Chapter 13

 

 

Titus trailed Haven back to the Bed & Breakfast where he got even more kisses as soon as they stepped into her apartment.

“Mmm,” he said, her lips lost in his mouth. He pulled his mouth away from hers and said in a drunken spell, “Don’t ever take these lips away from me again, girl.”

“I won’t,” she replied, feeling her heart swell for him. She embraced him, confirming her resolve, and then she hoisted up the tower of a man until her weak legs wrapped around his waist and honed in on his lips. A burst of desire erupted in him, causing him to deepen the kiss – to take control of it, sucking her tongue into his mouth and gulping it shamelessly. To say he missed her was an understatement. This woman was his future. The woman who would be his wife. He knew that in his mind. He felt it in his heart. Felt it as he stretched her out on the bed, his mouth hovering over hers while they exchanged oxygen.

Naughtily, she chewed on her lip. “Yes?”

“You’re so beautiful.”

She strummed his jaw with her fingertips. “You’re not so bad yourself.”

He smiled before sinking his tongue into her mouth, listening as she moaned while he went deep with it.

She closed her eyes and allowed her body to shiver – allowed the sensations to take over. Allowed goosebumps to run across her skin. Her palms clung to his neck as she held on and pulled his mouth in tighter to deepen and electrify the kiss.

He moaned his pleasure, absorbed the feeling of being with her. He couldn’t wait to make it permanent. He took his mouth away from hers, pulling her lips in the process. Their eyes met once more.

He smiled. “I’ve missed you so much.”

“I’ve missed you, too.”

“Us being apart for weeks is becoming a problem.”

“I know, babe. You heard me when I said I’m moving to Greensboro, didn’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Is that not enough to ease your frustration about the distance between us?”

“It is,” he said then took a kiss from her lips. “But I want more.”

“More?”

“Yes. A lot more.”

Haven giggled. “What are you talking about, Titus?”

“I want an eternity with you. I want to build with you. Dream with you. I want us to be together, always. And happy. I want us to be happy as we share our lives. I want to know that every day, for the rest of my life, I’ll be coming home to you. Loving you. Eating dinner with you. Spending my weekends with you. Laughing with you. Crying with you. I want to spend my life with you, til’ death do us part.”

She frowned, her lips trembling as he spoke his heart to her. “Titus—”

“I know in my heart you’re the one for me, and I want to make you mine. Haven Baker, will you marry me?”

Through blurred vision, she saw the intensity in his eyes when he asked her the question. Saw the love. Felt the heat of his body pressed to hers. Excitement didn’t prevent the weight of the initial shock and anxiety she felt in her chest upon hearing his request. The safe, extra-careful side of her wanted to wait. The other side – the one that knew how much this man loved her gave her visions of their future. Of them walking down the aisle. Starting a life together. Then a house. And children. An eternity.

She smiled. Her hands trembled harder than her lips when she replied, “Yes! Yes, I will marry you, Titus.”

And with that answer, he kissed her lips sealing their engagement. Their love. Their beginning of forever.