Page 44 of Falling for the Wolf

Frank held up one hand. “Miss Stone does not want to come with me. I’m not one to force a lady to do something against her will.” He dropped his hand. “I don’t believe that you are, either.”

Mitch mutely shook his head.

“I can also tell that you and Miss Stone haven’t talked about your mutual feelings yet.”

Mitch puffed his chest, on the defensive until an important word repeated in his mind. “Wait, mutual?”

The prince snorted. “I like to live up to my name and befrank, but matters of the heart are best resolved heart-to-heart.” He stood and walked the single step to the door. “And since my heart isn’t involved, I’m staying out of it.”

Stunned, Mitch obeyed the invitation of the open door and stumbled toward his room.

He was doomed to another delay when Tasia popped into the hallway. At least this delay was easy on the eyes.

“Join me, please,” she all but demanded, disappearing into her room and expecting him to follow.

Naturally, he did as she said. After closing the door behind himself, he found her posed by the fireplace.

“Let’s try this again.” Tasia folded her hands at her waist. “Mitch. Where would you choose to live if you had that choice?”

The hope that she would see things from his perspective and do what was best for herself faded into confusion. “I can’t stay in one place for long. Too many folks are, rightly, suspicious of me.”

“In that case, I want to go wherever you go. Until you tell me to get lost.”

Mitch blinked at her, feeling thick.

She twinkled at him. “And you know I can get lost in no time flat, so that’s pretty much a guarantee.”

Frank’s words and Tasia’s sassy-sweet smile cemented something in him:

Maybe what was best for Tasia was being withhim.

“You know,” he began, as a smile formed that he couldn’t stop, “when you say things like that, I get the idea that you might like me.”

“I love you,” she stated.

He blinked, then laughed. “Well, that works out, because I love you, too.”

Tasia snapped her fingers. “Perfect! Then we can take turns choosing where to go.”

“There is one more thing to consider,” he said with a “serious” face. “If we’re traveling all over the known worldalone, tongues will begin to wag—”

“I thought that was a dog thing. Do—”

“Don’t finish that,” he warned with a mock frown.

She laughed and waved for him to continue.

“Do you want to hold onto your villainous reputation?”

Tasia tapped her chin as she peered at the sky. “Hmm.” She looked at him and raised both hands in a shrug. “I can think of one easy solution.”

Mitch stalked closer. “Oh, you can, can you?”

“Uh-huh.” She bent her head back to look up at him. “Marry me.”

Instead of answering, Mitch closed the last of the distance and captured her mouth with his. An involuntary growl rumbled in his chest when she responded enthusiastically.

Some time later, they pulled apart—slightly—and Tasia smiled at him from the safety of his arms. She raised her eyebrows. “So that’s a ‘yes,’ then?”

“That’s a ‘yes,’” he answered before guiding her lips back to his.