Chapter 30

Chapter Thirty

JULIEN

As my sneakers hit the gravel, my metered breaths provide a steady rhythm that drowns out everything else except the myriad of thoughts swarming my mind. Today's the day. The most important day of my life.

"Holy hell… why is this… so hard?" Elijah pants.

Not able to pass that up, I reply, "That's what you said last night."

He clutches his side but doesn't slow down. "Ow. Please don't… make me laugh. It's hard… enough to breathe."

"Your own fault for skipping a month to lie in and be lazy, Sleeping Beauty," I reply and increase my jogging speed as we start up the hill.

"Sadist!" he shouts but doesn't let me get far before he catches up to me.

When we crest the hill, the first light of dawn kisses the horizon, turning the sky into a canvas of yellows and soft pinks. I breathe in the crisp, fresh scent of morning dew, welcoming the new day. A life-altering day. A day that will mark the beginning of our happily ever after… at least, I hope so.

Elijah stops and bends over at the waist, pulling in gulps of air.

"We need to work on your cardio."

He flips me off.

An arc of faint yellow breaches the horizon.

"Babe, it's happening."

"I will never get tired of seeing this," he says, shielding his eyes.

"I know what you mean," I reply, looking at him and not the sunrise.

How his eyes reflect the early morning light. How his blond curls, damp with sweat, frame his face in a perfect halo. How his soft smile is more beautiful than the sunrise we're about the experience.

Feeling the weight of the moment settle deep inside my chest, I try to steady my racing heart that has nothing to do with the five-mile run to get here. I had planned this moment meticulously in my head. Had the words mapped out and memorized, wanting them to be perfect. And now, standing here beside the man I'm about to ask to spend forever with me, I can't remember a fucking one.

"E," I begin, my voice barely a whisper.

I take his hand and instantly feel the familiar warmth and strength that has always been my anchor.

Elijah turns a curious look my way, and the world spins one dizzying revolution before righting itself.

Do not pass out and embarrass the shit out of yourself, dumbass.

"I've been wanting to ask you something for a while now, and I can't think of a better place than here."

I thought about all the possible places I could propose to Elijah—over a romantic dinner, at the beach under the stars, at Christmas surrounded by our families—but this quiet grassy hilltop filled with wildflowers is our special place. Our sunrise hilltop that belongs to us.

"What is it?"

The words I had rehearsed so many times suddenly feel monumentally inadequate.

"I… will you…"

You are an idiot. Drop down on your knee and ask your soulmate to marry you.

"Will I what?" he asks when all I do is stare at him with wide, unblinking eyes.

I begin to fidget under the pressure to get it right.

"I am utterly and completely in love with you," I blurt.

Elijah's smile widens. "I'm utterly and completely in love with you, too."

I'm fucking this up so badly. Screw it. I'm just going to have to wing it.

With my heart thrashing about inside my chest, I face the man I love more than anything and speak my truth.

"You are the most amazing and extraordinary person I have ever known. You bring light and happiness into every second of every minute of my life, and I thank God every day that you're with me. From the moment we met, I knew with every fiber of my being that you were destined to be mine. But it was deeper than that—my very soul recognized you as my forever, the missing piece I had been searching for all along. I could feel it in every beat of my heart and with every breath I took."

I reach into my pocket, my fingers brushing against the cool metal of the ring I'd been carrying for weeks—the platinum trio band with alternating rows of white and black diamonds. The one I saw and immediately knew it belonged on his finger. Slowly taking it out, soft blades of grass bend under me when I go down on one knee.

" Julien ," he breathes more than says, his voice thick with emotion. Tears fall from his eyes and trace thin rivulets down each cheek. "Yes! Yesyesyes! "

"Patience. I have things to say first."

Sniffling, he nods emphatically. "Please continue."

I take his left hand and kiss each finger before pressing a kiss to the center of his palm.

