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He framed her face with his palms, his thumb caressing her cheek and then brushing over her lower lip. Macey trembled under his touch. “I missed your lips. I love your lips.” His voice got deep and very husky as his gaze dropped to her lips.
Macey drew in a ragged breath, leaning heavily into her desk. She wanted to kiss him more than she wanted oxygen.
“What do you mean ‘no’?” she managed to repeat through a tight throat and trembling lips and the ache for him that was growing every moment.
“My family and my responsibility to my country are second and third on my list, Macey. I have a sacred duty to my family and country. Miraculously, I don’t have to sacrifice everything and suffer without you to do my duty. Sometimes what is right for me is also right for other people.”
Her eyes widened.
“My family and country are both of utmost importance to me. I will fight for them, protect them, give my life for them if needed, but I can also live for myself. It’s time for me to give up what someone recently called ‘my self-importance.’ I’ve done some deep soul searching, and there’s only one person at the top of my list.” He paused, and she swayed. Her hands automatically reached up to cling to his firm biceps, and she leaned into him and not the desk.
“Who?” she whispered.
“The most beautiful computer genius in the world. The woman who is ‘brave, bold, and beautiful’.” He smiled. “The woman I can’t live without.” He paused and bent closer. His breath brushed her lips as he said, “You, Macey. It’s only you for me. You will strengthen me, make me a better man, and together we can protect and serve my family and our kingdom.”
She clung to him and tried to remember to breathe.
“I love you, Macey.”
Macey’s body trembled with the beauty of those words.
“Will you come home with me? Will you love me, be my princess, and make me happier than any man deserves to be?”
Macey had no words. She stared into his incredible blue eyes and murmured, “Brave, bold, beautiful.”
He smiled.
She had to prove it, to him and to herself. So she arched up and kissed him.
He kissed her back. Oh, how he kissed her back. He tilted her head and kissed her more deeply. Then he cradled her close and filled the windowless basement command center with light and love and dreams she’d never dared dream.
When they finally pulled back, he murmured against her lips. “Is that a yes? Will you marry me, Macey?”
Marry him. Macey clung to him and admitted, “If you keep this up, I might pass out on you.”
He chuckled. “I can catch you.”
She focused on his gaze, filled with love for her. Then she swallowed and admitted, “I want to be with you, Ray. I love your family and I love you. I want to serve and love all of you. Augustine is my home. I never dreamed of being a princess, but I longed for love and safety and you, even though I didn’t know you.”
He smiled, but his expression quickly turned serious. “Is that why you hid behind your glasses?”
“I was scared. My mom had men over constantly, and some of them tried to …” She hated that they had to talk about this right now, ruin this beautiful moment. “I hid in my closet, on the top shelf behind some old clothes. Then my brother Gage taught me to fight. He kept me safe whenever he could until I could keep myself safe. But I was always scared, so mostly I hid.”
He slid his hands around her back and cradled her close. “Your closet kept you safe.”
“Gage and my hiding spot and lots of prayer.”
“Thank heaven above,” he breathed out. He stared at her. “You’re incredible, Macey. To overcome that fear and make yourself successful, brilliant, and able to fight to protect yourself. You are the most brave, bold, and beautiful woman I’ve ever met.”
She smiled, wanting to push all the ugliness away. “We’re going home, then?”
“Soon, I hope.” He pulled back. “But first …”
First? What could be more important than getting back to Augustine, to Kiera and T and King Nolan? Could they kiss the entire flight? She’d leave Sutton in a lurch, but Trent had done well in her absence, and he wanted her position in the worst way. She could work remotely. She wanted to protect and help the people in Augustine, but she loved her security work. Could she do both? Ray would help her have all her dreams. Even if she had to let some things go like he had.
Ray pulled a ring out of his coat pocket, grinning. Macey’s eyes widened as she stared at the brilliant princess-cut diamond. It was probably two karats, big enough to be noticed and fit a princess, but not as large and overwhelming as the ring Tristan had put on her finger. She loved this ring. Ray’s gift to her.
“How did you …?”
