Page 103 of Lady and the Butcher

“Atticus—”

“Don’t argue. Don’t overthink. You’re mine. You’ve been mine since the night you asked for danger and I walked into your life. Let me put my promise on your finger the way you’ve carved yours into my chest.”

Tears blurred my vision. I laughed, shaky and real. “That’s not a proposal. That’s?—”

“A claim,” he interrupted, eyes fierce. “The only one that matters. Say yes, Simone.”

I slid the ring on. It fit like it had been waiting. I kissed him, tasting salt and want and home.

“Yes,” I whispered against his lips.

He exhaled like a man unclenching from a lifetime of battle. He pulled me back under him, already hard again, and thrust deep before I could catch my breath.

“You’ll never take it off,” he growled.

“Never,” I promised.

And as he fucked me into the mattress, as the lighthouse beam outside swept its silent circle across the water, I knew this wasn’t the end of danger. It was the start of something truer.

Mine.

His.

Forever.