Emerson’s mouth fell open, and she lifted her hand, not quite covering her shocked expression. But she didn’t look upset, so I forged on, more anxious than ever.
“Emerson Blake,” I said, staring into her suddenly misty eyes. “Will you do me the honor of being my wife?”
“Are you serious?” she whispered.
“Do I look like I’m joking?” I pulled the ring from the box, snagged her trembling hand and slid the solitaire onto her dainty finger. “Please, say you’ll be mine.”
“I love you!” She threw herself into my arms, and I held her as she cried, smoothing her hair and kissing her cheek.
“Is that a yes?” I asked softly.
“Yes! Oh my God, Chase, yes!”
She pulled back so I could kiss her properly, and I happily obliged. Holding her beautiful face in my hands, I claimed her mouth. Our bodies pressed together, and I felt her heart thumping against my chest, her tears running over my thumbs.
“No more talk of cold Chicago winters,” I growled, leaning back to look at her. “You’re coming home with me.”
She nodded, wiping the wetness from her face and choking on a laugh.
I stood, pulling her to her feet before sweeping her into my arms and carrying her to bed.
“I love you, Emerson,” I told her, laying her on the mattress before climbing over her body. “I’ve loved you since the moment I first saw you. I knew you were meant for me. I don’t know what I did to deserve you, but I promise you, I will do everything in my power to keep you as happy as you’ve just made me.”
“Chase,” she said, raising a hand to cup my cheek in her palm. “Shut up and kiss me.”
Of course, I did. I would never deny this woman anything, and I certainly wouldn’t do it now.
Chapter Fifteen
~ Emerson ~
“This is amazing,” I said from the plush seat beside Chase. After disembarking from the ship a couple hours ago, he’d brought me straight to the airport and his private plane that awaited the trip to his home. We’d have to go to Chicago eventually, but as they were having a storm that had closed O’Hare and diverted all air traffic, it wouldn’t be soon. I was doubly glad we weren’t headed that way.
“But we should have flown commercial,” I added. My fingers flexed on the leather upholstery, enjoying it even as I admonished him. Sure, it was hypocritical, but I’d never been in the seat of so much luxury. I wasn’t quite sure how to take it. “Private planes are expensive, and I’ve heard they’re terrible for the environment.”
Leaning over, he nuzzled his nose into my neck. “But if we flew commercial, we wouldn’t be as comfortable, even in first class. We’d still be spending Christmas at the airport where they might lose our luggage, including all the gifts I just gave you. And we certainly wouldn’t be able to join the mile-high club.”
I squirmed, suddenly going all tingly. I squeezed my thighs together. “Mile-high club?” I echoed.
He flicked a switch on the table to the other side of his seat then reached over and unfastened my seatbelt. “Yes, and we don’t even have to try to squeeze into a teeny tiny bathroom in secret.” In a flash, he had me straddling him. “We can have fun right here, and no one will come bother us. Or if you want, we can go back to the bedroom.”
“Um…” I bit my lip, totally turned on at the thought of having him out in the open like this. “Here is good. You’re sure no one will…um…”
“I’m sure. They’d rather not get fired for interrupting.”
“So they’ll know what we’re doing?”
He lifted a shoulder. “I could be on a confidential call.”
I raised an eyebrow at him. “On Christmas Day?”
“Okay, they’ll probably know what we’re doing, but they won’t care—especially since I’m giving them all a pretty hefty bonus for being onboard today.”
“You are? I think I like you even more now,” I said. I punctuated it with a little rock of my hips.
“You do? I’ll keep that in mind for future reference.” He laughed. “For the record, I’m not so oblivious or self-centered that I don’t realize I’m asking the crew to work on Christmas. We make sure they’re well compensated. My family… We may have money, but our parents were jerks about not letting us be rich kids—and I mean that in the most loving way.”
“Didn’t just buy you things, huh?” I asked. I liked his parents already. They’d raised an amazing man—and not because he liked to be extravagant with me. Over the entire past week, I’d never seen him be unkind or impatient with any of the staff or workers we’d encountered on or off the ship—the male masseuse aside, but I guess that was because he didn’t want any guy touching me. Yes, Chase liked nice things, but he never acted entitled or better than other people.
“No. Fair warning, our kids will be spoiled to death, but they’ll probably think I’m a jerk, too, since I’ll probably be just like my parents.”
I leaned forward and kissed him lightly. “But I’ll love you.”
“Good, ‘cause I love you, too, and I’m never letting you go, and we’re going to be disgustingly happy.” His hands slid up my thighs, pushing under my black skater-style skirt. He growled, cupping my ass and pulling me closer to him to grind on his cock.
We were both dressed for the family party, wearing matching red sweaters with white snowflakes he’d produced from his suitcase this morning. I wore a black skirt, tights and the pair of the Louboutins he gave me last night. He wore black trousers with his own shiny black dress shoes. In my opinion, we were just too cute for words.
