four.

"You're kinda killing me here, kiddo," Kozik said, trying to hide the fact he was genuinely nervous about her response. He'd already reconciled himself to the fact she wasn't just going to hurl herself into his arms with a resounding yes, disappointing as that was.

"Koz ..." Tasha sighed. "I love you, you know that ..."

"But you don't want to marry me."

"I don't want you to end up resenting being stuck with me," she said softly, fresh tears springing into her eyes at the thought. "I couldn't handle you hating me."

"Honey, you're talking crazy," Kozik told her gently, lifting their joined hands to his lips to kiss her fingers. "That's never, ever gonna happen – I'm only ever gonna want you. I said you were mine and yeah, I was being a shit about it – but that doesn't make it less true. You are mine. And I'm yours." Tracing the outline of her tattoo, he looked up at her seriously. "You got this for me, let me do this for you ... For us. Marry me, Tash."

"Oh Koz ..." she whispered, the ghost of a smile tugging at her lips as she made up her mind. She knew how he felt about her, how she felt about him and - wondering why she was even making it more complicated than it needed to be – she started to nod.

"Is that a yes?" Kozik hardly dared to ask, leaning in to brush a kiss against her lips as his hands slid over her thighs and around her waist, his forehead resting against hers. "Tell me that's a fucking yes, baby ..."

Her lips parting under his, arms going around his neck, hands in his hair, Tasha nodded again. "Yes," she managed against his mouth, the smile spreading as one kiss melted into another. "Yes, I'll marry you- Koz!"She trailed off into a little squeal of laughter as he lifted her into his arms, duvet and all, and pulled her onto the floor with him, his grin threatening to split his face in two as she ended up on top of him.

Her long hair tumbling over one shoulder to tickle his chest as she kissed him again, Kozik slid a hand to the back of her head to hold her close. "I'll never make you regret it, darlin'," he mumbled between kisses. "Never."

"I know," she said softly, her arms around his neck as she let him ease her back, the combination of the rug and the duvet keeping out any chill from the wooden floorboards.

The flames of the fire cast a flickering light over the couple as Kozik braced his body above hers, his mouth burning a trail down the soft skin of her throat. A hand behind her knee to hook her leg around his hip, pulling her closer and letting her feel exactly what being like this with her was doing to him, before turning his attention to peeling off the t-shirt she was wearing. Frowning when her head turned almost subconsciously, her gaze falling from his to the firelight.

"You, baby," he said, knowing what was in her mind – the same thing that had made her insist on only being with him like this in complete darkness for months – and tilting her face back to his. "Are so fucking gorgeous, you have no idea. I'm so far out of my goddamn league here."

She knew he wasn't – her handsome, charismatic, cocky boyfriend could have had anyone he set his sights on. But even self-conscious as she had become, Tasha could see it written all over his face that he believed absolutely every word he was saying.

"And now that sexy smile's back ..." he groaned, but there was a triumphant twinkle in his eyes. "Christ, doll, are you tryin' to kill me?" But before she could even think of a response, he'd leaned down and pressed a feather-light kiss to her scarred stomach, making the muscles there flutter in response. "I mean it, beautiful – I dunno how I keep my hands offa you ..."

"You don't," Tasha teased, with a pointed look at his hands as they roamed over her body.

"Are you complainin'?" Kozik demanded, caressing the softness of her skin as his fingertips grazed her breasts. A roguish grin on his face at the whimper he drew from her by replacing his hands with his mouth, the sound effectively giving him his answer. He loved how her body arched towards his under his ministrations, loved seeing her wanting more from him. "Easy, babe, you know I'll do you right ..." he growled, lathing his tongue over one of her nipples before his lips closed around the tight bud and he felt her fingers tighten on his biceps.

Propping himself up on one elbow beside her, Kozik leaned down to kiss her lips again and then pulled back again so he could watch her as his free hand travelled down her body to dip beneath the waistband of the tiny black cotton panties that were all she now wore. Noting how her eyes drifted closed as she enjoyed the sensations he was quickly creating for her, her lips parting in a small, soft gasp in response to his skilled fingers.

"So wet for me ..." he whispered huskily, biting gently on her ear. "I want you so fucking bad, Tash. Tell me what you want, baby ..."

"You," Tasha managed, looking up at him as she ran her hands over the solid planes of his body. Nothing but love and desire for him in her hazy green eyes. "I just want you. God, Koz, I need you ..."

That was all it took for him to shrug off his sweatpants and ease her panties down her slim legs, settling between her thighs with his weight on his forearms to keep from crushing her. She could feel him against her, thick and hard, as he kissed her. And then, his tongue tangling passionately with hers, he was inside her in one long, slow thrust that made them both moan. Making love in the firelight to the woman he couldn't wait to make his wife.

to be continued...