my shoulders in her hands. “More importantlyyouare. She loves you, and anyone can see it, even when she’s calling you a dummy.”

I smile slightly. “I swear, it means she loves me.”

“Yeah, hold on to that ... and don’t expect Sofia too soon. You’re not injured anymore.”

I roll my eyes. The woman hasn’t been home on time since I was given the all-clear. We had sex, then it was back to overtime. Daisy finally leaves, and I finish prepping for the night. I practice two different proposals until I hear Sofia pull in.

It’s five thirty, she still shouldn’t be this early. I glance at everything already set up, at everything that she’s not supposed to see until I’m ready to try and get down on one knee … and hope I can get back up.

Fuck. I didn’t think I would be so nervous.

I stow the ring in my pocket and watch her come in like a hurricane. She goes through her necessary routine, starting with kissing me. Then she’s talking to herself, talking about her day in bursts that I only half hear. I agree to what I can hear without sounding ridiculous, open she stays away from the dining room until I’m ready to propose. She goes for a quick shower, and I rehearse my speech once more.

When she comes out of our bedroom, though, she’s wearing a dress that has me drooling. Sofia shouldalwayswear red. Red, showing off delicious cleavage, her delectable thighs, all the places I want to touch and kiss and love forever.

“Wow,” I breathe.

She walks up to me, suddenly shy. I notice both her hands are behind her back. “Jasper.”

“What do you have there, sexy minx?” I lean to the side, trying to see. “Is it something naughty? Another crop?”

“No!” She gasps, blushing deep. “No. It’s not a toy.”

“You know I love you being a dominatrix. I think I’m even ready to tie you up, tigress,” I tease, trying to distract her so she doesn’t notice the very conspicuous set up.

“You know I love you.” She breathes slowly. “And we do pretty well at this whole living together thing.”

I tighten my hand in my pocket and smile as I close the distance between us. Is she doing what I think she’s doing? “We do a damn good job of it.”

“So I think … I think we should um …” She chews her bottom lip.

I brush my fingers over her cheek. “Should fuck more often? Call it quits while it’s good? Finally get that dog you talked to me about?”

“No! Stop distracting me!” She shakes her head, then clears her throat. “I think we should make it official. We should …”

She’s never had trouble finding words before. Whatever she’s saying is hard.

She swallows, takes a deep breath, and meets my eyes. “I love you, Jasper. Even when you drive me insane. And you’re good at that. You’re also good at calming me down. At making me feel alive. At making every day of my life better. Do you want to do that forever?”

“Of course, I do.” I smirk. Now I know exactly what she’s asking me. I know she’s beating me to the punch, so I’m going to make her say it. I’m going to make sure that she says the words and sees it through.

She bites her bottom lip. “Do you … want to get married? To me? Be my husband, even though I’m half-crazy and aggressive and have a million things to accomplish and-”

I pull her against me and kiss her hard, hungry, demanding. She melts against me and licks into my mouth, standing on my toes to be able to kiss me deeper. I swear, I can feel her heartbeat. When I draw back, I show her the box.

“You beat me to it.”

She laughs and watches me pull out the simple ring. Her eyes water, and she nods. “Yes.”

“Yes?”

She nods again. “Put it on my finger!”

I laugh and slide the ring on. She shows me the little gold band she got me. I hold out my hand, and she puts it on before laughing and fanning her watery eyes. “I said I wasn’t going to cry.”

The doorbell suddenly rings, and she jumps, her hand tightening on mine. I press my forehead to hers. “I had a whole plan, gorgeous. And you had to go and ruin it.”

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