I bite my lip as my eyes roam over his handsome face.
“Say it,” he says. “Say you’re mine.”
I don’t, though, because he looks so damn hot right now. Those pouty lips, that beautiful stubble on his jaw. My heart hiccups. I slide my hands under his shirt, running them around his sides, over his tattoos and down the front of his stomach. I lean up and kiss his lips because I can.
He doesn’t fight me. He kisses me back, pressing me down onto the fluffy mattress. It turns into something more, but that’s not surprising. We’re alone on a bed. Why wouldn’t we go all the way?
He reaches and slides my Adidas runners down over my hips. Dipping his hand between my legs, he presses into me. “This is mine. Everything that is you is mine.” He slides two fingers inside of me. I moan and relish in the pleasure. “Say it,” he says, our mouths touching but not kissing. He curls his fingers and I suck in. “Say it or I’ll stop.” He goes to pull out when I can’t talk.
“I’m yours,” I say.
He licks my lips and plays with my tongue, working his fingers until I’m nothing but shaky legs and curled toes. His zipper goes down, his button undone, and my thighs spread when he settles between them. I kick my shoes off and my sweats as he lifts my shirt up and over my head. He always likes me this way, completely naked beneath him.
It’s rough and heaven; it’s quick and earth-shattering. He grips my flesh and bites down on my leg. I dig into his back as he bends my knee, diving deeper until he releases and it’s then… I remember… I missed my doctor’s appointment to get my birth control shot.
Fuck.
Chapter Nineteen
Bryce
After I remind K who she belongs to, we freshen up with a shower and unpack our bags.
“What do you want to do?” I ask her as she hangs up shirts and everything else she’s got in that thing.
“I have no idea. You’re the one who planned this trip.”
I smile. “I was actually just being polite. We’ll go to IJ-Hallen, which is the biggest flea market in the Netherlands, and it only happens once a month, so we got lucky.”
“Lucky, huh?” she says, sliding her suitcase under the bed.
I smirk. “Maybe just a little luck and maybe a lot of planning,” I say. I stand up from lying on the bed and straighten out my shirt before grabbing my phone from the nightstand. I check the time and see a text that our private boat is waiting on us across the street. “Come on. Our ride is waiting.”
“Is that guy just sitting down there waiting on us?” She looks horrified.
“No,” I say. “But if I paid him to, he would be.”
“I’m glad you didn’t. I’d feel horrible for the guy.”
“I can see.” I shake my head and slide my phone into my pocket before grabbing my hat and placing it on my head. K slides on her shoes and grabs a cross body purse, opening it and putting her phone inside and we head out.
“So, if we’re not taking a car, how are we going to this biggest market in the Netherlands?”
“Boat,” I say.
“Boat?” she asks.
I point to the private boat just for us sitting in the water. “There.”
She gets the biggest smile on her face, and it makes my fucking heart explode. Sometimes, it takes my breath away. The fact I make her happy. Me, the Darrell Downer as my brother so cleverly called me.
His big brother, who’s always looked out for him. Little punk. We head across the street and the boat guy says hello. I nod and reach my hand out to shake his. “Bryce Grant. This is my girlfriend, Kathrine.”
“Good to meet you both,” he replies, smiling. He helps Kat on board, and she settles down onto the cushioned bench seat with orange and red throw pillows. “This is Amy,” the captain says. Amy smiles at us both. “Welcome to Amsterdam,” she greets. “Would you two like a drink?”
“Yes, please,” Kat says. We are both handed a glass of champagne as we start off. “Would you care to know any of the history as we go, or do you prefer to relax?” Amy asks.
“I’d love to know the history,” Kat says, looking at me.
“Whatever you want,” I tell her.
“Good.” Amy nods and then she begins. As we cross under bridges, Kat listens to everything Amy says, soaking it up like a sponge. I enjoy my drink and the fact that she’s really liking this.
