“Honey, I’m sorry, but no.” She shakes her head. “I think a man should be the one to ask a woman to marry him.” She smiles, and I look around Harlen at Grandma, raising a brow.

“Grandma?”

“Gotta agree with your mom, honey. Any man I’d want with my girl better be the one to ask that question, not the other way around.”

“What happened to girl power?” I mutter, and Harlen lets my thigh go then slides his arm around my shoulders, pulling me deep into his side.

“It’s okay. Pack it in, baby, and fight another day for womankind.” He kisses the side of my head. I tip my head back, and he brushes his lips softly over mine before leaning back in his chair and smiling. Seeing him smile, I look around the table and notice that everyone, including my dad, has the same happy expression. Thank God. And thankfully, the rest of dinner goes off without a hitch, but I still wonder what Harlen’s answer would be if I did ask him to marry me.

***

Lying naked on top of Harlen, breathing heavily, my pussy still convulsing around his cock from the orgasm I just had, I lift my head off his chest and sit up. Looking down into his handsome face, I finally understand why people go to such great lengths to find what we have. It’s not about the sex, even though the sex is awesome. It’s about feeling like you belong somewhere, that you belong to someone, that no matter how insane or hard life gets, you have someone in your corner who is always rooting for you, always looking out for you.

His hand wraps around my hip and his other slides up my side, his fingers coming to rest just under my breast. “You okay?”

“Yes,” I whisper, studying my hands as I slide them down then up his defined abs, watching his muscles bunch and shift under my touch.

“What are you thinking?” he asks quietly, and I lift my head to look at him then lean forward, sliding my hands back up his chest until I’m pressed fully against him.

“Until you, I didn’t really understand why people did what they did for love,” I whisper, then continue softly running my thumb lightly over his bottom lip. “I finally understand why someone would do whatever they had to do to find this, why they would risk everything for this. Thank you for giving it to me.”

“Christ,” he mutters, sitting up, gathering me against him, one arm going around my back, and his other hand sliding into my hair.

“I love you,” I add, and his eyes flash right before his mouth lands on mine for a deep, hard kiss.

“Love you too, Angel.” He tucks my face into his neck, and I wrap my legs around his hips and my arms around his shoulders, holding him just as tightly as he’s holding me.

“I do have a question,” I say after a long moment, and he pulls his head back to look down at me.

“What’s that?” he asks, his eyes searching mine.

“Hypothetically speaking.” I squeeze him with all four of my limbs, then ask quietly, “If I were to ask you to marry me, would you say yes?”

“Hypothetically speaking.” He grins. “You’ll never know,” he answers just as quietly.

“Gah, you’re annoying.”

“Yeah, but you love me.”

“Which means I must be crazy,” I mutter, and he laughs, shoving his face in my neck. “It’s not that funny,” I grumble, and he laughs harder. “I need to shower.”

“You can shower tomorrow,” he says through his laughter, and I smack his back lightly.

“Harlen, I need a shower.”

“Tomorrow, Angel.”

“No, tonight,” I gripe, and his head comes out of my neck and his eyes meet mine, the humor gone. In its place, there’s an intensity that makes me hold my breath.

“Tonight, you’re going to sleep filled with me. You can shower tomorrow.”

“Okay,” I whisper immediately, and his face softens, his fingers sliding out of my hair to run along the underside of my jaw before he shifts us up in the bed and turns out the light. Once that’s done, he rolls to his back, with me draped across his chest, my hips wide as my legs rest on either side of his. Jerking the covers up and over us, he holds me to him, one hand on the back of my head and the other just above my ass. I lie there in the dark, listening to him breathe, to his heartbeat against my ear, doubting I will be able to sleep with him still inside me and leaking out. But before long, my eyes slide closed and I fall asleep filled with him in every way possible.

Hearing what sounds like a power saw, I come out of sleep and blink my eyes open, finding the bed next to me empty and the sheets cold. It’s Thursday, the day Harlen took off work to spend with me. I thought we would start out our day together in bed then spend most of the day right here, so I don’t know why he’s not here with me. I listen to the noise shut off and close my eyes, only to have them spring back open when I hear pounding start up. “What the hell is going on?” I ask no one as I sit up.

Looking toward the closed bedroom door like I have the power to see through it, my brows pull together when the pounding stops and the noise from earlier starts back up again. “What the hell is he doing?” I toss back the covers, scooting out of bed. I put my feet on the floor, grabbing Harlen’s shirt that he had on yesterday, and pull it down over my head as I go to the door. Opening it, I head down the hall, stopping dead in my tracks, blinking when I see Everret and another man I don’t know standing near my backdoor and Harlen through a hole in the wall. Yes, a hole in the wall near the floor. His eyes come to me through the hole and scan from my bare feet up my bare thighs to his shirt I have on, before he meets my gaze.

Seeing the look he gives me, I bite my lip then feel my eyes widen when heat hits my thighs—that heat not coming from him. I look up at Everett and the guy standing next to him, and I find them both looking at me, or more accurately, looking at my bare legs. “Babe, clothes,” Harlen orders, appearing suddenly at the open sliding glass door, and my glare shoots to him.

“What are you guys doing?”

“Clothes, now,” he growls, and my nose scrunches in annoyance. “Harmony.”

“Gah! Fine.” I spin on my bare feet and go back to my room, ignoring the laughter I hear behind me. Grabbing a bra from my dresser, I put it on under his shirt then pull on a pair of my sweats before I head into the bathroom. Bent over the sink, brushing my teeth, I look at Harlen in the mirror when he fits himself to my back.

“Not real fond of men I know, knowing exactly how good you look wearing nothing but my tee,” he says, and my nose scrunches up once more.

“I didn’t know that anyone was here besides you,” I retort through a mouthful of foam before spitting and rinsing my mouth. I shut off the water then dry my face with the hand towel I take off the hook and turn to face him. “What exactly are you guys doing? I thought we were going to spend the day in bed.”

On the word bed, the fingers of his hands wrapped around my hips dig in and his eyes darken in a really good way. “Putting in a dog door for Dizzy.”

“What?” I breathe.

“Been meaning to do it for a while now but didn’t have the time. Today, I have the time, so I asked Mic and Everret to help me get it done.”

“Oh,” I say softly, resting my hands against his chest, melting into him, and feeling my chest get warm. He heard me mention putting in a doggie door for Dizzy and went about getting it done. Yes, I love him.

“It shouldn’t take us to long. Once we’re done, you and I can get back in bed.” He grins, and I smile.

“Okay.”

“Made you a cup of coffee. It’s on the island.”

“You are so getting lucky,” I whisper, leaning deeper into him, and he laughs—only I’m not joking, not even a little bit.

“I’ll remember that.” He dips his head, brushing his mouth over mine, then grabs my hand and pulls me out of the bathroom and bedroom. “Baby, you know Everett, and that’s Mic.” He lifts his chin toward Mic, and I smile at him, seeing him return the expression.

“Hey, guys.” I give them a wave then bend to pick up Dizzy, who’s finally noticed I exist. Holding him to my chest, I look at the hole in the wall then the box leaning against the side of the door. “Thank you, guys, for helping with that.” I nod toward it.