"You are my everything. My best friend, my confidant, my lover, and my partner in every adventure. You've brought so much joy into my life, more than I ever thought possible. Every moment with you feels like a dream, one that I never want to wake up from. I want to spend the rest of my life making you as happy as you make me. A life together where I get to love you for eternity. Elijah Michael Barnes, will you marry me?"

Elijah drops down and takes my face in his hands, kissing me with an unrestrained passion that curls my damn toes.

"I was going to ask you the same thing."

My eyes flare in astonishment when he reaches under his shirt collar and pulls out his necklace. An almost identical ring to the one I'm holding hangs from the gold chain. He unhooks the clasp and slides the ring off.

"Julien, you are my heart, my soul, and my home. I've loved you since the moment I saw you, and I can't imagine a future without you by my side. Will you marry me, too?"

I start laughing, the sound full of pure, unbridled happiness. "I asked you first."

His smile is so damn big. "On the count of three. One. Two…"

"Yes!" we say at the same time as we slip our rings onto each other's fingers.

So freaking happy that I can't contain it, I lean back and shout to the world, "He said yes!"

Elijah tackles me back onto the ground. His ear-to-ear smile about splits his face. "Holy shit, we're getting married!"

Sunlight bends around him, creating an ethereal golden glow. Want and desire like I have never felt before courses through me as I gaze up at him. My Angel who saved me with his love. My fiancé. My soon-to-be husband.

"We're getting married." The small bevel diamonds on my ring catch the light when I cup his face between my hands. "Fuck, I love you."

We're a mess of tears and giddiness and exuberant kisses that quickly morph into a wildfire of want.

"I need you."

Elijah's eyes go smoky. "I'm yours, Julien. Always and forever." He looks around, and a naughty grin curves his delectable mouth. "We've never fucked outside before."

"We have a lot of firsts to look forward to. A lifetime of them."

"I really like the sound of that," he replies.

Engaging my core, I sit up so that he can pull my shirt over my head. The gentle breeze causes goosebumps to explode all over my skin, but the sun's warmth quickly chases away the chill.

"Remember this first?" he says.

He tugs at the waistband of my shorts, inching them down my hips until my erection springs free. I moan when he fists my cock.

" Yes ," I gasp.

He gave me my first blow job, then told me that he was in love with me. That memory will remain scorched in my brain until the day I die.

Elijah molds his lips over the head and tongues the slit.

"Don't tease me."

"I'm not teasing you," he replies and licks me, lapping at the precum that seeps out.

I punch my hips forward and push deeper down his throat. A strangled moan escapes when he closes around me and gags. Elijah may look like an angel, but he sucks my cock like a sinner.

"If I recall correctly, there was some nipple play involved," he says and fondles my sensitive nubs.

It's like having a hard wire mainlining lust straight to my dick.

"Harder."

He stops. "You're not in charge, Mister Bossy."

"Babe," I warn.

Those mischievous eyes smile at me. "Need something?"

"Your mouth on my dick."

He wraps his hand around the base, sucking and stroking. Edging me higher to the sweet bliss of release, only to deny me at the last second.

I don't know how much more I can take.

"Please, baby."

"I love it when you beg," he says, spreading my thighs so he can French kiss my balls.

My eyes roll back when he runs a finger up the crack of my ass and rims my hole.

"I'm going to fuck you so good."

I love it when he takes charge. My sweet man with a secret dirty side.

"I want your cock in me. Now."

"Patience," he says, playfully throwing my words back at me.

"Elijah," I growl.

"Yeah, fiancé?"

"Say it again."

"Fiancé."

He sinks inside me two knuckles deep, his wicked fingers fucking me mercilessly. The noises I make are borderline pornographic as he takes me to a place of euphoria that borders between pleasure and pain.

His tongue lashes at the supple skin of my perineum before he takes me back into his mouth and skyrockets me to heaven. I come hard. Pulse after pulse of release that he devours like I'm fucking candy.

