by Jessie Evans
“Lark would understand,” Nick said. “And so would I. I’m behind you, whatever you want to do. I can switch shifts with John and be your chauffer to the city every Saturday.”
“As long as I keep making Shepherd’s Pie every Wednesday for dinner,” she said, reaching out to poke him in the leg with her toe.
“Yes,” Nick said seriously. “You can change careers if you want to, but the Shepherd’s Pie is non-negotiable.”
Melody started to laugh, but the sound was cut short as the boat made contact with the platform with a dull thud. Her eyes finally shifted to the middle of the lake and Nick’s heart started pounding all over again.
“What’s that?” she asked, brow furrowing.
“What’s what?” Nick asked, his renewed anxiety helping his voice sound more innocent than it had before.
“There’s a jewelry box or something…” Melody trailed off as she reached out, scooping the box off the platform as they drifted by. “I wonder if we should take it to the lost and found? Maybe someone…”
She broke off and looked up at Nick, the surprise in her expression tinged with a hint of suspicion. “Nick?”
“What?” he said, fighting to keep from smiling, to keep the surprise going for a few more moments, until he could talk his heart out of his throat and figure out how he was going to get down on one knee in the narrow space between his seat and Melody’s.
“It’s a phoenix,” she said, running gentle fingers over the carved top of the box. “It looks almost like my tattoo.”
He hummed beneath his breath. “Weird.”
Nick had finished Melody’s phoenix tattoo three weeks before, using non-latex gloves to be certain she didn’t have an allergic reaction like last time. The bird had turned out beautifully, if he did say so himself. He thought even Mr. and Mrs. March might grow to like it when they finally saw it out for show and tell next summer during swimsuit season.
But whether they liked it or not, it didn’t matter. Melody loved it, and Nick was pretty sure it was the sexiest thing he’d ever seen. Catching glimpses of it while Melody got into her pajamas each night had only added to his torment, making him wonder what he had been thinking when he’d insisted that they shouldn’t sleep together until they were officially engaged.
The past five weeks—kissing and touching, but stopping before things went too far—had been torture. He went to bed every night aching with longing and woke up hard enough to shatter glass. He couldn’t wait to get a ring on Melody’s finger for a lot of reasons, but he couldn’t deny that finally being able to make love to her was pretty damned high on the list.
“Why don’t you open it,” Nick said, when Melody seemed ready to keep her exploration confined to the outside of the box.
“I shouldn’t,” she said. “What if it’s something private inside? I don’t want to snoop.”
“I think you should snoop,” Nick said, hands beginning to sweat all over again. He propped the oars into the boat and wiped his hands on his jeans, muscles tensing.
Melody cocked her head; her eyes narrowed. “Is this a surprise?”
“Open it,” he repeated, suddenly ready, past ready, to ask Melody the question he’d been working up to all week.
“Okay, fine,” she said, laughing as she unhooked the latch and opened the lid.
Nick knew the instant she saw it. Her laughter died, and her entire body went still. He took his cue and eased off his seat and onto one knee, letting his hands come to cradle the sides of her thighs in his hands as he spoke.
“Melody March,” he said, voice shaking. “I love you.”
She looked up, eyes shining with unshed tears and a strange expression on her face that Nick couldn’t quite place. She was either terrified or overwhelmed with happiness or somewhere in between the two. It was a scary look, but he pushed on anyway, knowing there was no turning back now.
“I love you more than I thought I would ever love anyone or anything,” he said, clearing his throat, but finding it did nothing to dislodge the lump that had formed there. “You make me smile like a fool every day. I’m so happy I hardly recognize myself anymore, and I like it that way. I look forward to every morning because you’re going to be there when I wake up, and I never want to wake up without you. Will you do me the extreme honor of becoming my wife?”
“Oh yes, goodness yes,” she said. “The ring is beautiful and I love you and yes, yes, yes!”