After our boat tour, we take a ferry to the enormous IJ-Hallen flea market, which spills out of two industrial warehouses. We hold hands and Kat buys little odds and ends things to go in Mugs & Books. Once we’re done, we head back to eat Stroopwafels and have a beer.
The sun sets soon after, so we head back to the apartment and settle in for the night. The plane ride was long, and our day was full. Kat falls asleep without wanting to, and I carry her up to the room. Climbing in beside her, I pull her to me and I, too, fall asleep.
The next few days are filled with adventure. We rent a car and travel two hours away to Belgium to see Miranda Castle. Time and Mother Nature destroyed most of it, but the structure stands tall and strong. We step over crumbled stone, and K runs her fingers over the cracked walls.
“It was built in 1866,” I tell her. She looks back at me with a lifted brow. “What? I studied up a bit.”
She grins, looking sexy beautiful in a simple black dress and sandals. I grab her and kiss her crazy against old stone walls that have seen things I couldn’t imagine.
We eat out every night, checking off all the things you must try in Amsterdam. We watch the sun set, and when we’re not exhausted from the day, we make love before drifting off to sleep.
We visit old windmills and walk through Grote Market, and on the night before our last day, we climb into bed, tangled up in each other.
I explore her whole body, kissing and tasting. She slow rides me as sweet sweat drips down her back, and once we both fall and can’t go any longer, she lies on top of me and I whisper into the darkness.
“K?”
“Yeah,” she says, half-asleep.
“Go somewhere with me.” I run my fingers up her side. She lifts her head, the glow of the moonlight painting her face in soft blue.
Our eyes are knotted and her hair tickles my chest.
“Anywhere,” she murmurs. “Where you go, I go.”
Chapter Twenty
Kathrine
Red tulips brush against my fingertips, the morning dew glistening off its soft pedals. I feel him close behind me, but then again, I always feel him when he’s near. The breeze kisses my skin, tossing my hair and giving me a slight chill. I watch in absolute wonder as yellow rays burst out into the early morning sky.
Bryce woke me at an ungodly hour on our last day here. To say this has been a trip I will never forget is an understatement. From the road trips to the markets and the amazing food.
I. Will. Never. Forget. This.
And Bryce has gone out of his way to make sure of that. He planned everything out—the rental car, the boat rides. It’s been incredible.
And this right here—standing in a tulip field as the sun rises with Bryce behind me—may be my favorite part.
I turn to look at him. He stands with his hands slid into his pockets, his blue eyes focused on me in a sundress. Lips I want to kiss are slightly moistened like the pretty flowers beneath my palm, and he gently grazes his teeth over the bottom one.
Instinctively, I walk closer to him. His face is serious, almost unsure.
“Watch the sun, K.”
I tilt my head slightly but turn back. He wraps his arm around my waist, pulling me closer to him so my back is flush against his chest. I reach up and hold my hand over his.
“The moment I saw you, I knew I was in trouble,” he says quietly. “I crave you, girl,” he whispers into my ear. “Brush me off again.” His deep voice sends chills down my spine and goosebumps across my arms, tripling my heartbeat.
His words from the plane replay in my mind. “It could all be yours, too.” He was serious?
/>
“Do you know what red tulips mean?” he asks.
“No,” I murmur. I’m hyperaware of him, the beat of his heart against my back, the possessiveness of his hand across my stomach, the way his voice vibrates my bones and shakes my soul.
“Perfect love,” Bryce says as he slides his hand from around me. I smile at the meaning, awestruck for a moment. My eyes run over the flowers and the sun and how everything about this is unflawed. I turn to see why he stepped away, and my hand goes to my mouth as I look at what he holds in his hand.
“I love you, K. I don’t know how I’ve lived in this world so long without you and I never want to know again. You steal my breath; you consume every part of me. Give me forever,” he says before he drops to one knee and opens the small black box.
“Marry me.”
And it’s not a question, but I wouldn’t expect it to be. Not from Bryce. It’s a demand, borderline plea even.
