Chapter 228

Tessa’s POV

Joseph’s body stilled and then he grabbed my arm and pulled me along with him until we reached the inside of his house. Most everybody was outside, so there was more privacy inside. There were a few people who took up residency on the couch in the living room and they seemed to be face-deep in a make-out session.

I grimaced at the sight of it.

“Ew,” I said, loud enough to get their attention. “No one wants to see that shit.”

They pulled apart and glared up at me. I just stuck out my tongue.

Joseph pulled me along with him until we were in the kitchen.

“Don’t be a party pooper, Joseph,” I slurred, leaning against the counter for support once he released me. “I’m just having fun.”

“I left you alone for a few hours and you went ahead and got drunk,” Joseph muttered, shaking his head with disappointment clear on his face. “I didn’t think that was your plan for the evening.”

“You are so hot when you’re mad,” I pointed out, looking at the crease forming on his forehead. “My boyfriend is so hot!” I yelled loudly. “You are the hottest!!”

He sighed and grabbed a glass, filling it with water from the fridge.

“Drink this,” he ordered, sliding it across the counter.

I frowned.

“That doesn’t look like alcohol,” I pouted.

“That’s because it’s not,” he said, shaking his head. “Drink it.”

I folded my arms across my chest and stuck out my tongue in defiance.

“Make me.”

His eyes darkened and I could see the snarl emerging on his lips as he lunged across the counter and in my direction. I knew he would never hurt me, so I squealed and tried to get away, but he grabbed me around the waist and pulled me into him.

I laughed as I went airborne, and he placed me on the counter. He positioned himself in front of me, his arms on either side of me, locking me in place.

“Don’t test me,” he said in a deep and incredibly sexy voice, sending a shiver up my spine.

I leaned over to kiss him, needing to feel his lips on mine and taste him. I needed to feel him against me; I’d been so worried about him and now my body needed to know for certain that he was okay. That my father didn’t hurt him.

But just as my lips neared him, he pulled back.

“Water,” he said, holding the glass up to me.

I pouted.

“You don’t play fair,” I muttered, grabbing the glass from him.

He smirked, causing my heart to flip in my chest.

I sipped on the water slowly, but then realized I was really thirsty. That tequila dehydrated me. So, I guzzled the entire glass down and sighed in satisfaction when I finished. Joseph smiled and refilled the glass, handing it back to me.

I guzzled that down as well and I was starting to regain some control over myself.

“Feeling better?” He asked, a hint of a smile on his lips.

Suddenly, I was feeling really embarrassed about how I’d been acting. I was starting to sober, and I realized how stupid I was being. I wanted to crawl into a hole and stay there for the rest of eternity.

He grinned when I didn’t respond and he leaned in to kiss me. I let him and I basked in the incredible feeling of his lips.

“Drink some more water,” he instructed.

I did as he asked, and I drank another glass full of water. Once I was done with that, I really had to pee. Joseph laughed as I ran quickly to the bathroom. When I returned, I was feeling extremely tired and a little lightheaded. But I was definitely more sober than I had been a little while ago.

Joseph was waiting outside the bathroom door, leaning against the wall with a grin across his face.

“Don’t look at me like that. I’m so embarrassed…” I murmured. “I’m so sorry you had to see that…”

He raised his brows at me and studied my very warm face for a moment.

“Come with me to the front yard,” he said, taking my hand into his and pulling me along with him.

I didn’t argue with him.

The air was still so warm despite the sun being away. I could hear the music from the back patio, but it wasn’t as overwhelming. I could hear the splashing of the pool and the laughing of those enjoying the party. It made me feel good that they were having fun and that the party was a success.

Joseph came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my body, holding me close to him. I basked in his embrace. I turned only slightly so I could look up at him and he leaned down, brushing his lips across mine.

Butterflies assaulted my stomach, and I couldn’t help the stupid smile on my face. He grinned down at me and kissed the bridge of my nose before turning his attention back to the moon. It felt as if the moon was shining for us and us alone.