Tears spilled down her cheeks as she threw her arms around his neck and pulled him close, feathering kisses over his forehead and cheeks before finding his lips and kissing him until he was so dizzy he was afraid they were both going to fall out of the boat.
“I love you so much,” she breathed against his lips.
“I love you, too,” he said, laughing. “I’m so glad to have that over with. I was so nervous all night. My deodorant was no match for the stress sweats.”
“Why?” she asked, swiping at her cheeks as she pulled away. “You knew I was going to say ‘yes,’ you silly.”
“I don’t know.” Nick shrugged, grinning as she plucked the ring from the jewelry box and slid it onto her left ring finger with a giddy smile on her face. It was a perfect fit. “I guess I thought there was still a small chance you might come to your senses and tell me to get lost.”
Melody narrowed her eyes playfully. “Never. Now, you are mine forever, and I will never let you escape until I…” She trailed off, a frown creasing her forehead as she stared down at her feet.
“Nick?”
“Yeah?”
“Have you noticed that your leg is wet?” she asked, in a deceptively calm voice.
Nick glanced down, surprised to see two inches of water filling the bottom of the boat, enough to soak the knee he had bent and begin to seep into his other shoe. He had been so nervous, and then so happy, that he hadn’t noticed, but now it was abundantly obvious that the boat was taking on water.
“Shit,” he muttered beneath his breath. “I took the boat out two hours ago and it was fine!”
Melody giggled softly, making him lift his eyes to her face.
“This isn’t funny,” he said, smiling in spite of himself as he slid back into his seat and grabbed the oars. “What if we can’t make it back to the dock before we sink?”
“Guess we’ll have to swim,” she said, her giggle turning into a full-fledged laugh.
“What is wrong with you, woman?” Nick asked, laughter infecting his words, though he could honestly do without a swim in freezing cold lake water in late October. But Melody’s joy was too infectious to resist.
“Nothing. I just figure we have to learn to laugh at our bad luck.”
Nick shook his head, grinning as he pulled hard toward the shoreline and water seeped more rapidly into the boat. “We do have the worst luck. I think we’ve been cursed by a jealous god or something.”
“Probably a goddess, jealous of me for taking the hottest mortal man on earth,” Melody said, with a wink.
“Seriously,” Nick said, muscles straining. “Maybe we should go get our energy cleansed at that New Age place in Atlanta, the one that sells the crystals and spirit candles and stuff.”
“We don’t need our energy cleansed,” Melody said, rolling her eyes. “All our luck isn’t bad. Your shop is doing really well and I’m starting a second career that I love. Our two best friends are dating and happy, and John is moving in with Kitty next week, which means soon we’ll have an entire apartment to ourselves and guess what else? We’re engaged to be married!” she finished with a happy squeal as she leaned over to kiss him, the addictive taste of her distracting him from his work long enough for the water to reach their calves.
“Oh my god, that’s cold,” she said, breaking off the kiss with a gasp.
“Not so excited about that swim now, are you?” He hauled at the oars, but only managed to move them a few feet closer to the dock. The boat was getting too heavy, the water pouring in so fast Nick knew it would only be a matter of m
inutes until the boat went under. There was no way they were going to make it to the dock fifty feet away before they sank.
“Here, give me the box,” he said. “I don’t want you to have to hold anything while you’re swimming.”
“No, it’s okay, I can hold it,” she said. “I’m a stronger swimmer than you are.”
“You are not a stronger swimmer,” Nick said, insulted. “And you’re wearing a dress that will drag at your legs.”
“I am so a stronger swimmer,” she said, beginning to shiver as the water reached their seats. “And you’re wearing shoes.”
Nick took off his shoes, hurling them hard at the dock, gratified when they connected with the wood with two hard thunks. “There, no shoes. Now give me the box.”
“Fine,” Melody said, handing it over. “But I really am a stronger swimmer.”