I’m shocked and amazed and never in a million years thought this was going to happen. But I don’t cry because this isn’t like the movies.
This is two people who have come so far in trust, in love. This is proof that we can overcome our pasts and the skeletons in our closet.
I remove my hand from my mouth and bend my knees, and his eyes narrow slightly. “You’ve had me since breakfast at two a.m.,” I say softly. “Okay, I will marry you.”
He smiles and takes my hand, sliding the ring onto my finger. I glance down at it before looking back at him. He grabs me, kissing me senseless, causing us to fall back. I laugh as he covers me, his body so close to mine, our souls knotted, and our hearts satisfied as we kiss in a field full of perfect love.
Chapter Twenty-One
Bryce
Jace places his beer on the edge of the counter and hits it with his fist, popping the top off before handing it to me
“No bottle opener?” I ask, taking a seat on his couch as he does the same with his own beer. I don’t come to his place often, basically because he was always at the loft at Red, but now we don’t have that anymore.
He waves his hand. “Yeah, I got one somewhere.” He sits down in the leather Lazy Boy. “When did y’all get home?”
“A few days ago,” I say, taking a sip of my beer.
He nods, looking at the TV. “How was the trip?”
“Good,” I say. “I asked K to marry me.”
His eyes jump to mine. “Come again?”
I chuckle. “You heard me.”
“I think I need to get my fucking ears checked.”
I shake my head and roll my eyes as I bring the beer back to my lips.
“She say yeah?” he asks.
“She did.”
He rubs his face, looking baffled. “Damn. This is going to take some time to accept. I mean, I was just getting used to the fact you had a steady girlfriend.”
“We’ve been dating for a while,” I say in our defense.
“Bryce, a week would have been a while for you. I’m not saying you’re rushing; I’m just saying… shit, I don’t know what I’m saying.”
“How about congratulations, brother? I’m fucking happy for you,” I suggest.
He smirks. He leans up and holds his beer out for me to tap. “Congrats. I’m fucking happy for you.”
I clink my bottle with his. “Thanks.”
“Now Harrison, on the other hand.” He tsk-tsks. “She’s got a world of boredom headed her way.”
“Don’t start that shit,” I say. “Just because I’m not the fucking clown of the party doesn’t mean I’m boring. I did just take her to New Amsterdam and asked her to marry me in a field of red tulips. Which means perfect love by the way,” I say, matter-of-factly.
I am pretty proud of that, and I even called Mills and asked him before I did it. He was shocked and said he honestly didn’t deserve to give his blessing, but if that’s what I wanted then I had it. He did deserve it. The man didn’t know he had a kid.
“Damn. You did some research. I’m proud of you.” Jace laughs.
“Don’t make fun of me, asshole.”
“Don’t be so uptight. You know I’m kidding.”
I smirk. “Yeah, that’s your problem. You’re always kidding.”
“You don’t joke enough, and I joke too much, is that it?”
I shrug. “You joke enough for the both of us.”
He laughs. “Touché.”
The ballgame comes on and we grow quiet for a moment. As we watch the Braves do their thing, Jace gets up for another beer. “Want one?” he asks.
“Yeah,” I reply.
His phone vibrates on the coffee table. I lean up to see who it is, but he about breaks his neck to grab it from my sight.
“Something you don’t want me to see?” I ask suspiciously.
“Nope,” he says, sliding the phone into his pocket as he heads for the fridge.
He opens the beers again against the counter, handing me one before he scratches the back of his neck, taking his seat. He tastes his beer before resting it on his knee as he picks at the label.
I see the battle on his face. He wants to talk to me about something, but he doesn’t know how. I practically raised this boy. I know all of his expressions.
“Spit it out,” I say before I down the rest of my beer and switch it out for the new one.
His eyes jump to me before skipping over to the wall. He swallows and then clears his throat. “I’m sorry for what happened. I never should have let her in there. I fucked up.”
“Yeah, you did.”
His eyes go back to me. “Way to kick me when I’m down.”
