I hold her close, breathing in her hair. The ring box is somewhere in my jeans pocket downstairs. I should go get it.Should ask her right now, while we're naked and surrounded by the home she's created for us.
But something holds me back.
Maybe it's the way she's put so much effort into surprising me, into showing me how serious she is about our future.
Maybe I owe her the same level of planning, the same attention to detail.
I want to make sure I do this right, because I only plan on doing this once.
Mia is the one for me, and when I marry her, that's it for Ryder Scott.
Soon,I promise silently, my hand unconsciously moving to where my heart is beating against my ribs.Very soon.
"I love you," I tell her instead, pulling her up for another kiss.
"I love you too," she whispers against my lips. "And welcome home."
Home.
Yeah. This is definitely home.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Mia
The shower steam swirls around us like our own private cloud as Ryder's mouth works magic between my thighs, my back pressed against the cool tile wall of our newly renovated bathroom.
"God, you're so beautiful," Ryder murmurs against my inner thigh, his voice rough with morning desire as he drops to his knees on the shower floor.
The hot water cascades over his shoulders, steam rising around us as he looks up at me with those hazel eyes. His hands grip my hips, holding me steady as his mouth finds my core again.
"I love starting our mornings like this," I breathe, my fingers tangling in his wet hair as pleasure builds low in my belly.
He responds by sucking my clit between his lips, his tongue lapping and licking me in that way that makes my entire body tremble.
"Ryder, yes, right there," I gasp, my head falling back against the wall as he increases the pressure of his tongue.
"I love eating this pussy," he grunts, nibbling my folds, tasting the flood of juices that escapes me.
His hands slide up my thighs, thumbs pressing into the sensitive spots that make me arch against him. He knows my body so well now, knows exactly how to make me come undone in minutes.
When the orgasm crashes over me, I moan loudly, my legs shaking as waves of pleasure pulse through my core. He works me through it with gentle strokes of his tongue until I'm boneless against the wall.
"I could stay like this forever," I whisper as he kisses his way back up my body.
"Good," he says against my mouth, that secret smile playing on his lips. "Because I have something special planned for tonight."
I pull back to study his face, noting the nervous energy underneath his casual tone. "Oh really? Special how?"
"You'll see." He reaches around me for the body wash, his hands gentle as he starts washing my skin. "Just... dress warm and meet me at six?"
"Ryder Scott, are you planning something mysterious?"
"Maybe." His grin is boyish and secretive. Then again, when isn't it? "Can't a guy surprise his girlfriend?"
"Fine, keep your secrets," I tease, stealing the soap from him. "But I'm holding you to that six o'clock timeline."
We finish in the shower and soon, I'm stealing pieces of bacon from the plate while Ryder finishes scrambling eggs in the kitchen. The morning sunshine on what appears to be the perfect day in Iron Ridge streams through the windows we finally got around to cleaning, making everything feel bright and possible.
