Page 148 of Carnal Wagers

Well, the joke was on me because she already was. Or was now, because I hadn’t lied. Alizé De Villier had been nothing but a name on a business contract before. Now she was bloody well everything, and that was doing my head in.

The ring burned a hole in my pocket, a one-of-a-kind one-point-five-carat pear-shaped diamond with a majestic double halo. It was as unique and peerless as she was to me. I debated digging it out of my pocket and tossing it into the void, but my rare sentimental side won out. I needed to see it on her finger, the same finger she’d wrapped me around, and for her to never take it off.

“Steer us to the airfield,” I said, handing over the steering toggles.

She expertly turned us into position with a smooth approach. “What? No critiques? No jumping down my throat? The big Cillian O’Leary too much in his own head to follow through on his threats?”

“Don’t tempt me.”

Alizé twisted her head over her shoulder.

“You didn’t detach me.”

“Guess I’m not done with you yet, wife.”

“You…you called me wife again,” she said, bafflement clear in her tone.

“What about it?”

“You said you didn’t have a wife.”

“Apparently, I fucking do.”

The world below us quickly approached. The acres of patchwork fields spread out, and roadways expanded in size.

My hands wrapped around the steering toggles above hers.

“You didn’t kill me.”

“Your observational skills amaze,” I deadpanned as I searched for the landmarks of our landing zone and pointed them out to her.

“You still love me.”

With a small tug on the right toggle, she steered us parallel to the landing area before the next leg of the descent.

“What love?” I leaned into her ear, enjoying how she wriggled against me. “You thought I’d let myself fall for you?”

It was impossible to resist touching her, and my gloved hands roamed down her sides to her waist. The quivers racking her back skittered through our jumpsuits.

“How does it feel to believe you were nothing more than a means to an end for me?”

“Was I not always?” she snarked.

“You were nothing before. Now, though, fill in the rest of the blanks, sweetheart.”

Her entire body clenched against mine.

She’d understand soon enough. I didn’t strive this hard to keep just any woman away from the Love Knot Killer’s dagger and brand.

I wrapped my arm around her chest. “Ready to land and finish what we started?”

She flared the parachute without my prompting, proving she’d jumped before, and lifted her legs for a slow, smooth touchdown. We landed in the grass, comforted against one another beneath blue skies and the sun’s warm congratulations against the day’s chill. Together, as we were meant to be.

The parachute canopy collapsed behind us, and I tugged her between my spread legs, exactly where she belonged. Alizé squirmed and jerked, tapping along the four attachment points on the harness.

“Get this off me. Now.”

“We’re attached at the hip. A blissfully married couple. Wasn’t this exactly what you wanted?”