Chapter 15
The past week and a half have been extremely busy for us. And it wasn’t all due to our work. We had negotiated with the owner of the house we loved and settled on a price both sides could live with. The house was in escrow, and in less than thirty days, we’d be the proud owners of our dream home.
Danae had been frantic to come home after work every night and pack.
I made her hold off. First, we’d have that carpet removed that she wanted to get rid of.
And while it was still empty, I convinced her to have the interior painted in the colors we wanted.
So much easier to paint when there was no furniture to deal with.
Once it was ready, we’d hire movers to pack and move the stuff for us.
With our jobs and her pregnancy, I didn’t want her to stress or overtax herself.
The one aspect of our lives that hadn’t been as stressful as we feared was Julie and Holly.
In the first few days, we were hyper-alert, expecting them to cause trouble or try to confront us, but they’d been holed up in their apartments.
They barely left. The investigation into their licensure and certifications was ongoing.
Hopefully, they learned their lesson and will steer clear of us.
There were whispers that the legal implications were still being discussed.
But we weren’t focused on either of those at the moment.
Tomorrow evening was the gala that we’d been waiting to attend.
Last weekend, I took Danae shopping as promised.
We visited a couple of high-end boutiques Hadley had recommended.
She promised we’d find what we were looking for there—everything to outfit my woman from head to toe.
Hadley also offered to let Danae borrow one of her many jewelry sets.
She claimed to have many, and it was a shame to keep them locked away.
It took a few hours, but in the end, we found a dress that was perfect for her.
The color was what they called a cinnamon rose.
Against her skin tone and dark hair, the dress was dazzling.
It was a floor-length A-line evening dress.
The skirt and most of the upper bodice were made of satin.
The sweetheart neckline was edged in lace.
The shoulders were left bare, and from biceps to wrists her arms were covered in lace sleeves.
I only knew what A-line and sweetheart neckline meant from the sales lady explaining when she noted my confused expression.
The A-line camouflaged most of her baby bump, not that we cared whether it showed.
She wasn’t huge, despite being twenty-eight weeks pregnant.
Danae chose a pair of strappy satin heels in the same color as her dress. She kept the heel modest. To complement it, she added a pale gold metallic clutch with a crystal clasp.
When we got home, she joined a video conference with the Patriots' wives and showed them her dress. When Hadley saw it, she pleaded with Danae to tell her we hadn’t bought jewelry to go with it.
When my woman denied that we had, Hadley squealed and told her she had the perfect set to go with it.
Hadley said she’d have Griff bring it to me at the office.
She refused to hear any protests from Danae.
I had my tuxedo, freshly dry-cleaned and ready to go. My shoes were shined. My hair was freshly trimmed. There was only one final thing we needed to do before tomorrow. I was taking care of it tonight.
We were relaxing at home. I’d brought in dinner rather than either of us cooking. We had candles lit around the bedroom as we snuggled in bed. We were watching a movie on television. It was a comedy, which meant I could handle it.
I’d forgotten the movie a while ago. She seemed to be only partially paying attention to it.
I caught her yawning a few times. I knew that work was taking a lot out of her.
And as she progressed with the pregnancy, it would get worse.
I didn’t want to chance her falling asleep before I was able to complete an all-important task.
“Divine One, are you still interested in this movie, or do you want me to turn it off?” I murmured.
“I’m sorry. Can we stop and finish it another night? I’m really tired tonight. I want to lie here in your arms,” she murmured.
“Then that’s what we’ll do. Let me turn it off.”
I found the remote and killed the television. The room was still filled with the candles, but I knew she loved those. She sighed and snuggled deeper into my chest. I had one arm around her back. I lay there saying nothing for about five minutes. She yawned again. I knew I had to do it now.
“Baby, excuse me for a minute. I’ll be right back.”
I slid out of her hold and out of bed. I went into the closet.
In one of the drawers designated as mine, clear in the back corner, I took what I was there to retrieve.
I kept it hidden as I made my way back to bed.
She gave me a slumberous smile. I brought her to me, holding her against me again.
Danae smiled up at me and raised her lips to mine.
The kiss was leisurely and perfect. As it ended, I knew it was time.
“Danae, I need to ask you something.”
“What, honey?” she murmured. Her eyes were staring into mine. Her hand caressed my cheek and down along my jaw.
“Our lives are going along so well. We love each other. We’ve found our dream house. Our daughter will be here before we know it. We both have jobs that we enjoy. Life is good, really good.” I paused.
“Yes, I agree with all of that. What’s your point?” She asked.
“Well, despite all those things, our lives are still lacking something.”
This time, when I paused, she scooted herself up higher on the pillows. She frowned at me.
“What do you think we’re lacking?”
“Something small, meaningful, and shiny,” I rasped as I held up the small box I’d kept hidden as I came from the closet. Her eyes widened, and her mouth gaped.
“I-Is that…” she stammered.
“Is it what? This?” I flipped the lid open.
Nestled inside was a brilliant diamond ring. The noticeable kind without being garish. I knew she wouldn’t wear something like that. Plus, she’d want to be able to wear her ring at work sometimes. It was nothing like the rings her mom wore the night we had dinner.
“Danae Seong, will you do me the greatest honor and say yes to being my wife? My forever love?”
“Yes, oh God, yes, Heath, I will,” she said hoarsely.
I removed it as she held up her left hand.
I noticed she was shaking slightly. I placed it at the tip and slid the ring down.
It went on without any trouble. I had to push a little at her knuckle, but that would keep it on.
I lifted her hand in the candlelight so we could admire it.
Then, I kissed her. There was nothing leisurely about this one.
We kissed as if we were starved and hadn’t done it in weeks.
And just like that, desire came roaring to the surface.
My cock began to harden. Danae made whimpering sounds that made me feel wild.
Lips, teeth, and tongues teased and twined around each other.
By the time we broke that kiss, we were both panting not from the lack of oxygen but from blazing desire.
Her hands had slid behind my neck. She held onto me and pleaded. “Please, Heath, baby, make love to me. I need to feel you inside of me.”
She didn’t need to say more. I rolled her onto her back.
I had on a pair of shorts, and she was in a short nightgown, one that came barely to the top of her thighs.
I worked it out from under her ass and up over her hips until it was at her arms. She held her arms high so I could remove it all the way.
Her tits gleamed in the candlelight. I was dying to taste every inch of her body, but I wasn’t sure I had the self-control to do that.
After I tossed her gown to the foot of our bed, her hands went to the waistband of my shorts. I allowed her to slip her thumbs under it, then teasingly work them from side to side. I used my arms and legs to lift my ass off the mattress. In no time, my shorts had joined her nightgown.
“By the way, before we get too lost, I want you to know. I love this ring. It’s not too flashy or pretentious. Did you pick it out all on your own, or did you have some help?” She asked.
“I’ll have you know that I did it all on my own.
I saw plenty of examples of rings you wouldn’t like.
And I remembered what you said when you were checking out the Patriot wives’ rings.
The ones you seemed to like the most. I snuck one of your regular ones and took it with me so I’d get the right size.
I’ve been waiting for a month to ask you.
There’s no way I want us to go to this gala tomorrow without you claimed.
I want no one to doubt that you’re taken and who you belong to. ”
“You mean this baby belly isn’t enough proof?” she teased.
I rubbed my hand across it as I grinned. “I like to double down on things.”
Her laughter was so carefree and happy. It turned to a moan as I nuzzled her neck and began my exploration.