He sits up and licks my essence off his lips.

"Missed some," I say, swiping my thumb up his chin.

He sucks the digit into his mouth and swirls his tongue around the pad. My dick, which should be spent right now, swells with renewed vigor.

He peers down between us. "Damn, Julien."

My grin is smug. "It's your fault for teasing me."

He palms my erection. "I changed my mind. I want you to destroy me with your cock."

I pull him down, seeking his mouth, and take his plush bottom lip between my teeth. "With pleasure, sweetheart."

Our laughter echoes around us as we fight to shed his clothes and the rest of mine.

"Top or bottom," he pants, his voice thready with need.

I lick up the column of his neck, then thrust my tongue into his mouth when his lips eagerly part. There is nothing sweet or slow in the way I kiss him.

"I want you on top."

Splaying my hands across his chest, I smooth fingertips over his pectorals. Elijah has a beautiful body. Satin-soft skin and toned, defined muscles.

His eyelids close, and he hums when I lightly scrape across his nipples until they harden into tiny peaks.

"That feels really good."

He rotates his hips, the friction against my steel-hard cock delicious.

"So do you," I reply.

His tongue darts out when I push my middle finger past the seam of his lips, using his spit as lube. Reaching around to his ass, I slip my finger in, and he clamps down.

"Always so tight."

His head falls forward until our foreheads touch, his breathing ragged as I stretch him. "I can't wait to feel you inside me."

His lips cover mine, taking and giving. Elijah's kisses are incredibly soft, and I melt into it, craving more.

"Ready, Angel?"

Passion glazes his eyes. "Yes."

When he lifts up, I curve one hand around his hip to support him and hold my cock in the other. His thighs tremble as he lowers down and stops when the tip of my dick pushes past his barrier.

Bracing his hands on my chest, he shifts slightly, taking more of me, and pleasure sparks in every nerve cell in my body.

"Julien. Oh … So good." A flush rises up his chest and brands his skin with a rosy blush.

"Take all of it, baby."

He sinks all the way down, gasping with pleasure, and I thrust upward to meet his descent. Elijah moans, bowing his back at the sensation as if every single inch of my cock is a revelation. Then he begins to ride me, his hips undulating in a slow, steady rhythm. Our eyes lock, our gazes fixed on each other's faces. A soft, sultry mewl reverberates up his throat. I wrap my arms around him, pulling him even tighter, letting him feel the earth-shattering force of our connection.

He picks up the pace, his movements more frenzied, his moans louder.

"Don't stop," I demand and take his cock in my hand, needing him with me, wanting his cum to mark me when I fill him with mine.

I watch Elijah's sensuous movements, completely entranced.

His nails dig into my flesh, and his body shakes violently as his climax coats my chest.

"Yes, fuck yes," I chant when his asshole tightens around me.

Sensation layered upon sensation coils tighter and tighter, and then… nirvana. Stars explode across my vision when my orgasm slams into me.

" Elijah ."

His name is a sweet song of surrender.

He falls on top of me, and our mouths crash together, our tongues twisting and dancing.

"I think I like outdoor sex."

I comb my fingers through his hair, stroking the silken, sweaty strands.

"It's called dogging in England."

I feel him grimace against my neck. "Yeah, let's not call it that."

"Agreed."

Not in too much of a hurry to move, we lie in the grass and enjoy this special moment.

Holding up my hand to admire my engagement ring, I ask him, "When do you want to get married?"

He plucks a wildflower from the ground and tucks it behind my ear. "When do you?"

"As soon as possible."

He raises his head and grins at me. "I was hoping you'd say that. Where?"

"Hawaii."

The trip we took together to the Big Island was amazing.

"I was hoping you'd say that, too. I can't wait to be your husband."

I brush a lock of his hair away. "Angel, you've always been mine."

As I kiss my fiancé, there's only one word that can describe this moment.

Perfect.