“Guess we’ll see, won’t we? Last one to the dock has to tell Joe that we sunk his boat,” Nick said, grinning as he leapt from the boat. His head went under the cold water long enough to make him dizzy, but then he was popping back up to the surface and drawing hard toward the dock as Melody splashed into the water behind him.
***
“No fair!” Melody shouted as she surfaced and quickly began to close the distance between her and Nick. “You are such a cheater!”
“Such a winner, you mean,” Nick threw over his shoulder.
“Don’t think so, Geary,” Melody said, passing him on the left, breath coming faster as she pulled hard through the water, drawing just far enough ahead for her fingertips to brush the dock first.
“Oh! Shut out!” she called, laughing as he groaned in defeat. “And after you cheated, too. That must feel terrible. I hope you’re ashamed of yourself,” she said, teeth chattering as she pulled herself up on the dock, so soaking wet that her dress clung to her like a second skin, a gross-feeling second skin that reminded her of the cold, gritty feeling of having her wrist put in a cast in tenth grade.
“Do you think you can still find a way to love me?” he asked, bobbing in the dark water.
Melody grinned down at him, unable to keep from noticing how delicious he looked with his dark hair slicked away from his face and his long, dark lashes clumped around his eyes. He was so gorgeous, and so wonderful, and so hers. She wiggled her fingers, delighting in the feel of his ring snug on her hand, still drunk on the magic of his proposal, despite their freezing dip.
“Yes,” she said. “I think I can still find a way to love you.”
Nick hummed happily as he pulled himself onto the wood planks beside her, his gaze even more intense than usual.
“What?” she asked.
“I think I can see through your dress,” he said, squinting. “Are you wearing a bra?”
Melody’s eyes widened as she crossed her arms at her chest. “No, I couldn’t. The back of my dress is too low. Oh, my gosh, can you really see through it?”
“I don’t know,” Nick said, taking her wrist and pulling it gently away from her chest. “Let me get another look or two…or three.”
Melody slapped his shoulder before bringing her arm back in front of her chest. “This isn’t funny.”
“No, it’s not. It’s sexy as hell and there’s no way I want you walking through the restaurant to the car looking like that,” Nick said, getting to his feet and reaching a hand down to help her up. “The boat house should be open.”
Melody shivered as he pulled her to her feet. “Really? It’s never been open before. Lark and I used to try to get in there all the time when we were little.”
Nick twined his fingers through hers and led her toward the one room shack next to the dock. “I might have paid Joe a little something to let me rent it out for the evening.”
“Aw!” Melody couldn’t believe he’d gone to all this trouble. Even the sinking rowboat couldn’t make this anything less than the best proposal ever. Heck, it really only added to the story.
“Let’s get you hidden,” Nick said. “And I’ll go see if I can find something in the car for you to put on. At the very least, the picnic blanket is still in the trunk. You could wrap up in that.”
“Okay, I…” Melody trailed off as Nick opened the narrow door to the boat house, letting her pass through first.
“Oh, Nick,” she said, stopping just inside. “What did you do?”
“Champagne and strawberries too cheesy?” he asked, closing the door behind them.
“No, it’s wonderful! It’s perfect,” she said, already feeling warmer even though the tiny room wasn’t insulated.
At least the walls kept the breeze off their soaked clothes, and there was just something about seeing a cozy little table with a red-and-white checkered tablecloth set with champagne and strawberries and a candle waiting to be lit that made her feel warmer.
“You are amazing,” she said, turning back to him, letting him pull her close, warming their damp clothes with their combined body heat.
Nick dropped his lips to hers, kissing her with that gentle, insistent passion that always made her ache all over. Ache and a little piece of her feel like it was going to wither away and die every time he pulled away.
