Forbidden Heat novel Chapter 145

“Lucien…” I called his name in a whisper. Lost for words.

“I want you to marry me, Natalia,” Lucien proposed as he looked sincerely into my eyes. I love these green eyes so much…but…

“But we…can’t,” I replied softly.

“Should I get down on one knee?” Lucien said jokingly.

“Lucien…enough with the jokes…” I pleaded for him to stop playing around as he laughed a little.

“You’re right. On a more serious note, I want you to consider my marriage proposal seriously. I know we can’t get married right now but I want you to know that I have every intention to make you my wife. You can take this as a pre-proposal. When the time is right, I’ll propose to you properly again then,” Lucien said so sincerely and passionately that I was so moved by his words.

“Thank you, Lucien. Knowing this means a lot to me…I can’t thank you enough. I’m so happy!” I replied with a bright smile. I can’t believe Lucien just proposed to me. Even if it’s not right now…perhaps someday…

“This is for you…I love you, Natalia” Lucien said as he took out a simple solitaire diamond ring and slowly placed it on my ring finger.

Wow! The ring is beautiful and having it on my finger suddenly made all of this feel so real. Lucien is really proposing to me! I don’t know how long I’ve wanted this and dreamt of this happening. However, now that it was sort of happening, I was flooded with very mixed and complex emotions.

“Thank you. It’s beautiful…but…” I started to protest. I knew we couldn’t really get married because a few hours ago Lucien just married Angela. Yes, I didn’t just forget about that.

“I’m glad you like it. Don’t worry, as I said, this isn’t the real proposal yet. So, you can take this ring as simply a present from me instead of an engagement ring. Regardless, I’d like you to have it,” Lucien explained briefly before kissing the back of my left hand.

I nodded in reply, and we hugged each other tightly. There are so many things that I wanted to ask Lucien and I bet he has many things that he wanted to tell me, some secrets that he’s been keeping to himself for far too long. I decided to wait, when the time was right, I have confidence that Lucien would slowly tell me everything that I wanted and needed to know. Lucien let go of my body to place a little distance between us before kissing my forehead tenderly, followed by my nose, my cheeks and then pecking my lips.

“Should I help you into the wedding dress?” Lucien asked kindly as he held the dress in his hands.

“I would love that. Thank you,” I replied without hesitation. I wasn’t sure what to make of his marriage proposal but there was no denying that I was very happy in this moment. I decided to enjoy his attention and play the part of the overjoyed bride-to-be.

Slowly Lucien unzipped and peeled my dress off my body with care. I moved my body to assist him as the dress that I was wearing slipped down my chest to my waist. Lucien sucked in a breath as his eyes feasted on my breasts. With how things are going, I guess this undressing and redressing process is going to take a while longer than I initially thought.

“Lucien…” I called out his name softly as his hands started to cup and fondle my breasts over my bra. I moaned softly as he bent his head down to my chest to nipple at my soft flesh, his hands peeling the cups of my bra to the side. His hot hands now on my naked breasts and they were squeezing harder causing me to whimper with pleasure.

There’s no way I’m going to get undressed and changed into the wedding dress if we continue like this…the bed was also so close…

“Restraint…Lucien, you need to practice some restraint…” I warned him in a teasing tone as I closely pushed his head away from my chest.

“Admittingly, that’s a little hard with you…” Lucien replied but decided to comply.

“If we keep going, I’m not going to get to wear the wedding dress at all,” I pouted a little.

Lucien just laughed as he continued to pull the dress down my hips and legs until it pooled on the floor. I kicked the dress to the side before taking the wedding dress that Lucien handed to me.

“What are you doing?” I asked curiously as I started to unzip the wedding dress, preparing to put it on.

“Covering my eyes…” Lucien replied flatly.

“I can see that…why are you covering your eyes?” I asked more precisely.

“I don’t think I can refrain from attacking you if I see you naked…so…” Lucien confessed truthfully as he continued to shield his eyes with the back of his hand. In playful times like these, I always think that Lucien is much younger than he really is, and I couldn’t stop myself from laughing at his response.

“Guess I’ll have to put this dress on myself then,” I replied gleefully as I started to pull the wedding dress up my body. The dress felt heavy, and it reminded me a little of the weight of responsibility and commitment that should come with marriage. I’m not stupid enough to believe that marriages are like fairytales. Marriage for Rosenhall family members should never be taken lightly.

“You look amazing…I thought you’d look beautiful in this dress but…let’s just say you’ve well exceeded my expectations,” Lucien commented as he inspected me from head to toe now that I was standing in front of him in the wedding dress that he had prepared. His compliment was making me feel shy and I felt my cheeks getting warmer.

“Thank you…Lucien,” I replied simply, at a loss for other more imaginative words.

Lucien gestured towards the full-length mirror that was conveniently located in the bedroom so that I could see myself in its reflection. I guess I look quite impressive in this white dress. The princess-style dress made me look much more innocent that I really am, unfortunately. Did I seem like such an innocent and pure girl to Lucien as well? The truth, I knew, was far from it.

--To be continued…