“You’re full of kinky surprises tonight, Mr. Black,” she smiled.
“Trust me, Ellery, you’ll love this.” I picked her up and carried her to the sand. I gently put her down and asked her if she knew where we were. She guessed it, so I removed the blindfold from her eyes. She stood there and looked around to see a white canopy, sitting in the middle of the beach.
“Is it just us here tonight?” she asked.
I smiled as I kissed her softly on the cheek. “Yes, baby; I rented out the entire beach just for us.”
I took her hand and led her down the beach to the white canopy. Inside the canopy, sat a round table, draped in white linen, white roses, and two chairs covered in white fabric. She stood there, taking it all in and the beauty of it all. “Connor, how and when did you do all this?”
“Do you like it?” I asked as I kissed her hand.
“I love it; you’re so amazing,” she smiled.
“Dinner will be here soon, so I thought we could take a walk along the water.”
I took her hand as we walked along the edge of the shoreline; the water hitting our feet. I stopped and pointed to the sky. “Look over there; the sun is starting to set.”
I felt an overwhelming sense of peace and comfort at that moment, and I believe Ellery felt it as well. Now was the perfect time to propose to her. I took her hands and held them as I faced her, taking in a deep breath.
“Ellery, from the first moment I saw you, I knew instantly that I needed you in my life, and I set out to make sure that happened. You kept calling me a stalker, and you were right; I did stalk you, but for good reason. You’re different from anyone that I’ve ever met. You’re strong, kind, good-hearted, forgiving, and loving. You’re also incredibly stubborn, a smart ass, and very independent, and that’s everything I love about you. You’ve certainly given me a run for my money since I’ve met you.
You’ve challenged me and brought out a man that I thought I never could be. You’ve shown me things that I never would’ve seen if you weren’t in my life. You’ve filled the void in my heart and soul that I never knew existed until you weren’t by my side.” Tears began to fall down her face.
“I was simply a man with no meaning until I met you, and I’m proud of whom I’ve become because of you. We’ve been through a lot together, and we will continue to go through a lot, but we’ll conquer whatever life throws our way, together. I want to thank you for being my best friend, and my lover.” I got down on one knee and pulled the small velvet box from my pocket. I looked up at Ellery as the tears wouldn’t stop flowing down her face. “I want to be more than just your lover; I want to be your happily ever after, your best friend, your husband, and I want you for my wife. Will you marry me, Ellery Lane?” I opened the box, took out the ring, and held it up to her.
She looked at me, crying as she nodded her head. “Yes, Connor; I will marry you.”
A large grin grew upon my face as I put the ring on her delicate finger and stood up, hugging her and twirling her around. We kissed passionately and then I had her look up at the sunset. “I wanted to propose here because I figured you’d want your mom to be here with us.” She put her hand on my cheek as I wiped away her tears. I smiled as we watched the sunset.
When dinner was ready and being served, I took Ellery’s hand and led her back to the canopy. We sat down and ate great food. We talked and laughed, and she occasionally cried, but they were tears of happiness. I held her hand across the table as she stared at her ring. “It’s so beautiful, Connor.”
“A beautiful ring for a beautiful woman,” I said as I got up and took her hand in mine, leading her to the large white tent that was filled with fluffy pillows and blankets.
A huge grin crossed her face as she entered the tent. “Sex on the beach?” she asked.
“Yes, sex on the beach,” I nodded with a smile.
I slid the spaghetti straps off her shoulders, allowing her entire dress to fall to her feet. She stood there in only white lace panties as my tongue traveled across her neck and up her jaw line before joining my mouth with hers.
“I want to make love to you all night; first here, and then at home in every room. When you walk tomorrow, you’ll be reminded of our passionate night; one that I never want you to forget,” I whispered. I laid her down on the soft pillows as she watched me take off my shirt, pants, and boxers.
She stared at me with a hunger in her eyes. I bent down and laid myself on my side, propped up on my elbow as I softly stroked her beautiful br**sts, paying special attention to each hardened nipple. She ran her hand through my hair and brought my head closer for a kiss. Our lips grew hot as our tongues were reunited with each other. My hand traveled up and down her torso and into her lace panties, feeling the wetness from her arousal.
“Christ, Ellery, you’re so wet,” I moaned. My lips broke from hers as I kissed each breast, making my way down to her belly button and kissing her softly between her inner thighs. I gently inserted my finger inside her, feeling the wetness before inserting another. She gasped at the pleasure and arched her back for me to go deeper. My tongue ran circles around her clit, forcing her to release her pleasure to me. I quickly placed my mouth where my fingers had been, sucking lightly and licking every sensitive area. I brought my mouth up to hers and gave her a taste of what I love so much. She reached down and took me in her hand, stroking the length of me with long soft strokes. I let out a groan as I was lightly licking behind her ear.
