“I think it would be awesome.” Zach bit his lower lip, watching Gibson’s face carefully. He had a tell of sorts, an uneven narrowing of his eyes before he pounced, and Zach knew that expression very well. Most of the time, Gibson’s pouncing led to a very good, sweaty bout of sex, but the close proximity of the icy pond made him cautious. Still, sometimes chances had to be taken. “If they were big enough, you could carry food and maybe even a six-pack of beer. Wouldn’t that be great?”
Zach scrambled up onto the rock before Gibson’s eyes finished twitching, and Gibson caught himself before lunging at where Zach’d been standing.
“Stay up there,” Gibson growled. “Let me put on my sneakers and I’ll join you.”
“Just remember, if you toss me into that pond,” Zach warned, “I’m going to make you carry me all the way down, because I’m not walking in wet socks and damp jeans.”
The blanket might’ve been too thin, or perhaps Gibson was still running hot with the rush of wolf blood in his veins, but either way, Zach’s back was a little raw after they ended up naked and rolling around under the afternoon sun. Zach looked longingly at the pond, wishing it was a bit warmer so he could soak in cool water, but the wind picked up, wicking away the sweat they built up between them. He also didn’t want to move, not with Gibson still stretched out halfway over him, their legs tangled together.
“You know, I’ve been thinking,” Gibson murmured, drawing circles over Zach’s bare chest. “I think you need to hyphenate your name.”
“Like Bob? Like Zach–hyphen–Bob Thomas?” He looked at him incredulously, wondering when his lover had lost his mind. “Do you have plans for me becoming a country-western singer or something? Because I’m going to disabuse you of that right now. I can’t hold a tune to save my life.”
“Trust me, I know that. Are you forgetting the karaoke nights down at the pub with Martha and Ruth? Hold on. Since I’m not getting through to you….” Gibson’s grimace was a bit exaggerated, or so Zach thought. He rummaged through his clothes, the ones he’d put on and wore for about a single hot minute, then extracted a small blue box. After cracking it open, he showed Zach a pair of black-gold rings inside, then said, “I’m saying that you should be Zachariah Thomas-Keller. Or Keller-Thomas. I’m not picky. I just want my name to be there. Next to yours.
“So what I’m asking is if you’ll marry me.” Gibson chuckled, probably recalling more than a few conversations they’d had about his liking to take control and having to learn to give way sometimes. “Sorry, how about if we say I am asking if you will let me marry you?”
“You know, if you’d known when you pulled me out of the lake that you were going to end up asking me to marry you—”
“I probably would’ve thrown you right back in.” Gibson yipped, startled when Zach tweaked his nipple. “What? It’s catch and release down at the lake. And I really didn’t have a choice after my brother chased you into the water like you were a rabbit.”
“Do you think he knew what he was doing? That something inside of that wolf brain of his knew the two of us would fit?”
“I don’t know,” he replied with a shrug. “The world is too big and too complicated for us to really understand. I am never going to say I know everything about anything. He might have. He might have developed instincts that we’ve lost because he had gone so deep into the wolf. I don’t think we’ll ever know. So is that a yes, or am I going to have to go another round of rock sex in order to convince you?”
“It’s a yes,” Zach murmured, cupping Gibson’s face. He’d learned to kiss. They were lessons he was eager to take, especially since Gibson could make his toes curl, and he liked being able to bring the amber up into his lover’s eyes. When he drew back from Gibson’s mouth, gold sparkled in the gray, and Zach smiled, delighted at the passion he saw there. “There’s just one thing. One thing that has to happen before we get married.”
Gibson cocked his head, but his hands continued to roam, stroking all the sensitive spots along Zach’s side. “What’s that?”
“We have to find out where your brother is and make sure he comes to the wedding.” Zach gasped, aroused at Gibson’s skillful touch. “After all, he’s the one who taught you how to love, just like you’re the one who taught me what it means to have a family.”