Fighter's Heart

Scene 36

A Year Later

Jase

The tattoo machine hovers above the center of my chest.

"You're sure, man?" the artist asks, giving me one last chance to change my mind.

"Hell, yeah." No way I'm backing out of this. I'm going to give Lena a proposal she'll remember for the rest of her life.

The tattooist, a guy by the name of Mercy, shakes his head. "She must be some woman."

I grin as he sets the machine to my skin and it starts buzzing. "She's amazing." Tiny needles plunge into me, forming a black line. "She's so out of my fucking league."

Mercy raises a brow but doesn't look away from his work, and his hands remain perfectly steady. "You're Jase Rawlins. No one is out of your league."

I laugh, because he doesn't get it. Lena isn't the one who's lucky in this relationship, I am—although I do make sure she gets as many top-notch orgasms as she can handle. It's no less than she deserves for loving my stupid ass and for striking the devil's bargain with Erin to save me. Not that I let her go to her parents with her hand out for my sake. Fuck, no. As soon as I found out what she'd agreed to, I paid off Erin's loans myself. It was a small sum for me, and well worth it to preserve Lena's dignity.

"Tell me about her," he says, finishing the outline of an "L" and moving on to the next letter. I hope Lena understands what it means for me to have her name over my heart. I wish it could be larger, but unfortunately most of the real estate in that area is already taken.

"She's perfect," I say, grinning like a goober. "Clever, loyal, beautiful, feisty as hell."

"Sounds like my kind of girl."

"Hands off," I reply, good-naturedly. "She's all mine."

He laughs. "I'm not gonna fight you for her, bro. I'm smarter than that." He continues working and I stay on my back and answer questions about my most recent fight. It's just as well I don't have any in the near future or Seth would flip out at the sight of my new tattoos. As it is, I'm expecting plenty of jibes from my brothers. When the artist finishes, he repeats care instructions I've heard a dozen times before. I barely listen, too distracted by the nerves buzzing in my stomach. Persistent and loud.

I'm going to ask Lena to marry me. What if she says no?

She won't. She loves me. Nevertheless, the nerves settle in. They won't go anywhere until after I hear a 'yes' from the lips of the woman I love.

Leaving the parlor, I head straight to the jewelers. I've already chosen a ring, and they've been resizing it for me. Fortunately, Sydney knew Lena's ring size. Apparently that's something women talk about. She's been an absolute godsend the past few weeks, and to top it off, she's keeping Lena busy at a spa until I'm ready to woo her tonight.

She's going to be so fucking wooed she never looks at another man again.

I pay the jeweler an exorbitant amount and receive a small black box in return. Opening it, I gaze down at the sparkling white-gold diamond ring nestled inside. It's flashy, but elegant. Sexy, but not over the top. I think it suits her, but then, what do I know?

When I arrive back at my place, my friends are already there. Gabe, Devon, Seth and Nick are on board with my big plan and they've started decorating. There's a trail of red petals from the entrance to the twin glass doors that open onto the deck, and Devon glances up from where he's scattering them.

"Can I see your ink?"

Shaking my head, I admire his handiwork. "Sorry, brother, no can do. Lena is going to be the first to see it."