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She nodded. “A little.”
Reaching him, she sighed and draped herself across his thighs, right where she belonged, and he wrapped his arms around her. It was a regular ritual for them . . . her sliding onto his lap after a long workday and both of them discussing the day’s events. It was one of his favorite parts of the evenings, when it was just the two of them, connecting and sharing on an intimate level.
Elle absently played with the collar of his shirt, her soft fingers occasionally brushing against his neck. “Guess where Helena is moving to?” she asked him.
“Mars?” he replied drolly.
She laughed, the sound light and melodic as she relaxed more fully against his chest, the day’s tension draining away now that they were together. “No. Florida. Gwen is going with her. Word spread about what Helena had done, and all her rich friends turned their backs on her, so I’m guessing they both want to get away from all the stares and gossip.”
“Good riddance,” he muttered, although being ostracized was no less than they deserved. “And Claire?”
True to Elle’s word, now that she had a steady cash flow, she’d offered her stepsister a job at the realty company, which Claire had been grateful for. Having her take on half of Elle’s workload helped to free up a lot of her time for other things. Like getting back in the field to show properties, which she loved, and meeting him for an occasional lunch, and leaving work early and surprising him.
“Claire hasn’t talked to either one of them since moving out of the house,” Elle said, casually unfastening a few of the buttons down his shirt so she could touch more of his chest. “She doesn’t want to have anything to do with them, either.”
“Any apology or remorse when you saw Helena for the last time today?” he asked, caressing one hand along the curve of her waist while letting the other drift beneath the hem of her skirt to tease the soft skin of her inner thigh.
“No.” Another couple buttons released and she slid her hand inside the opening, her fingers grazing his nipple and making it stiffen—along with his dick. “But honestly, I didn’t expect either. I’m just glad it’s over.”
He buried his face against her neck and gently nipped her skin, causing a soft moan to echo between them. “Me, too, because there are better things for you to look forward to.”
“Yeah?” she asked, sounding happy again, and that made him smile. “Like what?”
“Like us,” he growled against her ear, making her shiver.
“We’re already an us,” she said breathlessly.
He lifted his head so he could look into her eyes, which were already hazy with desire. Yeah, a lot of their evening conversations ended up with him buried deep inside her pussy. There were times when they fucked like wild animals and other times when they made slow, sweet love—he found both kinds of sex with her richly, immensely satisfying.
“I was hoping to take us to the next level.”
Amusement shone in her eyes. “What, bondage isn’t enough for you?” she asked, deliberately misconstruing what he meant. “I can’t imagine you getting any more depraved than you already are.”
He arched a brow. “Is that a challenge? Because I’m sure I have a few more depraved tricks under my sleeve.”
“Maybe,” she said, a daring glint in her pretty blue eyes. “But first, tell me what this next-level stuff is. I thought we were in a good place.”
“We are in a great place,” he assured her. “An amazing place. A place that is like paradise and heaven combined.”
She laughed. “Okay . . .”
“And there is only one thing that could make it any better now that everything with Helena is done and resolved and in our past.”
He lifted her up and sat her down on the desk in front of his chair. He took a moment to really look at Elle, knowing he would never get enough of her. Her sweet smiles. Her bright laughter in his home—their home. The scent of her on his sheets. The feel of her soft, warm body wrapped around his throughout the night.
He’d never get enough of loving her. She made all those jagged pieces that had once been inside of him now click into place. She filled the emptiness that once made his soul feel so hollow. She’d given him the courage to want all the things he’d lost when Natalie died.
He wanted forever and happily ever after with her.
Tempest, Maddux, and Arabella loved Elle . . . and so did he. They were her family now, and there was only one thing l
eft for him to do.
He opened a side drawer, and as soon as he took out the small black velvet box he’d put there earlier and lifted the lid to reveal the custom-made engagement ring inside, Elle’s jaw dropped and her eyes widened in shock.
“This is next level,” he said, surprised to hear the emotional rasp in his own voice. “I want everything with you, Just Elle. I want to marry you. I want to have a family with you. I want us to grow old together and never stop loving one another. I think that’s how fairy tales are supposed to be, right?”
“Hunter,” she breathed, and lifted her gaze from the ring to look into his eyes.
