Against All Odds

Chapter Thirty-Six

I feel Henry come up behind me. I shiver when I feel his hand take mine beside my thigh. It's still cold from the bottle. Our fingers entwine slowly. I'm shaking.

"This place has a spiritual feeling for me," he whispers. "I can bare my soul here. I did it when I met you, when I felt full of hope for the first time in my life... I did it when I left you, when I thought I'd never smile again. And now," he swallows deeply, "I'm going to do it again, because... I plan to share my soul with yours for the rest of my life, if you'll let me."

I smile, feeling the tears drift down my cheeks. His lips are so close, his words just a whisper.

"I'll give you everything, Mia, if you'll let me. You've given me everything... you are not only the woman I love, you are my best friend."

He lifts my hand up, pressing his lips to my knuckles softly and I lose breath, head tilted towards him.

"I know promising to be with me will certainly change your world forever, even more than it already has. And I know it's so much to ask of you, to endure the scrutiny for the rest of your life but I swear, I will make you laugh every single day. I will never leave. Ever... I will love you, as hard as I can so you never feel an ounce of regret."

Regret? Never.

I feel his mouth against the corner of mine, so close but not yet touching my lips. "Mia, will you marry me?"

"Yes!" I nearly cry out, before he's even finished. I turn so I'm gathered up in his arms within seconds. Our lips crush to each other, desperately. I'm unable to stop laughing though, as I'm struck with a rush of glee. His lips curve into a smile against mine too.

When I pull back, I look up at him, beaming. "Yes! God, what took you so long!?" He laughs, clasping my face. "You have my soul, you have it," I utter, between kisses. "I'm yours."

He pulls back, looking impossibly happy. It's such a good look on him. I watch as he reaches into his jacket, pulling out the ring. The ring isn't a diamond, but a large ruby. The most stunning ruby I've ever seen. It's slim around the white gold band, which is detailed extremely well in delicate swirls. It looks like something you'd never find in this day and age, making it all the more special.

He gets down onto one knee, taking my left hand in his and slides it on gently. I close my eyes, unable to believe what my life is right now. He stands back up, taking my mouth as soon as his face is level with mine. We're gasping within seconds, our hands everywhere.

"Take your clothes off," I whisper suddenly, grinning. He raises a brow but grabs his jacket, shredding it without complaint. After dropping my coat onto the ground, I pull my dress over my head, throwing it as I head towards the water.

"Oh, you're going to regret that!" Henry shouts, laughing as I quickly get out of my bra and underwear as well. He's already naked but he hasn't moved from his spot, his arms crossed watching me as I skip towards the water.

"Live a little! Isn't that what you told me when we met?"

My feet touch the water and I yelp, laughing loudly. The water dances by my feet, playfully. I'm too happy to stop now. I brace myself and push myself further, sinking beneath the darkness. It's like ice. I come back up, gasping, pushing my hair from my face.

Henry is smirking fondly, head tilted. "You are a mad woman!"

"It's definitely colder than before!" I laugh, teeth chattering. I wrap my arms around myself, finding that being underneath the water is actually warmer than outside now. "It's s-so- COLD!"

Henry moves forward then, into the water. His taut body tenses at the chill but he walks in with more ease than I. I hold my arms out when he gets close, swimming straight into him.

"I didn't think this through," I hum, wrapping an arm over his shoulder, my hand into the bottom of his hair, the only part of it that's touched water. "Why did you let me do that? We have nothing to dry off with."

"You've got me to warm you," he whispers, staring at me. I grin then, despite everything and wrap my legs around him. I feel his hand on my backside.

"Oh? You're going to finish what we started last time?"

He smirks, clasping my neck and pulls my face to his. We kiss like we did that day, in this lake. Like we can't help it. I feel his cock swell against me as I rub my body against his, creating friction. I sink onto his cock slowly, with his guidance. His breath is against my throat, warm and comforting and the cold feel of the water makes my body seem to numb from feeling too much.

His hand, strong on the nape of my neck fists my hair into his hands as his other moves along with my body, guiding me to him. I smile against his lips, gasping for breath.

"We're engaged," I whisper, for the first time, trembling against him, deliriously happy. Although freezing, we seem content where we are.

As we come apart together, grips tight on each others skin, I pray for nothing to ever take this man away from me. This love.

"It's cold now," he says, once our heartbeats slow back to a normal rate. I nod, detaching from him, still keeping our fingertips entwined as we hurry out of the water. It's almost completely dark now- thankfully there are lights everywhere, lighting the space around us, or I'd be terrified.

Henry reaches down for the folded blanket, holding it up for me. "You first."

I smirk, taking it. Reaching up, I wrap it around his shoulders. "Why don't we do it this way?"

When it's around him, I walk into his body, wrapping my arms around his waist, pressing my face to his wet bare chest. He wraps the blanket then around both of us, cocooning me with his arms, rubbing the material over my back slowly.

"Ivan is probably having a coronary," I say, as we dress quickly.

"No doubt," Henry laughs, shaking his head, putting his shoes on. "Although, he seemed excited today... It's so rare to see him like that."

"He likes us together."

"Oh?"

I nod, smirking. "Before I went to New York, when he drove me to the airport, he asked me to stay. He told me he didn't want to see you lose love, after just experiencing it."

"He's like a therapist sometimes, I swear." He shakes his head, fondly. "I got completely smashed, after seeing you at one of those movies... you were with Arnold. And I sat there and watched you, until you packed up and left." He hums to himself, looking down, placing his other shoe on his foot. "And, uh, I was a complete idiot. I ranted about my idiocy, about how alone I was, how I deserved it."

I grip the blanket to me, trying to control my reaction. It hurts to talk about before. I know it's not easy for him either.

"Ivan actually got out of the car, walked to the back, got in beside me and pointed to the whiskey. We sat there in silence for over an hour, drinking. And I wasn't screaming anymore. We drove back and haven't spoken of it since."

I press my lips together as he gathers the unopened bottle. "I'm... sorry I did that to you."

He looks at me, tilting his head in disbelief before he comes to me, clasping my hand. "I'm sorry I did that to you." He presses my knuckles to his lips, looking out over the water.

I look at him and shake my head, in disbelief. We're going to get married. We reluctantly turn, walking up the path towards the car. I lean into him, staring at the splendor of roses stretched out over the ground.

When we're in sight of Henry's security detail, I become very conscious of my disheveled appearance. Somehow, Henry doesn't even have a hair that looks out of place. I beam wider when we approach Ivan, who nods.

"Congratulations," he murmurs politely, looking glad as he opens the door to the Bentley for us.

"Thank you, Ivan," Henry and I say at the same time. We slide onto the leather and I'm glad when Henry immediately reaches to turn the heat on in the back. Feeling giddy and ridiculously euphoric, we reach for each other, humming happily as our lips meet.

A/N: GUYS WE MADE IT