“Dominic?” she breathes.
I have to do it. I have to lay it all out on the line.
“Daphne, I love you. I want to be with you, both in the bedroom and out on the town. Yeah, I may be old enough to be your father, and at one point, I was your dad. But I don’t see you as a little kid. I see you as the woman you’ve become. I want you in my life, always.”
With a silent prayer to whatever gods may be listening, I drop to one knee and pull out the ring box from Tiffany’s. I open it and all the girls at the table gasp in unison.
I asked the jeweler at Tiffany’s for the biggest, purest, most gorgeous rock they had, and they came back with a stone so big, I?
??m not entirely sure Daphne should be let out of the house without an armed guard if she’s wearing it. I think the fucker can be seen from outer space.
But what I want more than anything is for Daphne to see it, and to know that above all else, I want her to be known as my wife. I want the world to know that I’m proud of her, and love her with all my heart.
“Oh Dominic,” Daphne says again, but this time, there’s happy tears shining in her eyes.
“Will you marry me?” I ask, for only the second time in my life. When I’d proposed to her mom, I’d done it while seventeen sheets to the wind. I only vaguely remember it. But this moment … this moment I’ll remember for the rest of my life.
Bringing a fist up to her mouth to hold her tears back, she nodded jerkily. “Yes, Dominic, I’ll marry you,” she says, the happy tears falling down her cheeks. She launches herself off the barstool and straight at me, knocking me backwards to the floor. I stare up at her and she grins down at me. “Yes,” she whispers, and to the clapping and applause of the whole bar, she shows me just how much she wants to be my wife.
59
Daphne
Every filthy moment I’ve spent with Dominic has been the most mind-blowing sexual experience in my life in that moment. My dreams are full of repeats of the naughty things we’ve done, and they always wake me up in a sweat and in need of a cold shower.
But this? The way that he’s looking at me right now?
Dominic loves me. He wants to marry me. He doesn’t want to hide anything, or keep a secret. He wants me as much as I want him, and there’s a real chance at happily ever after. I want that so badly. I remember the simple crush I had on him when he was my stepfather. I remember seeing him again at a definite low point in my life and feeling how he could make my pussy ache for him, but not my heart… not in a bad way. He’s fucked me hard and good, but Dominic… he’s always tried to be tender with my heart.
That’s the sort of thing that sticks with a girl.
I get on tiptoes and wrap my arms around his neck. I want to kiss him, but first I just have to be cute and shit because I rub my nose against his. I’m just so in love with him and I want to remember this moment forever. The scent of his skin. The warmth of his arms around me. The way his smile goes all the way to his eyes when he looks at me with a look that is pure love.
I love Dominic. It might be screwed up to some people, but to everyone that matters, it's just fine. We see it, and they see it. And I can’t stand the idea of waiting even a second longer to not be kissing him right now. Kissing Dominic is always so sensual and romantic. And now, all of our cards are on the table.
“Let’s get out of here,” I whisper, running my tongue between my lips as my heart starts drumming a song of pure anticipation. “Right now,” I add, needing him to understand just how badly I need to be alone with him.
“Let’s,” he replies with a nod, and then he reaches for my hand and holds it in his. Just like lovers do in the movies; just like in fairy tales.
“Girls, I… I need to…” I start to say, stammering. I can’t even form a coherent sentence right now; my brain is in complete disarray.
“Just get out of here,” Giselle cuts me short, waving her hand casually as if she’s dismissing me, and winking all the same. Yeah, the girls are already making movies in their heads about what I’ll be doing a few minutes from now. I feel blood rushing to my cheeks as I think of that, but then I just shrug it off.
“We’ll talk later,” I merely say with a smile, and then I let Dominic walk me out of the bar, his arm laced on mine. “Where are we going?” I ask him, looking up at him and munching on my lower lip. Both my apartment and his are more than twenty minutes away, and that’s if the traffic isn’t as crazy as it usually is.
“Don’t worry. I’ve already booked a room across the street,” he replies, a devious grin shining on his face. God bless him; he really thought of everything.
Two minutes later we’re strolling through the lobby of a small but luxurious hotel; a set of stairs after that and Dominic opens the door to our room. I’m in such a hurry to be alone with him that I almost stumble inside the room, but he catches me just in time, his hands on my waist. Spinning me around, he makes me face him and then pulls me into his embrace.
I let my gaze fall from his eyes to his mouth, and then I surrender to the burning need inside of me.
First I kiss his upper lip, gently pressing both of my lips there. Then I do the same to his lower lip. I feel him hold in a breath, wanting more but wanting to let me kissing him the way that I want to.
When I press both of my lips to both of his, though, he can’t take anymore waiting. I feel his hand cup the back of my head, fingers weaving through my hair, and he pulls me tight against him.
His tongue parts my lips and sweeps into my mouth. His mouth opens wider and I kiss him, too. My tongue moves inside his mouth. I kiss him, turning and shifting and reaching up to kiss deeply like only he and I do. I kiss him with everything in me, and that’s only fair: Dominic kisses me with every ounce of passion that has ever existed in the world.
My heart swells ten times its normal size in my chest and my heart flutters. Never have I been so happy in my life.