Winner Takes All (A Full Length Erotic Romance Novel)

by Gray, Sherilyn

  On a good day, it would take her almost twenty minutes to walk to the house from the stables, but she ran, making it there in barely fifteen minutes. The back porch of the large house was barely used. At times, Damien would sit out there with a glass of whiskey and recover from his day. Sometimes, it functioned as part of the setup for a lawn party. Sasha had recently discovered that it was a comfortable place to spend a late Saturday afternoon, a place where she could sit on the bench swing with her love and talk about everything, anything, and nothing.

  As she turned the corner of the large stone house, Sasha saw that there were at least a dozen people on the wide porch. It looked like a party. She noticed with surprise that there were people there she knew. Michelle, a couple of the other jockeys, and Linc, who was supposed to be taking the day off. Then there was Damien’s mother, who she’d met almost two weeks before. Mrs. Taylor sat in the porch swing sipping lemonade as she talked with a man her age. Everyone had a drink in their hand as they chatted with each other. An impromptu afternoon gathering, she assumed since Damien hadn’t told her about it. Her racing heart slowed down. Nothing was wrong. She smiled in relief. Nothing was wrong.

  As she walked up the steps of the porch with a greeting and a smile for everyone, a murmur moved through the group, and then the door to the house opened. Damien came out looking relaxed in gray slacks and a white buttoned up shirt opened at the throat. She went to him immediately.

  “What’s the emergency, love?” she asked.

  “No emergency. I just wanted to make sure you were properly on your feet.” He kissed her lightly on the lips, slipped an arm around her waist. “You must be. You got here fast.”

  “I thought there was something wrong,” she said. “I’m glad there isn’t.”

  “Nothing is wrong, darling. In fact, everything is just right.” He pressed her briefly to his side then walked with her to the center of the porch.

  Was it her imagination or was everyone giving them room?

  Damien pulled away slightly from her. “I sent Theresa to get you because I wanted to ask you something very important.” He looked up at his mother then to nearly everyone gathered around them. “In front of my family and our friends, Sasha Cormick.” Damien reached into his pocket and took out a small velvet box. Dropped to one knee. “I am asking you to marry me.” He opened the box, revealing a glittering diamond ring.

  She drew a startled breath, her hands flying to her mouth. “Are you serious?”

  “I am. I was serious the last time too.” Despite the teasing tone in his voice, there was a vague shadow of unease in Damien’s eyes. Real fear, Sasha realized, that she would turn him down. She bit the inside of her lip, tenderness for him welling inside her. She touched his handsome face.

  “I’ll be honored to accept your proposal, Damien Taylor.”

  Happiness flashed across his eyes as loud cheers and applause exploded all around them. Damien slid the ring onto her finger, grinning widely. It was a perfect fit. He rose to his feet and claimed her mouth in a searing kiss.

  “Thank you,” he murmured, holding her close. “You’ve made me happier than I ever thought possible.”

  As he echoed the words in her heart, Sasha clung to him, feeling truly like a winner for the very first time.

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