Brave Enough(43)

Right?

Then why does it feel that way? Why does it feel as though I’m giving up something rare and precious and wonderful?

The soft pad of shoes across the patio work to pull me out of the miserable vortex I was sinking into. I glance up to see Tag striding toward me, a pleased half smile drawing his lips up at the corners.

God, he’s amazing! Everything about him is perfect. At least for me. He appeals to me on a deep, soulful level, not just a physical one.

“You waiting for me, gorgeous?” he asks, bending to set his fists on either side of my hips so he can press his lips to mine. As always, a wildfire is kindled within seconds, leaving me well on my way to breathlessness.

“What if I was?” I ask, torn between the dark cloud of my circumstance and the bright sun of Tag’s presence.

“Then wait no more. I’ve come to save the day,” he says playfully.

I can’t help smiling. “You have? And how do you plan to do that?”

“Well, I’d like to start by whisking you away on my four-wheeled chariot. I’ve got something to show you.”

The temptation to leave trouble and worry and inevitability behind for just a little while longer, just a few hours more, is overwhelming. I reach up to wrap my arms around Tag’s neck and bring his face back to mine. “Take me away, kind sir,” I whisper, pressing my lips to his again.

This feels right. It feels like nothing can harm us or affect us when we are together, touching. Tag straightens, pulling me up with him and wraps his arms tight around my waist. I love it when he does this. He holds me like he doesn’t ever want to let me go, like he’s daring anyone to try and take me from him. So possessive. So thrilling.

“Better stop that now, fair Weatherly,” he says softly when he drags his lips from mine. “Or else the only place we’ll be going is upstairs.”

I giggle, feeling like a teenager again. “You aren’t supposed to give me choices like that. I might choose the wrong one.”

“Okay, how about come with me now and then we’ll resume kissing. And go upstairs. If we can make it that far. If not, all I can promise is that I’ll try to find some soft grass.”

I grin up at him. He grins down at me. “Deal.”

I squeal when he sweeps me up into his arms and carries me across the patio, around to the front of the house where his four-wheeled chariot awaits. He throws his leg over it and sets me across his lap in front of him. I lower my arms, winding them around his waist as I lean my head against his strong, wide chest. There’s literally no place else in the whole world I’d rather be.

The engine throbs to life beneath us and Tag punches the gas, sending us careening down the path toward our cabin. Since that first night we spent in the half-finished structure, we’ve both called it “ours.” And considering how many times we’ve made love there since then, it’s fitting.

Tag doesn’t stop at our cabin, though. He takes a left and heads up the mountain, toward the forest. I close my eyes, not worrying about where we’re going. I’m content with the feel of the sun on my face, the wind in my hair and the heartbeat tapping under my ear.

I know when we enter the woods. The temperature drops by about ten degrees and Tag slows considerably. He drives us back to the edge of the drop-off, the one that overlooks the waterfall, where he stops.

The view is not quite as mystical in the daylight, but it’s every bit as stunning. The sun pours down into the crease in the mountain face, kissing every treetop and turning the waterfall to a million-sparkling-diamond-fall. Other than the hiss of water on rocks, the only sounds that interrupt the blissful silence are the soft whisper of the breeze teasing the leaves and the distant chirp of some birds.

“I missed something the other night,” Tag says from behind me. I pull my eyes from one miracle of nature to another, equally spellbound when I gaze up into his flawlessly formed face.

“I don’t remember you missing anything on any night,” I tell him with a shy smile. Sometimes, I can’t believe we are this intimate. Although he never comments on it, I know I still blush occasionally.

“Well I did. And I’m here to correct my oversight.”

Tag eases out from under me, leaving me sitting sideways on the four-wheeler. He pauses for a quick second, his face a breathtaking mask of what looks like anticipation, before he reaches into his pocket for a small box and then drops to one knee in front of me. My heart stutters to a stop in my chest and the backs of my eyes burn like fire.

Ceremoniously, he slowly snaps open the lid to the velvet box, revealing the most incredible ring I’ve ever laid eyes on. The center stone is an enormous round diamond, cut perfectly to capture every possible facet of light. It’s flanked by four small amethyst ovals, slightly offset so that they appear to be wings. Below them are diamonds of a similar shape, which form the body of the butterflies. The stones are graceful, the placement subtle, making the ring simply breathtaking. And my breath is taken.