She was glad he’d brought her back to the cabin because she wanted privacy for their discussion. And she just plain wanted time alone with him. Her dad would expect them to return to D.C. that day, but she planned to talk Ethan into taking a couple of days off before heading back. They had to arrange return transport to the East Coast for his car and the cats anyway.

She carefully extricated herself from Ethan’s arms so she could go take a shower.

When she came out of the bathroom, Ethan was sitting on the side of the bed, an expression in his green eyes that made her heart melt. Her gaze flicked over the bed and then stuttered as it encountered a set of hand restraints attached to the brass headboard.

“What are those for?” she asked in a voice gone breathless.

“We never got around to my turn…”

“Restraining me?” she squeaked.

“Yep.” He grinned. “You sound nervous, Sunshine. Don’t you trust me?”

“Yes, I do.” And to prove it, she let her robe fall from her shoulders to the floor and walked naked to the bed.

She lay down and put her hands toward the headboard. Ethan straddled her, his flesh already erect and tempting, his body heat transferring to her with the sizzle of an electric charge.

“Now, that’s one of the things I love about you, Beth. You’ve got a real sense of adventure.” He secured the cuffs to her wrists and brushed his thumbs against the palm of her hands.

“One of the things…love?”

His expression so sincere it brought tears to her eyes, he nodded. “Definitely love. I love so many things about you I can’t count them all, but that’s because I love everything that makes you Elizabeth Whitney.”

“I love you, too,” she choked out past a tight throat. She’d never imagined she would tell a man she loved him for the first time in such a situation, but then with Ethan, life was going to be an exciting journey into each new day.

“Enough to be my partner?”

“Partner?” she asked, afraid to guess what he meant.

He nodded. “In everything.”

That sounded promising, but she waited in expectant silence for him to go on.

“I’ve never worked with a partner, but I want that to change.” He cupped her cheek. “I want that partner to be you.”

“But I’ll be a new agent.”

“And I’ll take responsibility for training you, but there’s just one thing, Beth.”

“What?”

“When the babies start coming we have to promise each other we’ll leave fieldwork. It’s hard to raise kids in today’s world and they’re going to need us home, not gallivanting around trying to save the world.”

“Do you mean it?”

“Oh, yeah, I definitely mean it.”

“So, you want to have babies?”

“In a couple of years…maybe five at the most. You okay with that?”

“More than okay.” Her heart was so full, she felt like it was going to burst from her chest.

“I want these babies to carry my last name.”

“You want me to marry you?”

He got a chagrined expression and then said, “Wait a sec.”

He jumped up and dashed into the other room. When he came back, he was carrying a small box. He climbed back on her so he was straddling her hips and opened the box to reveal the most beautiful marquis-cut yellow diamond she’d ever seen.

He cupped her face with both hands this time, his thumb brushing her lips. “I love you, baby. Will you marry me?”

Her eyes filled with tears, emotion coursing through her in a tidal wave, but she couldn’t stifle a burst of giggles. “I never thought I’d be proposed to while I was naked with my hands tied to the bed.”

“Are you telling me that even your rich imagination didn’t stretch that far?” he teased.

“Yes.”

“Well?”

“You win hands down.”

“That’s not what I was asking, but what did I win?”

“The most unique marriage proposal.”

“Good. I wouldn’t want to remind you of anyone else.”

“You couldn’t…no matter how you had asked. Everything about us is different…bigger, deeper, more.”

He inhaled a deep breath, his eyes closing for a couple of seconds as if he was savoring her words and then they opened, fixing her with a glittering green gaze. “So, are you going to answer, or am I going to grow gray sitting here?”

She looked down at his still erect penis. “Um…I don’t think you’ve got the patience to wait for that.”

“I agree. Now answer me before I have to get nasty.”

“I might like you nasty.”

His eyes narrowed. “You’re pushing me, Sunshine, and I gotta believe you’re doing it on purpose. I think it’s time I taught you what happens to feisty little agent hopefuls who give their trainers a hard time.”

“Something looks hard, definitely.”

He burst out laughing and then leaned forward to kiss her. His hands twined with hers while his tongue claimed rights to her mouth she’d never give another man again. He kissed her until her body was hot and needy, until her lips were swollen and her heart was pounding in her chest.

When he sat up she felt the ring on her finger, but couldn’t hold the thought long because he was trailing his fingertips down her arms. He brushed over her armpits and she shivered, a convulsive movement that shook her whole body.

“You’re so responsive,” he praised.

“Your touch is too perfect.” She was panting and didn’t care that he knew she was so excited from the molten kiss and little bit of caressing he’d done.

He cupped her breasts, rubbing his thumbs over her already erect nipples. “Touching you gives me more pleasure than I would have ever believed possible.”

A lump of emotion formed in her throat. “I’m glad.”

“I love your body, Beth.”

“I’m nothing special.”

He laughed. “Not special?” He shook his head. “Baby, you are more woman than I’ve ever known. You are it for me. The most sexy…” He squeezed her breasts. “Most sensual…” He leaned forward and gave her a love bite right over the pulse beating so frantically in her throat. “The most imaginative…”

He ran his hands back up her arms to trace the cuffs holding her wrists. “Most fun…” He kissed her again, using his tongue to trace at her lips. “All kinds of fun…” He kissed her again, this time nibbling at her and teasing her tongue with his.

“Most delicious.” His voice was going ragged. “Most beautiful.” Another kiss while his body rubbed hers, like a big cat of prey marking her with his scent. “Most caring.” Several nibbling kisses. “Most adventurous.” A long drawn out kiss that sent her connection to reality rocketing off into the ether.

Then it was just his body pressing against hers, words spoken in her ear that she couldn’t make sense of and eventually hands and mouth everywhere, bringing each individual nerve ending to tantalizing life. Without knowing how they got there, her legs were wrapped around his hips and trying to draw him to her. He said something, cursed, and yanked away.

She lay, dazed with desire, watching as he donned a condom with trembling hands and then he was back where she wanted him to be, on top of her and surging into her.

He ripped the Velcro straps on the handcuffs open. “Hold me, baby. Hold me hard.”

She didn’t need a second bidding, but wrapped her arms and her legs around him with all her strength and even so, he rode her with powerful thrusts that sent her careening into orgasm and him with her.

Afterward, he took care of the condom and then lay down again, pulling her until she was sprawled on top of him. “Tell me yes, Beth.”

“I’m fairly certain I said that word several times in the last hour,” she said in a voice hoarse from her screams when she climaxed.

“Say it with the words I’ll marry you attached.”

She lifted her head so she could look straight into his gorgeous green eyes. “Yes, I’ll marry you, Ethan Crane. I love you.”

“I don’t want you to give up your dreams, Beth, I want to give them to you. Every last one.”

“You have.” Tears she made no attempt to control burned her eyes. “You’ve made me dream bigger and promised a future that fulfills my every fantasy, but one that is very, very real.”