“And so is this.” Her voice held a plea I couldn’t ignore. “Greyson, he’s my brother. How can I be Mrs. Tides if my brother is your enemy?”
My jaw dropped, my heart slamming in my chest. “Mrs. Tides?”
She reached into her shirt and brought out the engagement ring, putting it in my hand. I let it sit there, staring at it, its weight increasing with every passing second.
I lifted my eyes to hers as she said, “If you want me to be yours, you need to meet my conditions.”
Words failed to form as she held her fingers out toward me. “What’s the last condition?” I finally asked, afraid to hear her answer. So far, her demands had been steep.
“That we have a Christmas wedding because I missed spending Christmas with you.”
My smile was wide enough to cause my cheeks pain, the tightness in my chest burning with the love that hadn’t faded.
“I think I can arrange that.”
“And the other conditions?” she asked, as I took her hand.
“You’re demanding, aren’t you?”
“I can be when it’s something I really want.”
“And is this something you really want?” I asked, wanting to hear her say it. “To be my wife?”
“Are you asking me to marry you, Greyson?”
I slipped the ring on her finger, saying, “Yes. Marry me, Riley. Marry me, and I’ll spend the rest of my life making up for the pain I caused, for the lies, for the?—”
She stopped me with a kiss, throwing her arms around my neck, and I pulled her closer. I’d waited so long to hold her again, thinking I never would and tolerating the void that thought had caused in my chest. I never wanted to let her go again.
“I’m sorry, Riley,” I said between kisses.
“I know.” She pulled her lips from mine, her green eyes studying me. “Can we go home?”
“Home?” I asked.
“To our home so you can make love to me. I’ve missed your touch.”
She reached for the elevator button again, and I stopped her. “I thought I told you there were consequences to walking onto my elevator, Miss Brinks.”
She shivered deliciously.
“What sort of consequences, Mr. Tides?”
I gave her a mischievous smile and pinned her to the wall, relishing the hitch of her breath as my hand slid back up her skirt, skimming along her bare ass. Her eyes twinkled, and I cocked my brow.
“You said to leave the thong off next time,” she said slyly.
“And so I did, Miss Brinks.”
“Mrs. Tides,” she corrected, making my heart leap to my throat.
“I’m going to ravage you in this elevator and mark it as ours, Mrs. Tides.” Saying the words left a tightness in my chest that reverberated through my body.
“Is that one of my consequences?”
“It’s a start, but I stole some silk scarves when the movers packed your things that I might need to put to use.”
The blush climbed in her cheeks gloriously.
“And a blindfold that fits perfectly over those gorgeous green eyes of yours.”
Her lips parted, and I couldn’t help but kiss her, letting the strain of the past few months slide from my muscles and the ache in my chest dissipate with each touch as I took her in our elevator. I spent the day making love to her, touching every part of her body that I’d missed and putting every sigh, every moan, every cry of my name to memory.
Riley was no longer running because I’d claimed her, and I would never let her go again.
