He kissed her neck softly, his lips tickling her awakened flesh. “So much has changed for us. Well, you more than me.”
“I never thought I’d make it out of Minneapolis, let alone get a job traveling along the coast with the man of my dreams. It really is a dream come true.”
Amelia was new to traveling full-time, and with Nate by her side, she didn’t mind it in the least. It was fun to see new places, like the ocean, and meet interesting people each week. And even though they spent a lot of time in hotels, they always found fun ways to pass the time—like soaking in the hotel hot tub together.
“I can’t even imagine doing all of this without you,” Nate said. “I don’t know what I would have done with myself if I hadn’t met you. Probably I would have gone through life just by the motions, but without any real feelings about anything. I never realize it, but I was empty before I met you.”
“Lake Tahoe was meant to be, I guess. Sometimes fate intervenes and you have no control over the outcome. Not that I’m complaining.”
Nate dropped to one knee before her and she gasped in surprise. Was he really going to do this? She’d waited her whole life to meet a man like Nate and after their weekend in Lake Tahoe, there was no going back to the way her old life had been. She wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of her days—and nights—with him, no matter where that ended up being.
“I never knew my life would end up like this,” he started. “I always figured I’d eventually get tired of the workshops and then I’d stop traveling and maybe if I wasn’t too old and wrinkled, I’d finally meet someone who wanted to be with me. I never dreamed I’d meet the woman I was meant to spend the rest of my life with at a weekend workshop. But now that we’re here and together, I can’t even fathom my life being any other way. This just feels…right.”
“I agree. I love this life with you more than I ever hoped I would.”
“Then marry me, Amelia. Be my partner in life and make me the happiest man in the world. You’re the only woman I’ll ever want to be with.”
“Yes,” she squealed, too excited and happy to be calm. “I want to spend the rest of my life traveling with you.” Pulling him up from the ground, she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him.
“Wait,” he said against her mouth. “You need the ring.”
Laughing, she took a step back and placed her left hand in his. He pulled out a small black velvet box from his front pocket and removed the most gorgeous ring—a princess cut diamond set in platinum. He twisted it in his fingers for a moment before sliding it onto her finger. The diamond caught the light of the sun, causing it to twinkle and dance before her eyes, but all she could see was him and the commitment he’d just vowed to make to her.
“Take me to bed,” she whispered into his ear, nibbling gently on the tender lobe. “I want to make love to my new fiancé.”
“We have dinner reservations in an hour,” he protested, but his hands were already traveling down her back to massage her bottom. “I’ll need longer than that to do things properly. I like to take my time with you.”
“Then screw the reservations. We’ll order room service instead.”
She didn’t usually talk like that to him, but at the moment she was too overcome with raw desire to ask nicely. She was demanding what she wanted this time, and she wasn’t going to take no for an answer.
“Take me to bed or I’ll be forced to have my way with you out here on the balcony where everyone can see.”
He squeezed her butt hard and pulled her body against him. She could already feel his excitement at her offer bulging into the tender flesh beside her hip. “Voyeurism? Now that we’re engaged you’re going to get all kinky on me?” He teased, but he knew she was making an empty threat. “I’m sorry, but I’m not sharing you with anyone else, ever. You’re all mine.”
His mouth crushed down on hers as his strong arms lifted her off the ground and she wrapped her legs around his waist. They staggered back against the glass door that led back into the suite.
“I’ll get the door,” she said into his mouth, not breaking their kiss for something as silly as talking. She fumbled around behind his back and finally found the handle, careful to not let the ring slip off her finger as she did. He’d done well guessing her ring size, but it was a tiny bit big. Maybe tomorrow she’d get it sized, if she could convince herself to part with it that long.
Pulling open the door, they stumbled through the opening and fell onto the soft couch, leaving the door hanging open and a gentle breeze blowing in off the water.
She straddled his hips with her thighs and tugged his shirt up and over his head. His bare chest exposed and heaving with his quick breaths turned her on even more. She slipped off her own shirt and bra, not bothering to wait for him to get around to taking it off for her. She wanted to be with him. Now.
“Every time I see you, you’re more beautiful than the last,” he whispered. His fingers tickled her sides as they inched their way along her ribs to her breasts.
She moaned at his touch, her hips writhing against him as if they had a mind of their own. She loved it when he touched her. It made her feel alive and desirable and loved. So loved.
She wiggled out of her skirt and pulled off his slacks with one quick pull. Mesmerized by the sight of him fully naked—it still hadn’t stopped impressing her—she straddled him again, gasping as he entered her with one thrust. Her mind became a swirl of ecstasy as they moved together. They found their rhythm and the world disappeared around them.
Hours later, long after their missed dinner reservations, Amelia lay completely satiated and curled in a blanket on the couch against Nate’s still deliciously naked chest.
Nate hung up the phone. “Room service said it could be a little while before dinner arrives. Are you sure you can wait that long? You’re not going to starve to death before it gets here, right?”
“I’m starving, but somehow I’ll manage until then.” She yawned, feeling the fatigue from the long day of work finally setting in. “Maybe I’ll take a tiny nap while we wait.”
She felt his fingers rake through her hair, tucking it back behind her ear so it was out of her face. He sighed, sounding like there was something wrong.
“Are you sure you’re okay with this life?” he asked quietly. “Living like this, out of a hotel room all the time. You don’t want to have more permanent roots somewhere? Maybe even a real home?”
She could hear the notes of concern in his voice. Propping herself up on her elbow to get a better view of him, she placed a soft kiss in the center of his chest, then put her hand over it, the diamond on her finger sparkling in the light of the lamp. Resting her head down on his chest again, she couldn’t hold back the sigh of satisfaction and contentment as it slipped from her lips.
“Anywhere I am with you will always be home to me. I love you, and as long as I have you beside me every night, I don’t care where we are, just as long as we’re together.”
She wanted to say more, but exhaustion overtook her ability to speak. She slipped into a dreamless sleep, knowing that whatever the future held for her, she would always have Nate, and that meant she had everything she ever needed—the whole world to explore…with Nate by her side.
The End
About the Author
Heather Thurmeier was born and raised in the Canadian prairies, but now she lives in upstate New York with her own personal romance Hero (aka her husband) and their two little princesses. When she's not busy taking care of the kids and an adventurous puppy named Indy, Heather's hard at work on her next romance novel. She loves to hear from readers.
Heart, humor, and a happily ever after.
heatherthurmeier.com
mailto:[email protected]
twitter: @hthurmeier
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Also by Heather Thurmeier
Meadow Ridge Romances:
Love and Lattes — Available now wherever e-books are sold
Bunny Hills and Bikinis Page 23