Ty gave a surprised laugh.
“I always thought it sounded sort of uncomfortable, when you got down to the logistics of it,” Ty mused. He began to hum as they danced. The skies rumbled and lightning flashed almost on top of the sound, meaning the storm was almost upon them.
Ty gazed up at Zane, his stomach fluttering. Rather than illuminating the warm brown of Zane’s eyes, the night seemed to sap all the color from him, leaving them a luminescent gray. He couldn’t help but stare at his lover, wondering how Zane just got more and more attractive to him as the days went by.
“You’re the only person I’ve ever been with who made me want to try things like that.”
Zane grinned, and their dance slowed to a stop. “I make you want to roll around in the sand?”
Ty shook his head. “That came out wrong.”
“No, it didn’t,” Zane murmured, still grinning as he ran his hand up Ty’s arm.
“I just mean . . .” Ty held a pent-up breath as he met Zane’s eyes again. Zane’s face was so sincere, looking at Ty in that way that always made Ty feel warm and loved. “I mean that all the experiences I’ve ever heard of in life . . . I want to have them with you.”
Zane’s smile grew more tender. He ran his knuckles down Ty’s cheek. “Ty—”
“Marry me, Zane.”
He could feel Zane’s heartbeat quicken. Every part of him tingled where Zane touched him. He held his breath.
“Nope,” Zane whispered.
Ty grinned, laughing silently. Leave it to Zane to reject him and make him laugh at the same time. “You don’t want to at least consider for a minute this time? Run the numbers a little?”
“Ty, shut up,” Zane murmured, and pressed his lips to Ty’s, wrapping around him in a passionate embrace and kissing him for all he was worth.
Ty’s arms tightened on him, fingers gripping. The sound of the tide and the approaching rain became a backdrop to the sound of Ty’s heart pounding in his chest. He wanted Zane to know he’d thought this through, that he wanted them to spend the rest of their lives together. But he also kind of liked the idea of Zane making him ask until he got it right, making him work for it. Ty needed to work for it. They could play this game because in the end, Ty knew Zane would say yes. He just had to find the perfect time, the perfect place, the perfect way.
“I love you,” Ty whispered against Zane’s lips.
Zane smiled and pressed his nose against Ty’s cheek. “I love you, too.”
“I’m going to keep asking until you say yes.”
Zane smiled against his cheek. “I know.”
Zane took his hand and began to lead him toward the path again. Ty glanced up at the lights ahead of them and squinted. “Please tell me you know which freaking haunted room in the freaking haunted mansion is ours.”
“Yes, I know which one is ours,” Zane assured him. The thunder crashed behind them and they quickened their pace. “This is nice, that Deuce and Livi get to do something like this. Wedding and honeymoon all in one, stretch it out and take their time. I would have gone tropical maybe, but still.”
“Yeah, well, Deuce is terrified of airplanes, so I’m guessing he only had enough tranquilizers for one trip,” Ty said. “You didn’t get to do the honeymoon thing?”
“We were both working, and neither of us wanted to take time off right then.” He didn’t sound put out about it. “That stuff wasn’t really our kind of thing.”
Ty just nodded. They walked in silence for a while. When they came closer to the house, they hit a stone walkway and Ty stumbled on the unexpectedly hard ground.
True to his word, Zane caught him around the middle and steadied him. Ty snorted as he wrapped an arm around Zane’s neck. Zane squeezed Ty close as they started up the stairs. Flickering hurricane lamps lit the hallway, though Ty suspected they were electric. But it was dark inside their room, with just the moonlight filtering in the ancient windowpanes. Muffled sounds of laughter came from Nick and Kelly’s room. It kind of sounded like someone was getting laid in there, and Ty idly wondered which one had gotten lucky with which bridesmaid and which one was sleeping on some sofa downstairs.
He stood motionless near the doorway to his and Zane’s room, letting his eyes adjust and knowing he would wind up face-planting onto the floor if he tried to walk. The thought made him snicker quietly, and he clapped a hand over his mouth. Then Zane’s arms slid around his waist from behind, followed by his warm, hard body.
Ty tilted his head to the side, biting his lip in an attempt to stop the laughter. He calmed briefly, but then another fit overtook him as Zane’s stubble tickled at his neck. He closed his eyes and shook silently at the absurdity of the romantic location. He and Zane were definitely more of a backseat-of-the-Mustang kind of couple. The thunder rumbled outside.
“All right, funny guy,” Zane said. He smacked Ty on the hip. “You’re clearly entertained without my help.”
Ty reached out for his wrist. He pulled Zane toward him in the dark. “No, don’t. I’ll be good.”
“You being good isn’t a problem,” Zane growled. “Focused, yes. Good, no.”
Ty nodded determinedly and cleared his throat. “I’ll be focused.”
Zane leaned forward, his lips skimming from the corner of Ty’s mouth, along his cheekbone, and to his ear. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”
Ty tried to meet Zane’s lips with his own, but Zane moved away too quickly for a kiss. Ty wrapped his arms around Zane’s shoulders. “I think you should do something I’ll be ashamed of in the morning.”
Zane gripped his hips and pushed their groins together. He hummed thoughtfully. “What could I do that would make you blush if you thought about it tomorrow?”
“If I don’t get a kiss soon, I’m going to hit critical mass, understand?”
Ty barely got the last word out before Zane’s mouth was on his, hot and hungry. He groaned and let Zane take control of it, hoping his lover knew which way the bed was. Zane ran one hand up his back to cup his head as he deepened the kiss, his other hand moving between them to pull at Ty’s shirt, drawing him into the darkness.
“So, how embarrassed would you be if Nick and Kelly mention hearing screaming through the wall tomorrow?” Zane drawled.
“Just tell them I saw a ghost; no one will ask questions.”
Zane pulled his shirt over his head, and then he was right there again, all defined muscles and warm skin. After another long kiss, Zane asked, “What’s your pleasure, doll?”