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“I shouldn’t have given you the choice between Osian and I. Sometimes I wish I’d been more selfish and cared less.”
Her jaw dropped.
“If I had been more selfish, I’d have gotten rid of Osian a lot sooner. And he never would have put his hands on you.”
“Merrick,” she said, her voice thick. “What Osian did was Osian’s fault. No one else is to blame.”
“I understand that in here,” I said, tapping my temple.
“But you don’t really believe it.”
“That’s not your problem to deal with,” I said quickly. “Right now, in this moment, all I want to know is how do I get you to say yes to me.”
Her eyes widened and she dropped the cigarette in her wine and set it aside. The water sloshed around her thighs as she moved to the edge of the tub. Stopping just inches from me.
Steam rose in a thick cloud between us. My heart quickened.
“Say yes to what?” she whispered.
‘Being my wife,” I said. “You said it was time to make your choice.”
The words tasted so sweet, so overdue.
“You love me that much?”
“Darling, I love you so much more than that,” I said, taking hold of her waist and pulling her wet body against mine. Our breath mingled and her mouth tasted of wine and chlorine as I kissed it.
“You adore me?” she breathed.
“I adore you the way I have never adored anyone before. When I kissed you for the first time, I realized that everything up until then was just wasting time. You kissed me back and I’ve been tripping over myself ever since, trying to figure out ways to adore you more deeply every day. You make me a love drunk fuck-up and I don’t mind. I never want to get up in the morning or sleep at night because I don’t want to miss a moment of you.”
I hadn’t planned the speech, but it rolled out of me all at once. I half expected her to laugh, but she didn’t. Her lip trembled, her eyes big and vulnerable. Then she grabbed the front of my shirt and kissed me hard.
I felt her yes, her enthusiastic yes that defied all barriers.
Her yes that made the world stop just for us, that made the stars and planets step aside just to make room for her to adore me back.
I pulled away, panting.
“Be my wife,” I demanded.
Her lip trembled. “But what about…what about the deal with the Cardiffs?”
“I’d say that ship has sailed, don’t you think?”
“But…how will you get the money you need if you marry me instead of arranging my marriage to someone else?” she asked, her voice small.
I had no fucking clue, but it didn’t matter anymore. “Caden said he had some ideas,” I said recklessly. “Now, say you’ll marry me.”
“Fine, alright,” she said, kissing me through her smile. “Fine, I’ll marry you, I guess.”
I pulled her naked and soaked into my arms and she wrapped her legs around my waist.
“That’s my girl,” I breathed. “Now, I’m fucking you upstairs and then we’ll talk.”
It took far too long to get her up the stairs and into the bed we’d shared all those weeks ago. Her fingers tore at my clothes, ripping them to the ground. Then our bodies slid beneath the covers together and her thighs parted.
Her spine arced and she gasped, her eyes going soft, as I pushed inside her. Heat enveloped me, so hot and familiar, like finally coming home. Like all the broken, open ended bits of my life had finally come to some perfect conclusion.
