Live For Me (Blurred Lines #2)(55)
Author: Erin McCarthy

“Tell Heath. He’s the one who hasn’t actually proposed to me. I’d say yes.”

When we went outside, the men were gathered around the jeep in the driveway. Cat and I wandered over to join them.

“This is one awesome car,” Randy said. “I think you should take your old man for a spin.”

I laughed. “My temps are in my other dress.” Actually, I wanted to drive Devin in it my first time on the road. I wanted to say thank you in a particularly private way. “But it’s definitely awesome.”

Devin stopped pointing out features to Heath and his own father long enough to hold his hand out for the present in my hand. “For me?”

“Yes.” I gave him the small box.

He opened it and his eyes lit up. “A cupcake. Heck yeah.”

“It’s red velvet. Your favorite.” And okay, so I had been cheesy enough to draw a heart on it by shaking sprinkles over a cookie cutter on top of the frosting. What could I say? I was in love.

“Thank you.”

“The other one you can save for later.” I held the bigger box up.

“Uh oh. Is that a dirty book? It’s Fifty Shades of Grey and a pair of handcuffs, isn’t it?” he teased.

“No!” Oh, my God, both our fathers were standing right there. “Don’t be creepy at our wedding.”

He laughed. “Sorry.”

His mind was on sex, though. I knew it was. Just like mine. We hadn’t been together since that one night in December and we were both really looking forward to our wedding night. His gunshot wound was healed now, and while that had been part of our reason for waiting, mostly it had been because we wanted to be husband and wife first. After everything, it just seemed more… special that way.

“I think I need a beer,” Randy said.

“Me too,” Mr. Gold agreed.

Devin laughed, but as soon as they walked back to the house with Heath, he took the box from me. “I’m dying of curiosity.”

I suddenly felt nervous about it. “Maybe it’s a dumb gift. I didn’t really have any money, so…”

“Hey. I’m sure I’ll love it.” He opened the box and his nostrils flared. “It’s your book. The one you were working on at Richfield.”

“Yeah. I printed it out. I wanted you to be the first one to read it.” I tried to express my feelings. “It wouldn’t exist without you and your encouragement. So I thought you might like it.”

“I’m sure I’ll love it.” He ran his fingers over the stack of paper. “This means a lot to me.” His voice was tight.

“You mean a lot to me.”

Devin was wearing a suit and he looked sexy as sin. He gave me a sly smile. “Show me later?”

“Deal.”

So after everyone left, Devin and I decided to drive down to the beach. We could have walked, but I wanted to test out my jeep finally. He threw a blanket, the remains of the champagne, and some firewood into the back. “Should we change?” I asked.

“Nah. Let’s make our wedding day last. I don’t care if we get sandy.”

The beach was private to only a half dozen houses and two of them weren’t currently rented, so it was a safe bet we’d be alone down there.

When I hiked up my dress and jumped in my jeep I had to move the seat way up.

“Do you want a booster seat to sit on?” Devin asked.

“Be quiet.” I turned the key and gave a little yell of triumph when it started. “OMG, this is so cool.”

“Smile.”

I turned and Devin had his camera up. He took a picture of me. “Let me see it. Do I look like butt?”

“No. You mostly definitely do not look like butt.” He rolled his eyes. “Now show me your stuff, Mario Andretti.”

I did officially have my temps but not my license, so it was legal for me to drive to the beach. Not that Devin would have cared, but I was something of a rule follower as I had discovered. I carefully drove us down the driveway, then down the road about a quarter of a mile to the small parking pad at the beach. The jeep bounced, but overall it was a smooth ride. I felt powerful driving it. Not the short girl any more but a woman with horsepower.

“I love this car.”

“I love you.”

Parking, I turned to him. “I love you, too.”

“Let’s walk on the beach, Tiffany Gold.”

His words made me shiver. “Wow,” I whispered. “That sounds amazing.” I meant hearing my name. I knew that Cat intended to hyphenate her name some day, in honor of her father, but for me, Ennis was the name that belonged to two women who hadn’t loved me well enough. So I didn’t mind losing it. In fact, I loved having gained Devin’s name. He was my family, what made me whole.

We held hands as we walked down to the water, Devin carrying the blanket. He spread it out. “Here, sit down, and I’ll go back for the firewood.”

I kicked off my sandals and sat down, staring out at the ocean, closing my eyes to breathe in the briny air and listen to the soft pounding of the waves on the beach. Devin came back and dug a hole and set up the wood. Within a few minutes we had a fire going. He sat down next to me and kicked off his shoes. He took a pull from the open champagne and handed it to me.

One sip was enough for me. I licked the bubbly sweetness off my lips. But Devin put his hand into my hair and drew me to him.

“Let me get that.” He sucked my bottom lip. “Mmm. Tasty.”

“That’s what I was thinking. My husband is tasty,” I murmured. I got a thrill from calling him that.

“My wife is tastier.” He eased me back down onto the blanket.

The fire snapped next to us, light dancing over him as he stared down into my eyes. “What else should I taste?”

Desire made me languid, my br**sts heavy, ni**les hard. “I’m sure you can think of something.”

His hand was on my waist, but it slipped lower, over my hip, my thigh. He tugged my dress up a little as he dropped his mouth onto my neck and kissed me. “Your skin is so smooth, so soft. I’ve dreamed about you, you know.”

“What am I doing in your dreams?” I breathed, running my hands over his back, sneaking under his jacket to rake my nails across his dress shirt.

“Just what you are right now. You’re looking up at me while I make love to you.” His eyes were glassy and he sat back long enough to peel off his jacket and yank his shirt out of his pants.