Hotshot (The Bennett Brothers 1)

“It may take days of making it up to me, but I forgive you.”

“Days, huh? How about a lifetime?” I smile against her skin, knowing in my heart this is the right moment. No stalling, no hesitation, this is it.

She goes stone still, and I have to pry loose enough to reach into the tree behind me. I dig the ring out of the branch and turn back, popping open the lid.

Her eyes grow wide and start to shimmer as she looks at me in disbelief.

“A lifetime, Bizzy. A lifetime together. Marry me.”

“Shaw,” she breathes out.

“Say yes, Bizzy.”

She looks at me with hesitation written all over her face. “We’ve had the most tumultuous relationship two people can have. Our lives have changed so much in the last few months. We haven’t even lived together yet!”

“Yes?” I press her.

“How can I answer? Yesterday morning, we weren’t even talking more than a few minutes a day. You came here to stop me from taking a job, and laid out your life for the last few weeks that you chose not to include me in. Don’t do this to me, Shaw.”

I smile, realizing she needs more. I’m going to have to work for this. “I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you for my stupid and selfish decisions. It’ll be my pleasure to shower you with gifts and all the love in my heart. You’ll never want for anything.”

“Shaw, I don’t need gifts.”

I brush my lips over hers then replace them with my finger. “This has nothing to do with your job. I’ve had this ring since October. I was going to slip it on your finger the night you dropped the bombshell about coming to Charlotte. Since then, I’ve had several opportunities, but right now, in this moment, with me still inside you, is when it hit me the most. I love you with everything I have. Being with me hasn’t been easy, and it’s not lost on me what I’m asking you to do. But I promise you, there will never be another day in your life where you won’t know how much you mean to me. This is not a spur of the moment thing. This has been in my mind since the day I kissed you on the beach.

“I’ve loved you for ten years, Bizzy. Maybe it took me a while to realize the depth of that love, but since you pounced into my life that day in the hospital, you’ve had a piece of my heart. Now, you have it all…every single piece of it.”

“Oh my God.” Tears puddle in her eyes, and she looks at me with the most love I’ve ever felt in my life.

“Answer me.”

She starts to nod, the tears now streaming down her cheeks. “Yes,” she rasps.

I move quickly, taking the ring out of the box, slipping it on her finger, and crashing my mouth to hers.

My cock grows hard again as I move us gently, me going to my back so she’s on top. I fist my hands through her hair, keeping her sealed against me until we both break away for air.

She lifts up and lifts her hand in front of her face, her eyes growing wide again once she realizes what I’ve done. “SHAW!” she squeals, waving the hand to me. “This is over the top!”

I lift the hand to my lips and kiss the cathedral diamond and the sides, which I had designed with diamonds in calligraphy with our initials. To anyone glancing, it looks like a huge rock, but looking closer shows the details.

“You like?”

“On the off-chance I’d said no, what would you have done?” she tries to ask snarkily, but it comes out sexy.

My hands travel to her ass, and I buck into her, grinning smugly. “You do realize I never really asked, right? No wasn’t an option.”

She starts to argue, but I bolt up and kiss her again. Then I proceed to do what I’ve wanted to since October… make love to her in nothing but my diamond.

“Mom, we haven’t gotten that far.” Bizzy rolls her eyes at me and tosses her head to the ceiling. I take the opportunity to kiss her neck, and she starts swatting at me with her free hand.

“No, he just proposed a few hours ago. Give me some time. This is all sort of a surprise.”

It’s been like this for the last fifteen minutes, since Bizzy called her mom to say Merry Christmas and told her about our engagement. Rory knew, since I explained my plans on the phone last night on my way to the airport, but did her best to act surprised. I actually asked Tom’s permission out of respect. He was hesitant with his approval until I explained the intensity of my feelings.

With or without his permission, I was coming home with Bizzy as my fiancée. When he realized this, he laughed at me and called me a cocky asshole then threatened my life if she ever hurt again.

It was an understanding, and I took it as a challenge.