“That’s not my intention.” I sit up and rest my forearms on my knees. “That club was my life, and your dumbass choices took it away from me. You know how hard I worked. You know I put everything I had into that place, and in a matter of minutes it was gone. All of it.”
He sits up, too. “You think it would have lasted forever? You really think you never would have gotten caught?”
I don’t reply.
“Exactly,” he says. “If it wasn’t because of her, it would have been someone else.”
“Yeah, but it was her and it was because of you. You always do this shit. You’re careless and you play around too much. You think that life is one big fun game. That’s why your ass got discharged from the Army. You fucked around and got caught selling cocaine. How could you be so stupid?”
“Oh, I just fuck everything up, don’t I?” he spits, his eyes burning into me.
I instantly feel bad, but he needs to know how pissed I am at him and this conversation was long overdue. I rub my chin and take another drink.
“You’re still seeing her, aren’t you?”
“No,” he lies like I’m not the man who fucking raised him.
I smirk in disgust and shake my head in disbelief. “You’re so goddamn disappointing.”
He stands up quicker than the words came out of my mouth. “Disappointing?” he seethes. “No, what’s disappointing is when your brother tells you he’ll never leave, but what do you do the first chance you get? You fucking leave. You stayed drunk while you were there, just like him and then you abandoned me, just like her.”
I stand up, too. “I’m not your fucking parent. I was a kid, too!” I yell.
“You were my older brother. You were all I had, and you left me alone.”
“You act like Pops and Emily weren’t good to be left with.”
“That’s not the point.” He jabs his finger at me. “You were my family.”
I can’t believe this shit. Even after all these years, he’s still hung up on that.
“Jace, I had to go and do my own thing. I had to make something of myself.” I try to reason with him.
“Oh, and you did a great job. Turned your club basement into an illegal gambling operation, and then you did an even better job by getting mixed up with murderers.”
Jace reaches down and scoops up his pack of smokes. He hits it on his palm and slides one o
ut before putting it between his lips and lighting it.
Smoke drifts into the apartment and then he sits down. “Why don’t you get the hell out of here before we say any more shit we’ll regret?”
I look down at the floor, my mind on overdrive. He’s right. I need to leave before one of us swings a fist. I set my beer down and point my finger at him. “You need to get over this shit.” I turn and slam the door shut on my way out, heading for the stairs instead of the elevator.
I don’t like any of this.
Floor after floor, I think more and more about this whole situation. Why can’t Jace let this go?
“Oh, and you did a great job. Turned your club basement into an illegal gambling operation, and then you did an even better job by getting mixed up with murderers.”
I hit the bottom and exit the building. Jace is a sarcastic little punk.
But he isn’t wrong.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Kathrine
I open my console and grab my engagement ring before sliding it onto my finger. Exiting my car, I hit the lock button twice and head inside the doctor’s office. I’m greeted by a bright smile at the front desk.
“Hey, Kat,” Sam, the receptionist, says. She looks over at her computer. “Oh, I see you missed your last appointment.”
I scrunch my face, like oops. “I did.” I’ve been coming to this same doctor’s office since I started working for Karen, so they know me pretty well. “I was hoping Dr. Gavin could fit me in last minute to do my shot?” I don’t tell her there’s a small chance I could be pregnant.
“She’s finishing up with her last patient for the day. I’m sure she can take care of that really quick. Just have a seat and I’ll go back there and ask her.”
“Thank you so much,” I say, turning to sit down.
I was irresponsible and I can’t imagine what Bryce will say if I’m pregnant. I just don’t think that’s good for us right now, but sometimes life doesn’t care what’s good for you.
You get what you get, and you deal because that’s the only choice you have. I’m also feeling guilty because I haven’t told Claire I’m engaged. I can’t deal with her scrutiny right now. I’m happy about this, and I know she will give me a phony smile and pretend like she is, too, but it’ll be fake. And truthfully, it’ll hurt.
Give Me Forever Love (Give Me Series Book 3) Page 11