“Did you talk to my father?” I asked, breaking through the silence.

“Yes,” he answered immediately. “I’m confident he’ll drop the dispute. But I won’t know for sure until he either calls me or Dean Miller calls.”

“Did you have to use your abilities?” I asked, keeping my voice as low as possible.

He shook his head, surprising me.

“I thought about it, but I wanted to give him a chance to do the right thing on his own terms and not because I forced him into it,” Joseph explained. “He only wants to protect you and I understand that. The way he went about it wasn’t right, but I get where he’s coming from. I can’t blame him for that. I told him if he wants to gain your respect and continue to be in your life, then he will do the right thing. I hope he does because you deserve that.”

I smiled through my tears as I turned to face him, throwing my arms around his neck.

“I love you,” I breathed.

“I love you too,” he whispered, holding me tightly. “How are you feeling?”

“A little lightheaded from the alcohol,” I admitted. “But I’m okay. The water and fresh air helped.”

“I’m glad to hear that… when I saw you shitfaced, I got worried,” he admitted, his cheeks growing a little red, like he was embarrassed.

It was adorable and I ran my fingers through his hair, tousling it slightly.

“I was worried about you and needed to get my mind off things. Ruby kept giving me shots and I took it as a distraction,” I explained. “I’m sorry to have worried you.”

He didn’t say anything for a moment, and I knew he was battling with his thoughts. I realized he was looking even more nervous than he had only moments ago.

“I’ve been wanting to talk to you,” Joseph surprised me by saying, breaking the silence that formed between us.

“I knew it…” I breathed. “Something wrong. Did he say something to you--?”

“It’s not like that, no,” Joseph was quick to say. Actually, I wanted to talk to you about our future together.”

My heart fell deep into my stomach and that gut feeling returned to me. Something was wrong, I could feel it.

“Okay…” I breathed, nervously. “What is it?”

“Firstly, I want you to know that I don’t have everything figured out. I’m not sure what our future holds and what it’ll look like if I were to be honest. I can’t promise that things will always be easy. I can’t promise there won’t be challenges. In fact, there will be a lot of challenges in the future. There will be moments when your life might be in danger. Witches and vampires don’t go hand in hand together. It will be difficult. But I can promise that I will do whatever I can to protect you and care for you. I can promise that whatever our future holds, we will be together. I know your lifespan is short, but I’d rather live one short life with you than any life without you.”

My heart swelled from his words and tears welled up in my eyes. I wasn’t sure where he was going with this, but I didn’t care. I knew I belonged with him, and our future had one another in it. That’s all I needed to know. That’s all I cared about.

“I love you, Tessa. I want to spend the rest of my time loving you and I’d like to show you how much you mean to me and how much I love you,” he said, grabbing onto my hand, and to my utter shock, he knelt to the ground in front of me.

My heart leaped into my throat, and I could barely breathe.

“W…what are you doing?” I stammered, hoarsely.

He grinned and then reached into his pocket to pull out a small black box. I knew the kind of jewelry that came inside a box like that, and I could hardly contain myself. A shriek escaped the depth of my throat; I was not expecting this in the least.

“Tessa Campbell, you mean the whole world to me and more. I would do anything for you, and I want to prove to you that I’m all in. I’m yours, just as much as you are mine.”

He opened the box revealing the most gorgeous diamond ring I had ever seen in my entire life. It had a silver band, which happened to be my favorite style ring, with small diamonds leading up to the much bigger diamond in the center. Around the center diamond were mini rose gold pearls.

“Oh, my god…” I breathed, meeting his eyes which were filled with so much love and passion, I thought it was going to burn a hole in my flesh.

“I know it’s a scary step and like I said, it won’t be an easy journey. But this is a journey I’d like us to take together,” he said, tears filling his eyes as well as he leaned down and kissed my hand gently before lifting his gaze back to meet mine. “So, what do you say? Will you marry me?”