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Demyen locks the door behind us and guides me further inside; I’m too frozen on the spot to actually move on my own. He smiles at me. And then that smile wavers into something a littlemore uncertain as I continue to openly gape at what’s basically a… a…
It’s a sexy greenhouse.
There’s no other way to name it. Or describe it.
Demyen got us a sexy greenhouse for the night.
“Dem…” It’s the only word I can breathe.
“Do you like it?”
“I…” I clap a hand over my mouth to muffle the loud squeal of glee. “I love it! Oh mygawd, it’s beautiful! It looks just like?—”
I stop. It looks just like the greenhouse down on the main floor between the casino and hotel.
The same greenhouse where I and dozens of other slaves were taken to be processed, auctioned, and sold.
Demyen sounds more than a little uncomfortable. I busy myself with staring at the plants and the incredible view of the Meridian’s etched glass rooftop so I don’t have to see his face just yet. I didn’t mean to damper the mood.
“I, ah…” He clears his throat. “I didn’t want to trigger any bad memories. Especially from my own stupidity. But I know you love these plants, so I?—”
“It’s perfect.” I choke back the tears of… of… of everything. Joy. Gratitude. Love.
And yes, maybe a little pain. Faint whispers of a bygone past that still manage to remind me of darker times.
“Really, Dem, it’s perfect.”
I turn around to reassure him—but he’s not standing there anymore.
He’s… oh my God.
Oh.
My.
God.
Demyen Zakrevsky is down on one knee, a small blue velvet box in his hand.
“Dem?” My hand is trembling as I raise it to my lips.
He reaches for my other one and presses a soft kiss to my fingers. “I love you, Clara. So fucking much. More than…” He laughs. “More than I ever thought possible for someone like me. And yeah, it’s crazy to think that at one point, we sat inside this same room and stared at each other and had no way of knowing where that one moment would take us. But honestly? I’m so fucking glad for it all.”
I scrunch my brow. He can’t mean it. “Really?”
“Crazy, right? But that’s what you do to me, baby. You drive me crazy and I never want you to stop.” He slowly opens the box. The largest, most intricate diamond ring I’ve ever seen rests on a bed of white satin. “I love you. I want to be with you for the rest of my life. I want to adopt Willow and… fuck, Clara. I want us to be a family. Arealfamily.” He gazes up into my eyes and swallows hard. “If you’ll have me.”
I’m so glad he’s stronger than I am. Physically, anyway—because that’s the only reason why we don’t topple onto the floor together when I all but collapse into his arms.
I love this man.
Iwantthis man.
I show him through the thousand kisses my lips dance across his, his face, his jaw, his eyes. “Yes,” I breathe. Already, I can feel myself tear up. “Yes! I do. I do, baby. I want to be yours. I want to be your wife.”
Somewhere amidst the hungry kisses and greedy groping, he manages to slip the ring onto my finger before tossing the box aside. And then I’m lifted in his arms just to be tumbled back onto the bed—which, to my delight, is covered with the softest rose petals.
Demyen only pulls away so he can shrug off his suit jacket and toss it aside. I take that moment to kick off my heels and try to sit up. But he flashes me a very delicious, wicked grin and grabs my ankles, lifts them to his face, and presses a kiss to the inside of each.
