“Please trust me. Everything I did was for a good reason. I didn’t have a choice.”

“I believe you,” she said quietly as her eyes met mine. “This can’t be real.” She reached up and ran her fingers down my cheek. I laughed as I walked us to her bed.

“Now you know how I felt.” I cocked my eyebrow and a small smile spread across her face. I lowered her slowly onto the mattress, her short white summer dress riding up her thighs. I gripped the bottom of my T-shirt and pulled it over my head, keeping my eyes fixed on her. She watched me as I slowly undid my jeans and shoved them down to the floor. My wanting for her was more than obvious. She sat up, her legs on either side of me as she gripped the base of my cock in her hand and ran her tongue over the tip of my dick, her big brown eyes looking up at me. I tangled my fingers in her hair as her lips slid over me. She was taking control and I didn’t mind at all. “Fuck,” I groaned as she pressed her tongue to the underside of the head.

She slid the entire length of me into her mouth until I touched the back of her throat. I looped my hand under her chin and pulled her mouth free from me.

“I have missed you too much to come in that pretty little mouth of yours.” I crawled onto the bed and she slid backward until we were in the center. I pushed my dick against her lace panties, grinding my hips into her as I trailed my fingers up her thigh. I looped my finger in the delicate fabric, ripping them easily from her body. She was dripping wet.

“Have you missed me, sweetheart?” I pushed inside of her with one hard thrust. She cried out in pleasure as her fingers gripped my shoulders. I needed to claim her again, to know that every part of her was mine. I rolled my hips into hers, making love to her the only way I knew how. I wasn’t gentle but I made sure she enjoyed it as much as I did, bringing her to orgasm twice before I came hard inside of her.

I collapsed on top of her, our bodies slick with sweat as we struggled to even out our breathing. I kissed her neck as I slowly slid off her and she rolled to her side, throwing her leg and arm over me.

“Leave with me.”

She propped herself up on her elbow as she looked down at me, studying my face.

“Where?” she asked as she traced my stomach muscles with the tip of her finger.

“Vegas.” I had to leave in two days, and if Rose wasn’t with me, I wasn’t going anywhere. I couldn’t walk away from her.

“What’s in Vegas?” she asked as her hand dipped toward my cock. I grabbed her wrist, startling her as I sat up and tucked her hair behind her ear. “Marry me, Rose.”

Her eyes searched mine and she pulled back from me slightly as she thought it over.

“Do you love me?” I asked, fear building inside my chest as I waited for her answer.

“More than anything.”

“Say it. I need to hear you say it.”

Her hand slid over my cheek and I leaned into her touch. Loving how her closeness seemed to make everything better.

“I love you.” Her lips pressed lightly against mine and I slowly opened my eyes to look into hers.

“Marry me.” I could tell she was scared but there was nothing more terrifying than living without her.

“Yes,” she whispered, and I pushed my mouth back against hers, sliding my tongue over the seam of her lips. She pushed back with her own tongue and a deep moan resonated from the back of my throat.

Rose had always been mine and I hers no matter what the distance between us, but now it would be official. She would vow to spend her life with me. Nothing else mattered.

I pushed from the bed and began to pull on my clothes. She straightened her dress and laughed as she watched me.

“Where are you going?” she asked as she eyed me curiously.

“We’re going to Vegas.” I smiled and winked at her as I tossed her torn panties to her.

“Now?”

“You have plans, darlin’?”

“Well, yeah.” She pushed to her feet. I sighed as I buckled my jeans and slipped my feet back into my sneakers.

“We need to do this now, Rose. I have to go and I want you to come with me.”

She folded her arms over her chest angrily.

“This is a work thing?”

I put my hands on her arms and rubbed them slowly.

“I’ll tell you anything and everything. I promise. No more secrets.”

She looked down at the floor as she thought it over. I knew she had a good job here tutoring for a wealthy family, and I was asking her to give up the new life she had made for herself.

“Can I say goodbye to Jimmy?” A single tear rolled down her cheek and I brushed it away with the pad of my thumb. I slowly shook my head no, and my heart broke at the sadness in her eyes. I hated causing her pain. She sucked in a ragged breath and nodded once before turning away from me and beginning to gather her belongings.

She had just checked in so most of her things were still packed. Once we were sure that we had gathered everything, we slipped out in the hall and made our way to my room. My things were still packed, other than my swim trunks and flip flops. I threw them into my bag and sank down onto the bed.

“What’s wrong?” She asked as she stood over me.

I looked up at Rose, hating that I had to ask her to do this to be with me.

“There’s stationary on the table beside the bed. Write Jimmy a note.” I looked up at her as she smiled. “You can’t tell him about me or where we are going.”

“I know,” she replied happily as she grabbed the paper and pen from beside the bed.

She wrote out a short note letting him know that she had received a call from an ailing aunt in South Dakota. She regretted not having a chance to say goodbye, but he was not in his room and the situation was dire.

I took the note to her room and left it on the bed before grabbing our bags and leaving by the stairs so we wouldn’t run into anyone in the elevator.

As soon as we reached the outside, I led her across the parking lot to my car, which I had parked in the lot a few days ago. I never planned on going back to my apartment. After our bags were in the trunk and Rose by my side, I sent Drake a text letting him know I still didn’t feel well and I was heading back to my place. If I didn’t see him before I left for Paris I would look him up next time I made it to town.

“It will take us almost five hours to get there, Rose.” I smiled at her. She turned to me, beaming, and slipped her fingers in mine.

“Actually, it’s Ruby now.” She winked playfully.

“I like that. It suits you. Ruby and Cameron.” She gave me a funny look when she heard my name before laughing hysterically. I joined in; her happiness was contagious.

We rode toward the unknown, not caring what the future held for us as long as we faced it together. If another storm approached us, we would be each other’s shelter.