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Daniel tapped his lip. “Kiss it and make it all better.”
Iris grinned. She had a feeling the scoundrel would say something outlandish. “I am not sure that would help you.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “I believe you will be all right and you do not need me.”
He leaned forward and fell to his knees before Iris. “That’s where you’re wrong.”
She stared down at him. “What are you doing?”
Her heart started to beat heavily inside of her chest. He had a look in his eyes that set her blood on fire and it made her want things she crushed down inside of her for fear they would never be hers. She swallowed hard and tried to step back.
Daniel reached for her and pulled her close to him. He kept his arms wrapped around her legs. She pressed her hands to his shoulders, intending to push him away from her, but something inside of her told her to wait.
“Iris,” he said in an imploring tone. “Don’t go. I need you more than I can possibly put into words.”
“Try,” she insisted. “I cannot make myself believe you want me or if you even need me.”
“Oh,” he began. “I want you and,” he said as he met her gaze. “I most definitely need you.”
She rolled her eyes. Part of her wanted to tell him to prove it, but she didn’t require that show of faith from him. He had demonstrated his desire for her quite efficiently in her bed a few hours ago. “I don’t believe you,” she said in a whispered tone. Her heart was in her throat.
“From the first moment, when your lips touched mine, I knew that you were the only woman I could or would ever need.” His gaze didn’t waver as he spoke. “Until that day I was lost, and it terrified me because you had such a hold on me. I pushed you away when I should have been pulling you closer. I’m sorry.” He was quiet for a moment, then said in a pleading tone, “Please forgive me.”
She wanted to say there was nothing to forgive. To slide her fears away as if they meant nothing. “I want to.” It would be so easy to fall into his arms and accept everything he was saying. If she hoped to have a relationship with him, she needed honesty from him.
“I understand.” He leaned his head against her stomach. “I don’t deserve it.”
Tears threatened to fall from her eyes. She fought them because she hated crying in front of anyone, and it would hurt even more in front of him. “Forgiveness is easy,” she told him. “It’s forgetting that is more difficult.”
He didn’t move for a few seconds. She brushed her fingers through his hair. When he lifted his head to meet her gaze. “I want every day to feel the way it feels when I am with you. If you will allow me a chance, I promise to ensure that you never have a reason to doubt me again.”
“What are you asking?” she said in a raspy tone.
“Marry me,” he said. “Let this be the beginning of our forever and spend the rest of our days discovering where the rest of our story goes.”
She never imagined she would hear those words from him, and she still couldn’t quite believe he said them to her now. This time she couldn’t stop the tear from falling down her cheek. She wiped it away quickly, then nodded. “Yes,” she said. “A thousand times, yes.”
He stood and pulled her into his arms. When he kissed her this time, she didn’t question it. Instead, she allowed herself to become lost in it. Because once she’d fallen in love with her scoundrel, she had known where she belonged. Her foolish pride had made her want to fight it, fight him. She was done with that absurd behavior. Daniel was hers, and she’d always been his.
