Chapter 19
Alpha POV
I wake in the middle of the night. Tory is sleeping peacefully in my arms. I gently move the hair from her face and kiss her cheek. I am in love with her. Somewhere over the last few weeks, I have fallen madly in love with her. All I can think about is being with her forever. I am terrified she does not feel the same way. There is only one way to find out. I have to tell her how I feel about her today before we go back to the pack. I have to know how she feels.
Tory begins to move around and finally opens her eyes. She looks at me and smiles. "Why are you awake?" Tory asks me.
"I am watching you sleep so peacefully," I answer her.
Tory snuggles in closer to me. I love seeing her like this, peaceful and happy. I lay my head back on the pillow and close my eyes. I will tell her how I feel when we get out of bed.
I awake to the sun coming through the balcony door. I reach for Tory, but she is not here with me in the bed. I look out the balcony door, and there she is, standing in the sun, watching it rise. She is breathtaking. I get out of the bed to join her on the balcony. I walk up behind her and put my arms around her. I am going to profess my love for her. She will either laugh in my face or tell me she feels the same way. Either way, I have to know now.
"Do you regret being here with me?" I ask her. I have to know how she feels before I spill how I feel to her.
"I have no regrets," Tory says.
"Tory, I am in love with you. I want to be with you every day. I want you to be more than just this," I say. I wrap myself around her as she lays her head into my chest, if I could only get closer to her and shelter her from every bad thing that has ever happened to her.
Tory does not say anything. "If you do not feel the same way, please tell me. I need to know how you feel about me," I say.
Tory turns and looks up at me. She touches my face gently. "I do feel the same way, Michael. I am afraid. I am so damn afraid of being hurt," Tory says.
"I would never hurt you. I only want to make you happy. I could give you so much happiness," I say.
"I am older than you, and having children might not be an option. Is that something you want to give up to be with me? Don't you want children to carry on your legacy with the pack," Tory asks me?
"I only want you. Anything else does not matter. We could adopt a child if we wanted a child," I say to her.
"I want you to be sure about that before you make a commitment to me. I want you to think about a life with me and what it would entail," Tory says.
"I have thought about it. I have been thinking about it for weeks. There is no one I want except you. Tory, I want you to be my wife," I say to her.
"Wait, you want me to marry you?" Tory asks.
"Yes, I have never felt this way about anyone before you. I want you to be my wife," I say.
"This is crazy. Why would you want to marry me? You can have any woman you want," Tory says.
"No, it is not crazy. I know what I want, and I want you in my life every day and in every way. There is no other woman I want. I want you, Tory," I say to her. I pull her to me and kiss her.
"Yes, I will marry you, Michael," Tory says. Tears are flowing down her cheek. I gently wipe the tears away.
"There will be no more tears, Tory. I will never hurt you," I say.
We stand on the balcony, holding one another. I kiss the top of her head.
"Can I convince you to marry me soon? I don't want you changing your mind and breaking my heart," I say to her.
"I will marry you today if you want," Tory says.
"Don't tempt me," I say.
"Why not? Let's do it," Tory says.
"Are you serious?" I ask her.
"Yes, I am dead serious," Tory says.
"There is a wedding chapel on the lake. We could go there and get married," I say.
"Okay, call them, make the arrangement," Tory says.
I cannot believe she agreed to marry me. I kiss her and hold her for a moment. I go back into our room to call the wedding chapel. Damn, my phone is on the boat. I pick up the phone in the room and call the front desk. The young lady at the front desk connects me to the chapel. I make Tory and I an appointment for noon to get married. Tee is going to be pissed off; we did not tell her first.
I walk back out to the balcony. "Tory, we are getting married at noon," I say to her.
"Well, what are we going to do between now and then?" Tory asks me. "I can think of a few things to do between now and then," I say to her.
I take Tory into my arms and kiss her sweet lips. I scoop her up and carry her back to the bed. "Making love to you is on top of that list of things to do while we wait," I say as I lay her on the bed.
"Mine too," she says, pulling me down on the bed with her. There is nothing that could ruin this day for us.