The past weeks had been wonderful and perfect in so many ways, but they had also been torture. She’d never wanted to be with a man the way she wanted to be with Nick. Every kiss, every caress drove her absolutely insane with wanting him. Last night—when he finally slipped his hand down the front of her underwear and stroked her with his fingers—she’d practically sobbed with relief. He’d brought her to completion with a skill that was a little intimidating for a girl who was still technically a virgin, but even finally releasing some of the sexual tension simmering inside of her hadn’t been enough to take the edge off.
She didn’t just want to come, she wanted to feel Nick’s skin against hers, feel him moving inside of her, finding his release while they were as connected as two people could be. She wanted to make love to him, but he’d been adamant about waiting until they were engaged.
“Oh,” Melody said, pulling away from their kiss as the realization hit, breath coming faster.
“What’s wrong?” Nick asked, his voice as breathy as her own.
“Nothing’s wrong,” she said, letting her fingernails drag gently down the back of his shirt and a suggestive lilt enter her tone. “I just realized that we’re engaged.”
Nick’s eyes darkened. “We are, and I can’t wait to get you home tonight.”
“Why wait until we get home?” Melody asked, her fingers coming to the top of his shirt and starting to work one button through a soggy buttonhole.
Nick lifted one brow. “Here?”
“I mean, we should probably get out of these wet things, anyway,” she said, starting on the next button. “Don’t you think?”
“The floor isn’t that clean,” he said, even as his hands moved to the back of her dress, gripping the top of her zipper and pulling it down.
“I don’t care,” Melody said, just the sound of the zipper opening enough to make her tingle all over with wanting him. “I don’t want to wait another second to feel you inside me.”
Nick’s breath rushed out. “You are the sexiest woman I’ve ever met.”
“Good thing,” she said, helping him pull her damp dress down her arms and off her waist, sighing with relief when it fell to the ground and only her underwear remained. “Since I’m going to be your wife.”
Nick shook his head, a mix of awe and raw need on his face as he looked her up and down.
“Why aren’t you out of those clothes, yet?” she asked in a soft voice, electricity jolting through her as Nick made quick work of his clothes, the assured, sensual way he disposed of each article enough to make her nipples pebble in the cool air.
“Are you sure you don’t want more romance than this?” Nick asked, thumbs hooked into the top of his boxer briefs, pausing on his way to being completely bare to her.
“What’s more romantic than an old boat house after a beautifu
l proposal and nearly drowning in a rowboat?” Melody asked, reaching for him and curling her own fingers around his waistband. “Now, hurry up. I want to see you.”
Without another word, Nick tugged his boxer briefs over his hips and let them slide to his ankles before stepping free. Melody let out a sigh of approval.
Stunning. There was no other word for him. From his broad shoulders to the muscled planes of his stomach, to the little indentions on the sides of his hips that dipped in before his abdomen became something more intimate, to the dusting of dark hair that surrounded where he was so perfectly aroused—not too big, not too small, and lilting rather adorably to the left—he was so delicious Melody couldn’t quite believe he was hers.
“Your turn,” he said, the hunger in his voice making her shiver for reasons that had nothing to do with the cold.
A moment later, her panties were added to the pile of damp clothes on the floor and Melody was settling down on top. She felt a button digging into her back as she lay down, but then Nick was lengthening himself on top of her, and she lost awareness of anything but his skin soft against hers, his mouth hot on her own, and his hands running over her body, touching her in all the places she’d been dying for him to touch.
After a few breathless kisses that left Melody’s head spinning, Nick pulled away, dropping his head to kiss the top of her breasts even as his palm slid down her stomach to curve over her thatch of blond hair, his finger sliding into where she was already swollen and wet with wanting him.
Melody arched into his touch with a moan that became a gasp as his tongue found her nipple, teasing her tight tip before he pulled her inside his mouth with just the perfect amount of suction. She reached down, kneading his strong shoulder muscles with her hands before smoothing her hands down the front of his chest, catching his small, flat nipples in her fingers and teasing him until he tightened beneath her touch and pulled back with a swiftly indrawn breath.