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“I know, and I love you anyway.” I flash a wicked grin and steal a kiss. “And since we’re already a little flustered and adapting to change…”
Her eyes, wide and questioning, search mine. “What?”
“Well…” I’m already crouching, so I drop one knee to the floor and reach into my pocket for the band I’ve held onto for months already. “I was kinda hoping… ya know… wondering…” I free my hand and bring a glittering diamond ring up between us. Predictably, her face pales. “I was hoping you might consider marrying me… again.”
“What?” Panicked, her gaze swings left, then right. Then back to me, she studies my eyes. “Archer! We’re already married.”
“Hence theagain.” I take her hand and separate her fingers until I’m left with the one I want. The important one. “I didn’t get to do the romantic proposal stuff before.”
“Because you were more concerned with spousal privilege,” she snickers, though the sound is watery and weak. “What you gave me was an ultimatum, Archer. Not a proposal.”
“And then you had to dig a bullet out of my shoulder, meet my estranged brother, coerce me into the courthouse after asking the mayor for a favor, and in the end, the whole affair was ten minutes, a couple ofI do’s, and dinner at the bar.”
“Were you not…” Her eyes glitter with emotion. Perhaps even a little heartache. “Are you not happy with what we did?”
“I’m the happiest man on the planet.” I draw her shaking hand closer, her palm facing me, and press my lips to the pads of her fingers. “I’m happy, purely because you exist.”
“But?” Her voice turns thick. “There’s a but attached to your thought.”
“But…” I wrap my lips around the tip of her finger and suckle, the simple act, shutting her up with a choked gasp. “But those were the actions of a man terrified he would lose you to the law. Or to death. Or even to that fuckwit in New York you used to work with who wanted you back.”
“David?”
“I was in a rush to make sure you were mine, Mayet. Because I knew what I wanted, and I had no desire to let it slip through my fingers.”
“It,” she rasps, “being me?”
“Yes. You. And you said yes, out of love, or to stay out of prison. Who knows?”
Choking out a laugh, she smacks my shoulder with her free hand. “Love, doofus. Prison doesn’t scare me.”
“Well, it scared me. The thought of losing you scared the fucking shit out of me. So I rushed us to the altar and hoped you wouldn’t think too much or have a chance to back out. I’ve lived a life where we don’t get to love, Minka. And those we chose to love in spite of the rules, were destroyed. I married you because I was terrified of the alternative.”
“And now… you regret rushing?”
“No. But I regret taking away your choices. Last time, my proposal was no different than an axe at your throat. This time, I want you to choose me without coercion.”
“I choose you.” Inching forward on the chair, she practically hugs me with her thighs. “I love you, Archer. I choose you every single day.”
“So marry meagain.” I set the diamond ring at the very tip of her finger and wait. Worry. Study her beautiful face. “Marry me on this boat. In international waters. Marry me while we’re here and you have no pressure to do anything except exactly what you want to do.”
“Today?” She gulps and looks down at the glistening diamond set between us. “R-right now?”
“In a week.” I stop and stare into her eyes. “Give us this time to relax. For the first time in our lives,” I exhale, “I want us to just relax. Then at the end, we sayI doin the middle of the ocean. No courthouse. No favors from the mayor. And no pending prison sentences hanging over our heads. That’s what I want. That’s how I want to spend my honeymoon.”
Her eyes glitter. Her heart, pounding so I see it against the thin skin covering her neck. Her hand shakes, but she doesn’t tug it away. She doesn’t fold her finger and steal the chance for me to slide the ring on.
“So…” I readjust on my knee, knowing I’ll groan like an old man when I stand again. “Minka Mayet. Will you marry me… again?”
She nods, fast and jerky and just enthusiastic enough to make my heart thump. “Yes, Archer. I’ll go through the marriage thingagain. But only for you.”
“Fuck.” Exhaling on a gust, I slide the ring down until the band touches the one she already wears, and then I surge forward and slam my lips to hers. Swallowing her groan and crushing her sweet body to the lounger placed here for us. “I love you, Minnnka. So fucking much, it hurts.”
“Did you think I would say no?” She whimpers when my tongue comes out to duel with hers. When my hands drop to her hips and my body half covers hers. Wind blows around us, flicking her hair all over the place, and seagulls fly overhead as we leave the shore and head toward deeper water. “Did you actually expect me to deny you?”
“I hoped you wouldn’t.” I drop my lips to her neck and regret not finding our suite sooner. I regret not asking her in the privacy of our own room, so I could ravish her body and take so much more than the gift she’s already given me. “You choosethis?” I pull back and search her eyes. “You’ve had the chance to test drive us for five months. Even after all that, you still want this?”
“Yes.” Breathing heavily, she brings her hand up and strokes the smile lines fanning away from my eyes. “But can we keep our original anniversary date?” Pushing up from the lounger, she nibbles on my bottom lip. “I like that we got married on your birthday. It makes it more special for me.”
