I can’t stop myself. I’m destroyed.
As I heave to catch my breath, I feel the mattress dip. Sin releases the cuffs and pulls me onto his lap. His arms are wrapped tightly around me. “Ellison’s the only family I’ll have after my dad is gone.”
He strokes my hair as I cling to him. “That’s not true. You have a huge family waiting for you in Edinburgh.”
“Then I’m all my sister will have and I’ll be leaving her.”
He sighs. “I’ll make sure you see Ellison as often as possible.”
“If I decide to marry you, I can’t go to Edinburgh with you right now. I have to be here for my dad until the end.”
“I know.” Sin kisses the top of my head. “I’ll wait for you, Bonny. Always.”
Chapter Four
Sinclair Breckenridge
As promised, I’ve given Bleu three days to consider my proposal. I’ve continued to watch over her from afar just as I’ve done for the past three weeks. She’s gone about her life, spending her days with Harry at the hospice and her nights at home.
The waiting has been more brutal than I anticipated. Each night I wrestled with giving in and going to her. I somehow managed to hold it together and stay away. But now the time has come. Her seventy-two hours are up and I’m ready for an answer.
I call her cell to forewarn her of my imminent arrival. “Time’s up, Bonny. I’m coming in.”
“Right now?”
She sounds as though she’s taken aback but she shouldn’t be. I told her three days. It’s been exactly seventy-two hours since I proposed. “I told you when I’d return. This shouldn’t come as a surprise.”
“I thought I’d get some kind of forewarning.”
“You are. This is it.”
She huffs and I can’t help but find it amusing. It sounds so girly—not at all like my tough lass. “Sin. I’m not prepared.”
“Then get prepared.” She huffs again to let me know she’s not pleased. “I’m giving you ten minutes and then I’m coming in.”
“Twenty,” she counters. “I need a bath. It was a long day at the hospital.”
If I agree to twenty, she’ll take thirty. “Fifteen.”
“You’re killing me here, Breck.”
“Fine. I’m coming for you in twenty minutes.” I know I’ll regret conceding.
“Ellison’s here and she’s still awake. You can’t come to the door.”
“What do you want me to do? Sneak in through your bedroom window?”
“No. I’m sneaking out of it.”
“What are you? Twelve?”
“Shut up.”
“Fine. I’ll be waiting at your window in twenty minutes.”
“Where are you taking me?”
Our options are limited. “I guess my place.”
“Okay. See you in thirty.”
“We agreed on twenty, Bonny.”
Silence. She ended our call without giving me a chance to argue.
I’m going to have my work cut out being married to this lass. She’s as good as me when it comes to getting her way. Maybe better.
* * *
I remove Bleu’s window screen and tap on the glass—thirty minutes later. She lifts the window and looks down at me, a mischievous grin on her face. She knows she’s been a bad girl. “Hi.”
“Hi.”
“You’re ready?”
“Yeah.” She leans out and swings one leg through. “I didn’t sneak out of my bedroom when it was deemed an age-appropriate thing to do.”
“Good. I’m the only lad you have any business sneaking off with.”
I catch her around the waist as she jumps to the ground. “Thanks.”
We get into the car, me in the driver’s seat. “You’re driving? This is new.”
“Aye. I sent Sterling away.” As my driver, he’s been present during many pivotal moments of my life but his presence isn’t required during my proposal and engagement.
At least I hope that’s what this is. My heart tells me she’s going to say yes but there’s no way to be certain with my Bonny Bleu. She can be unpredictable at times.
I pull into the drive of the house I’m renting. “This is where you’re living?”
“Aye.”
“My God! I can’t believe you’ve been living two streets over from me for almost a month and I didn’t figure it out.”
“You aren’t the only chameleon in this relationship.”
“I see that. It’s good information for the future.” She used the word future. That sounds favorable.
We go inside and I toss the keys onto the foyer table. “It’s not home but it serves the purpose.”
Bleu looks around. “I like it.”
I wish we were in Edinburgh. I can think of at least a dozen places I could’ve taken Bleu for an unforgettable proposal.
Bleu’s legs are bare with the exception of her tall boots. She’s bundled in a long wool jacket as though it’s freezing outside but I find the weather quite comfortable. “May I take your coat?”
She shakes her head. “I’m still a little cold.”
We go into the living room and sit side by side on the sofa. We both know why we’re here so I suppose there’s no sense stalling. “Have you made your decision?”
She nods. “I have.”
“Don’t tell me your answer yet. I need a do-over. I want the chance to properly propose, the way a man should ask the woman he loves to be his wife.”
She’s had three days to decide; I’ve had three days to come up with how to right the wrong of my prior proposal.
I remove the black leather box from my jacket pocket. I go to one knee on the floor in front of her—and then both. That’s what a woman like my Bonny deserves—a husband who will happily go to both knees for her.
She is holding all the power so I kiss the tops of her hands where they r
est on her thighs. Whether she realizes it, this is my way of submitting to her. “I’ve never met anyone I wanted to put above myself until you. I want to give you everything, including my heart, if you’ll have it.”
I open the box and take out the ring. “I love you. Stella Bleu Lawrence MacAllister. I want you to be my wife. My partner in life. The mother of my children. Will you marry me?”
She nods and tears well in her eyes. “Yes. It would make me very happy to be your wife.”
I close my eyes and kiss the ring before sliding it onto her finger. “Into me … you see.”
“Into me … you see,” she repeats.
She holds out her hand, studying the platinum and diamonds symbolizing her agreement to become my other half. “My God, Sin. It’s beautiful.”
“Wear it always. I want the world to know you are mine to always love and protect.” I lace our fingers and kiss her hand. “I swear I’ll always do everything within my power to make you happy.”
She releases her hold so she can cradle my face. “You can begin by not denying me when I ask you to make love to me.”
She’s made the decision to be mine forever so I’m done holding back. “I am yours and you are mine. I’ll never deny you again. This I swear.”
It’s been too long since I’ve had Bleu. I don’t intend on simply tasting her skin or burying myself inside her body. I need to claim my Bonny and make her mine in every way. There’s an internal force driving me to possess her like I never have before.
I grab her hips and drag her forward. Her legs part, as does her winter coat, and I notice her thighs are bare. I lift the hem for a peek and find very little beneath. “Miss MacAllister. I believe you forgot to dress yourself.”
She grins and shrugs. “Perhaps. Or maybe I was rushed by my fiancé and didn’t have time to put on clothes.”
Fiancé. I like the sound of that.
I untie the belt at her waist and push the top of her coat apart. My eyes roam over the lacy red bra and matching knickers. “You should probably expect to be rushed more often if this is the potential result.”