Thorn's Challenge - Brenda Jackson [66]
She watched as Thorn got off the bike and slowly began walking toward her. She inhaled deeply as she watched him, clad in jeans, a T-shirt and biker boots and holding his helmet in his hand, come to a stop in front of her.
He met her gaze and reached out and gently wiped a tear from her eye. “You should know my brothers well enough by now to know they’re full of it and you can’t take them seriously the majority of the time, Tara. I didn’t make a bet with them, but they did make a bet among themselves. They wagered that I wouldn’t realize how much I loved you until it was almost too late.”
He glanced behind her, saw her parents standing in the doorway and decided to lower his voice to a whisper so they wouldn’t hear the next words he had to say. This part was personal and between him and Tara.
“And it was more than just sex between us, Tara. I love you and should have told you yesterday, but the physical loving we shared blew me away, and I didn’t get around to telling you how I felt emotionally. But I’m telling you now that I love you with all my heart and with all my soul.”
The tone of his voice then went higher as he said, “And I want to proclaim my love to you in front of everyone here. And I want them to see that I’m wearing my heart on my sleeve.”
He turned slightly and showed her the sleeve of his T-shirt. There was a big heart on it with the words Thorn Loves Tara. He got down on one knee and took her hand into his. “I, Thorn Westmoreland, love you, Tara Lynn Matthews. And in front of everyone, I am pledging my love to you and promising to love you for the rest of my life. I promise to love you, honor you and protect you. And I’m asking you now, Tara, on bended knee, with my heart on my sleeve, in front of everyone, to marry me and become my wife and soul mate. Will you?”
Tears clouded Tara’s eyes and the words she longed to say got caught in the thickness of her throat, but somehow she managed to get them out, words that would ultimately join her life with Thorn’s. “Yes, Thorn, I’ll marry you.”
It seemed people everywhere began clapping, shouting and cheering. In the middle of the pack of cyclists, someone released a bunch of helium balloons that went soaring high into the sky. Each one had on it the words Thorn Loves Tara. Tara was touched at the extent Thorn had gone to in broadcasting his love for her.
Thorn got back to his feet and it seemed that Dare materialized at his side with a small white box which he handed to Thorn. Thorn opened up the box and took out a sparkling diamond ring. He reached for Tara’s left hand and placed the huge diamond on the third finger, then brought her hand to his lips.
“Thorn’s lady and soon to be Thorn’s wife,” he said softly, his eyes still meeting hers as he kissed her hand. He then pulled her into his arms and kissed her lips, ignoring the cheers and applause.
Tara kissed him back, until she heard her father clear his throat several times. She and Thorn finally broke apart and she turned and smiled at her parents, then said, “Mom, Dad, this is Thorn, the man I love.”
Two days later, in a hotel room in West Palm Beach, Tara lay in Thorn’s arms. She could hear the sound of the ocean, the relaxing resonance of waves hitting against sand. She closed her eyes as she remembered the intensity of the lovemaking she and Thorn had shared earlier. He hadn’t been slow and gentle. This time he had been tender, yet he had taken her with a force that had overwhelmed her, pleasuring them both, riding her with the precision and expertise that was strictly his trademark, and thrusting deep then pulling out, repeating the process over and over again until he had her thrashing about as sensation after sensation tore into her.
He had whispered into her ear words of love, words of sex, promises to be delivered both in and out of the bedroom, and when they had reached