“Connor, I need you inside me now. Please, I need to feel you,” she begged.
I moaned from hearing her say those words as I turned her on her stomach and entered her slowly from behind. “Is this how you want me?” I asked.
“Yes,” she whispered.
I sat up and moved fluently in and out of her. I reached my hand around the front of her delicious body and grabbed her br**sts, squeezing them and pinching at each nipple before moving my hand down and rubbing her clit. She was moaning and wanting more.
“Don’t come just yet, baby, I need you to come with me.”
“Harder, Connor; f**k me harder, right now!” she demanded.
I took in a sharp breath as I moved faster in and out of her at a faster pace. I was close to exploding as she screamed my name, and I felt her orgasm. “Ah,” I said as I pushed myself deeper into her, releasing all my pleasure into her body. I planted small kisses up and down her back before collapsing on her. My heart was rapidly beating as I was trying to catch my breath.
“I love you,” she whispered.
“I love you too, baby.”
We spent a couple more hours in the tent, drinking wine, and talking. Then as promised, we made love in every room back at her apartment. It was the best night that we’ve ever spent together, and the happiest. As we lay together in bed, I held her hand, rubbing my thumb over her ring. It looked beautiful sitting on her finger.
“You’re mine now; I hope you realize that,” I said to her.
“I was yours from the moment you asked me what my name was,” she smiled.
I brought her hand up to my lips as I softly kissed her ring. We were both exhausted and drifted off into a deep sleep.
***
The Christmas holiday was beautiful and well spent with family and friends. Ellery and I spent New Year’s Eve hosting a party at the Waldorf Hotel with about 200 people. We rented a room for the night and rang in the New Year by making passionate love.
“What’s wrong, babe?” I asked. I could tell something was bothering her.
“What makes you think something’s wrong?” she asked as she looked up at me.
“I can tell when something’s bothering you,” I said as I lightly smiled and ran my finger across her lips. “Talk to me, Ellery; tell me what’s on your mind.”
“What if this clinical trial doesn’t help me?” she asked.
“It will help you.”
Ellery sat up and turned towards the edge of the bed, letting her feet hit the floor. “You can’t be so sure of that, Connor.”
I sat up and clasped her shoulders. “I can be sure because I have faith. It’s a new year, and a new beginning for us, for our future, and nothing’s going to take that away. You will get better, and we’ll be married and have the rest of our lives in front of us. Speaking of our future, there’s something I want to talk to you about.” She turned and faced me. I smiled at her as I pushed her hair behind her ear and softly stroked her cheek.
“I’ve made an appointment with my doctor to have my vasectomy reversed.”
“What? Connor, no, you can’t,” she said.
I looked at her and was surprised at her reaction. “Listen to me; I want this because I want a family with you, and if we can have our own child, that would be amazing. I’m not saying it’ll work, but there’s a 50/50 chance, and I think we should try it.”
“But my genes suck, and you know it,” she sighed.
I laughed and planted a kiss on her forehead. “Your genes are beautiful.”
“I guess I’m just scared,” she whispered.
“Don’t worry, baby. Everything is going to work out; you just wait and see,” I said right before we fell fast asleep.
Chapter 26
A couple of weeks later, I felt the emptiness on Ellery’s side of the bed as I rolled over. I opened my eyes and noticed that it read 4 am on the clock. I looked around the dark room; the only shadow of light was coming from the clock. I got out of bed, put on my pajama bottoms, and walked downstairs to find Ellery, sitting at her easel and painting. I walked over to her as she turned her head and looked at me.
“I’m sorry, babe, I hope I didn’t wake you,” she said softly.
“No, you didn’t wake me, but why aren’t you sleeping?” I asked as I slipped my arms around her shoulders.
“I couldn’t sleep. I have too much on my mind, and painting always helps me clear my head.”
“You need to talk to me, Ellery. Please tell me what’s on your mind,” I said as I kissed the top of her head.”
“It’s nothing to worry about. I’ve just been thinking about my last treatment and where we go from there.”
“We simply move forward,” I said as I lifted her from the chair. “It doesn’t matter what happens.
We move ahead and take it one day at a time, because baby, time is all we have,” I smiled as I picked her up and carried her back to bed. She smiled as she put her arms around me. I laid her on the bed and held her tight, letting her know she has nothing to worry about.
A couple of hours later, the alarm went off, and I needed to head to the office. I looked out the window, and the snow was lightly falling. I looked over at Ellery as she laid there on the bed sound asleep. I took a hot shower, got dressed, and headed to the kitchen for some much needed coffee.
Denny walked in behind me.
“Good morning, Connor,” he spoke. “Any word yet on the Chicago fire?”
I sighed as I took a sip from my cup. “No, not yet; they had to let the guy go because of insufficient evidence. But don’t worry; I have my men working on it. They’ll find out who set that fire.”