Page 52

I stand there for a moment, just taking it in. I want to remember this forever, the seconds leading up to the one where she agrees to become my wife.

She realizes I'm standing there and turns, her eyes widening slightly. "Cormac. You're home." A smile spreads across her lips as she lifts the mug of tea to them, looking at me over the top of the cup, and then it falters. "I wondered where you'd been all day. Is everything alright?"

I don't say a word. I cross the living room, reach down, and pull her up into my arms.

She lets out a soft, startled gasp as my hands wrap around her waist, lifting her effortlessly against my chest. I bury my face in the crook of her neck, inhaling the intoxicating scent of her skin, kissing the soft spot beneath her ear until she shudders against me, her slender arms wrapping tightly around my shoulders.

"I went to see your father," I murmur against her warm skin, and I feel her entire body go completely rigid in my arms. "I told Declan everything, and then we went together."

"You... you what?" Her voice is a tiny, strangled squeak against my collar.

I set her gently back on her feet, but I don't let her go. I keep one hand flat against the small of her back, the other coming up to gently cup her jaw, my rough thumb brushing over her high cheekbone.

"Declan and I had a sit-down with Maksim this afternoon. I told him the truth, Oksana. I told him we’ve been together. I told him about the baby."

Her breath hitches, and her eyes go wider still, until they look huge in her delicate face. "Cormac, I…"

For a moment, fear flickers over her expression, which I can only interpret as fear of what her strict father would have had to say about our relationship so far, and everything she's undoubtedly hidden from him. But I see her take a small breath and gather herself. "What… what did he say?"

Her lips are pale… her entire face has gone pale, and all I want is to take that look of fear away. "He gave us his blessing," I say softly, offering her a reassuring, tender smile. "Declan smoothed over the family business. Nobody is going to touch you, Oksana. We don't have to hide this anymore. You don't have to be afraid of your father, or your brother, or anyone else in this city. You’re with me now."

Her eyes well up with tears. "Cormac..."

"Listen to me, mo chuisle." I reach into my pocket, pulling out the small black velvet box, and drop down onto one knee in front of her on the hardwood floor.

Oksana’s hands fly to her mouth, stifling a gasp. I open the box. The emerald-cut diamond catches the lamplight, throwing prisms of light across the front of the sweatshirt she's wearing.

I let every wall I've ever kept up crumble to dust, and I let the words come out without thinking too much about any part of it, without trying to stop myself from saying exactly what I feel. I admit it to myself and to her, here and now, as I ask her to spend forever with me.

"I spent years thinking I wasn't made for this," I tell her, looking up into her tear-streaked face. "I thought my life was just work. And then you walked into that club like a goddamn tornado and upended my entire life. You made me want things I thought were dead and buried. You gave me a future, Oksana."

More tears spill down her cheeks, and I can see her shoulders trembling. I can see the emotion flooding her, and it makes it easier to keep going, knowing she's feeling the same things I am right now. My heart swells with a love so fierce it feels like it could break my ribs.

"I love you. With everything I am, and everything I have left to give. I want to marry you. We'll do it as soon as possible, before the baby becomes obvious, so you can have whatever wedding you've dreamed of and wear whatever dress you want. I want to give you everything, Oksana. Every single thing you ever ask for."

I reach up, taking her trembling left hand in mine, feeling the chill of her slender fingers against my scarred palm. "Marry me, Oksana. Be my wife. Let me take care of you and our baby."

Her knees buckle, and I catch her, bringing her down to the floor with me. Her hands curl into my shirt, and she presses her face against my shoulder, her body shaking with sudden sobs.

I hesitate. For a moment, I'm not sure if the tears are ones of joy or not. I've never seen anyone cry this hard from happiness. But then she nods against my shoulder, and I feel the tension bleed out of me.

"Yes," she gasps into my shirt before pulling back so I can see her face, a watery smile on her lips. "Yes, Cormac. I'll marry you. Yes."

Now I'm trembling too, but from relief. I pull the ring free of its velvet cushion and slide it onto her finger, holding her hand in mine as I bring it to my lips. And then I curl my other hand around the back of her head and bring her mouth to mine.

She tastes like salt, and her mouth opens instantly against my lips, her hands clutching at my shirt as she pulls me closer. Her kiss is desperate and passionate, and I fall into it, tumbling back onto the floor with her as she wraps her legs around my hips and kisses me like she's drowning. She pulls at my shirt, trying to get it off, and within moments, I'm lost in her.

My shirt comes off, her leggings, my oversized sweatshirt pushed up above her breasts so I can bury my face in them. She gets my jeans open, and I pull her panties to the side, and then I'm inside of her, burying myself into her again and again on the floor of my living room until we both come, shuddering, together. I spill into her, feeling her heat as she wraps herself around me, and I know that there's no other forever that I could ever want.

—

The next evening, I meet up with Rian for drinks. He's already there with a pint for each of us, grinning at me as he lifts a glass when he sees me walk up to the table.

"To the condemned man," Rian says with a crooked, boyish grin, lifting his own glass in a mock salute, but I think I hear the smallest echo of envy in his voice. "I never thought I’d see the day Declan Murphy had to play matchmaker for the most stubborn bastard I've ever met."

I snort and sit down, pulling the Guinness he ordered for me closer and taking a deep draught of it. "Declan was surprisingly civil about the whole thing. Hell, he was even happy for me by the time we finished talking. I'd been thinking he was going to take a swing at me when I told him."

"Declan’s practical," Rian says, resting his elbows on the table and leaning in. "And he cares about you, just like he does all his men. And he knows you've given up a hell of a lot for him and for Lachlan over the years. But Jesus, Cormac... a baby? A wedding?"