Page 119 of Praising Haru

I laugh. “Can’t I?”

“No, Sir.”

“I’ve brought dessert home.”

Haru raises an eyebrow. “Dessert? It’s not my birthday. Or yours. What’s the occasion?”

“Can’t I spoil my sexy, talented boy for no reason?”

“I suppose so…”

I set him on his feet. “Let’s cook. I’m starving.”

“But-but—”

I tap his nose. “Dinner. Dessert. Maybe cuddles. And then sex.”

“But—”

I press my finger over his lips. “No buts, beautiful boy. Who do your orgasms belong to?”

“You, Sir.”

Despite his objections, Haru enjoys being edged like this. It’s one of the ways our kinky relationship has evolved over the last two years.

We make a simple stir-fry and sit at the table to eat. The converted attic is one reason we fell in love with this house. The kitchen extension is the other. It swallows up some of the not-very-big garden, but we don’t mind. Arthur and Josephine have friends now. For some reason, everyone we know bought us a cactus when we moved in. We’re managing to keep them all alive and thriving. Like Arthur, they all have goggle eyes and names.

Once we’ve finished eating, I clear our plates and bring a cardboard cupcake box to the table and put it in front of Haru.

Butterflies flit through my stomach. When was the last time I felt this nervous? “Dessert.”

Haru frowns. “There’s only one.”

“We only need one. Trust me, beautiful.”

“Um, okay.”

“Open it.”

Haru lifts the lid off the cupcake box. He widens his eyes. Instead of a cupcake, there’s another box inside the first. This one is smaller and black.

“Open it.”

He swallows, glances at me, and then obeys. He smacks his hands over his mouth. Tears well into his eyes. “It’s a ring.”

I get onto one knee by his side and pluck the ring out of the box. It’s white gold with square-cut gemstones set into it, fading through the Pride rainbow from red to purple.

“I’m sorry I’m not making a bigger deal of this, but I bought the ring today and couldn’t wait. You’re the love of my life. The one who makes me smile every day. The one I turn to whenever I feel down or need a hug. My beautiful, stunning, talented, perfect boy. You’re my everything. Will you marry me?”

Haru stamps his feet and squeaks.

I laugh. “Is that a yes, baby?”

“Yes.” He flings his arms around my neck and kisses me fiercely. As ever, he yields control of the kiss to me the second my tongue taps against his lips.

I kiss him until my lungs are about to burst, emotion welling up inside me with every whimper and moan. I break the kiss long enough to slide the ring onto his finger and then kiss him again.

Eventually, I rock onto my heels and gaze at him. “You’re the most stunning creature on this planet.”