FAE #2
He laughs and his dimples press into his cheeks as he shakes his head, trying to compose himself.
“Then don’t be naughty,” he says, still fighting the smile.
“Scout’s honour,” I reply, lifting my hand again with a dramatic sigh.
He huffs out another breath of laughter, unbuckling his seatbelt before stepping out to pay for parking and heading to the boot.
A moment later, my door opens and my dark, brooding man stands there with one brow raised as he nods toward the coat draped over his arm.
I make a show of being put out, rolling my eyes as I take the coat, but the truth is no one enjoys a beach when they’re freezing.
I’m halfway through rolling my eyes at the coat when I notice the basket.
It’s tucked neatly in the boot beside a couple of folded blankets and what looks like actual food, not just something thrown together last minute.
I pause, blinking at it, then back at him.
“You planned this?” I ask, narrowing my eyes. He rolls his, like that’s the most ridiculous question I could have asked.
“What do you think?”
“I don’t know,” I mutter. “You’ve been a bit… unpredictable recently.”
His mouth twitches, but he doesn’t rise to it, just shuts the boot and shifts the basket in one hand with the blankets tucked under his arm.
“What about Felix and Robyn?” I ask as we start walking.
“What about them?”
“Well, we didn’t know Fiona was coming,” I say, swallowing past the lie on my tongue. “Were they meant to come too?”
“No,” he shakes his head, shifting the basket in his hand. “I was dropping them off.”
His hand finds mine and our fingers thread together as he leads me down toward the sand.
The air shifts the closer we get, the breeze picking up slightly, carrying the scent of the sea with it.
It’s familiar and comforting as we make our way across the beach.
My feet sink slightly with each step until we reach the place we came the first time he took me here.
Roman sets everything down and gets to work straight away, shaking out the blanket before laying it flat against the sand.
I watch the quiet focus in him. The way he moves feels so intentional and it does crazy things to my insides.
He pats a spot for me, and I lower myself down onto it before he joins me a second later.
Roman sits behind me again, pulling me back so I’m flush with his chest and I shiver at the contact.
“It’s nice here,” I murmur, looking out toward the water.
“It is,” he agrees, with a softer voice than I’ve heard in days.
Roman gently grabs my chin, turning me as my hand rests against his chest. I lean in and he meets me halfway.
His lips find mine in a slow, steady kiss that feels nothing like the rushed ones we’ve been stealing lately.
This one lingers. His hand comes up to cup the side of my face, holding me there before I pull back and rest my forehead against his.
The sound of the ocean crashes around us, steady and loud against the quiet.
His breath brushes my face. It feels warm against the cool air, and I can hear the rhythm of it.
A seagull cries somewhere in the distance above, but everything else fades under the way he holds me.
One hand rests over my stomach, the other moving slowly up and down my back, grounding us both.
“Are you okay?” I ask quietly.
He exhales, “I am if you are.”
I swallow the sob that rises.
He always chooses me over himself, but I won’t let him.
I can’t. It’s why me and Fiona made this plan, why it has to be me.
He would do it for me without hesitation, but it would ruin him.
I mean, yeah, he’d survive it. I know he would.
But he wouldn’t be the same. Unease settles low in my stomach as doubt tries to push to the forefront of my mind.
I’m not losing him to this.
Roman pulls back and that twinkle returns to his eyes as his smile spreads wider.
“Will you dance with me?” he asks.
I blink, as a small laugh slips out.
“There’s no music.”
A corner of his mouth lifts as he reaches behind him, pulling a small portable speaker from the basket.
“It’s a good job I thought of that.”
I shake my head, smiling as he connects his phone. He stands, holding his hand out to me.
“Come on.”
I take it, letting him pull me up onto the sand.
His arm slides around my waist, drawing me close as mine settle around his shoulders.
‘You’ll Be Alright, Kid by Alex Warren’ starts to play softly through the speaker and I lift my head as our eyes meet.
He looks at me like I’m everything. Like I’m worth all of it.
Even now.
Even when I know I don’t deserve it.
I rest my head back against him, listening to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat beneath my cheek as we sway together and the wind brushes softly around us. Everything feels simple when it’s just the two of us.
“Tink…” he says softly.
I tilt my head up and brush my lips against his.
His hand comes to my jaw and he pulls me in, deepening it.
The kiss turns hot and heavy as his mouth moves against mine with a hunger that leaves me breathless.
My fingers clutch at his shirt as everything inside me sparks to life.
It feels like fireworks in my chest, and I give it back just as hard, melting into him as the rest of the world falls away.
“Marry me, Tink,” he whispers as he rests his forehead against mine.
My stomach flips as we pull back and stare at each other with wide eyes.
“Please marry me,” he adds, louder this time.
There’s no hesitation in him. Just that same unwavering certainty he’s always had when it comes to me. After everything… after today… after what I’m keeping from him… he’s still here. Still choosing me. Still loving me even when I have given him every reason not to.
A tear slips free from my eyes.
Marriage was never something I saw in my future, not with the life I’ve lived, not with the things I’ve done.
And now it’s right here in front of me, being handed to me by the one person I would never survive losing.
Guilt twists through me because I don’t know if he’ll forgive me when this is over, but I’m selfish enough to take it anyway.
Selfish enough to hold onto him whilst I still can.
“Tinkerbell,” he murmurs, his fingers lifting my chin so I have no choice but to look at him.
“I know it’s not the right time, but I can’t go another day without you as my wife.
I need you, Tink. Every version of my future has you in it with my ring on your finger and my baby in your arms. You are the only thing in this world that has ever brought me peace and I will do everything in my power to get to keep that forever.
” His hand drifts to my stomach again and my smile softens.
“Ask me again,” I whisper.
His grin breaks wide. “Marry me.”
“Yes,” I breathe as a laugh slips out. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”
His hand cups my face and he pulls me into him.
Roman’s mouth claims mine in a kiss that’s deep and certain.
I cling to him as he smiles against my lips, and a giggle slips between us.
Roman pulls me down with him onto the sand and I squeal as my legs fall either side of his thighs and his hands tighten at my hips as he holds me there.
I fall forward and peck his lips as I grind against his cock.
“The guys are going to have a field day with this,” I squeak breathlessly.
“Hmm,” his eyes darken as his pupils dilate. “They thought I was bad when they touched my girlfriend? Wait until they try and touch my wife.”
He squeezes my hips and an uncontrollable laugh explodes out of me as I tip my head back. Roman pulls me down using the front of my coat as he claims my mouth again.
And just like that, I let myself fall into it, into him, into the illusion that everything was finally going to be okay.