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She climbed into bed, instantly finding it less comfortable than his big overstuffed mattress on the farm. “I want modern shower products.”
He laughed and lay beside her. “That I’m sure I can manage.”
She stretched to kiss his cheek. “Thank you, Christian. For everything.”
He rolled to his side and studied her. She held his stare, curious of what he was thinking, but preferring to keep some mystery alive. She didn’t need to nose around in his thoughts. His presence in hers was enough to reassure her that he was there.
“Would you marry me if I asked?”
She balked. There was mystery and then there was knock-her-over-with-a-feather-shock. “Are you actually asking?”
“Would you say yes if I did?”
She could have told him that wasn’t how guys propose or that he should at least get down on one knee, but she didn’t need any of that. Smiling like a smitten school girl who was just asked to the prom by the hottest hottie in school, she cupped his jaw and kissed him. “I think you would be an incredible husband, Christian. Yes, I would say yes if you asked me to marry you.”
Satisfied, he rolled to his back and grinned. “Then we will be married as soon as we return to Lancaster.”
She laughed. “Thanks for making that life-altering decision for me.”
“Is that not what you want? You said—”
“Forget it.” She rolled to face the wall. “That actually makes perfect sense. Why start asking for permission now?”
“Delilah—”
“Goodnight, Christian.”
Several minutes passed until, finally, he placed a hand on her back and softly asked, “Delilah, will you honor me by sharing vows in front of our friends and being my wife?”
She grinned, hiding her smirk under the blankets as a warm, gooey feeling filled her heart. She left him hanging for a whole minute. “Can I have a vodka luge at the wedding?”
“I don’t know what a vodka luge is, but I promise to arrange one if that’s what you need.”
Flipping over, she kissed him hard on the mouth and laughed with giddy delight. “Then I’ll marry you.”
He took over the kiss, and she softened beneath him, letting the moment roll over her as she fully processed what this meant for them. Forever. He was asking permission to spend his life by her side. She finally got to choose and she chose to spend an eternity with him.
“You make me very happy, pintura.”
She arched beneath him, pulling him back to her lips and whispered, “You make me happy, too.”
CHAPTER 28
Christian awoke in an empty bed in an unfamiliar room with the lingering fragrance of his mate and pungent traces of another male. He detected Delilah close by as he fanned out his senses, finding unprecedented comfort in her nearness.
“This afternoon would be fine,” she said softly from the other room.
He sprang to his feet, his mind scanning the apartment. He frowned. He didn’t sense anyone else in the home. Pulling on his pants, he entered the main room and found Delilah sitting on a chair with a telephone to her ear, but he had destroyed her phone the night they met.
She clicked a pen in her hand and jotted a note on a pad of paper. When she saw him, she smiled. “Yes, I’ll be there at four. And, again, I’m so sorry for the inconvenience.”
“Perfect.” A male voice purred from the receiver. Christian’s claws lengthened. “I’ll see you then, Ms. Starling.”
“Sounds good.” She sighed and hung up the phone. “That was my big client. He said he could meet us at four. I feel bad. He wanted a lot of work and would have paid me a lot of money to do it.”
Christian remained silent. He didn’t like her speaking to other males, but this was why they were here, so she could conclude any open matters and they could begin living their life.
She stood and her appearance stole his breath. The cinched waist of her dress defined every feminine curve and her shoulders were exposed. Her rounded breasts rested pertly above a red patent leather belt that matched her sharp, pointed heels.
She looked so…English. His gaze dropped to the device in her hand. “You found a telephone.”
She glanced at the cell. “It’s an old one. I needed to call the phone company to get all my contacts back since someone stole my last one.” She rose on her toes and pressed a kiss to his jaw. “How did you sleep? Was the bed okay?”
He frowned, recalling how he’d struggled to relax with the constant city in motion below. He’d slept later than usual. This place was muddling his senses. “My sleep was adequate.”
“Good.” She appeared energized as she moved about the home. “I was thinking, could we possibly rent a moving truck to take some of my stuff home? I know it’s mostly worthless, but there are a few things I’d like to keep. The rest can go to Good Will or into storage. I haven’t figured out what to do with my studio equipment, but it doesn’t make much sense to keep it. I mean, who ever heard of a tattoo artist with no tattoos?”
