Page 194 of Diamond Kisses

“Doesn’t matter. My answer is—”

“Give me a sec, woman. Jesus.” I pressed a kiss on the crimson bow tied tightly around her finger. There was so much I wanted to say. So much I needed her to know but…she knew. She knew because we shared the same soul. The same heart and lifetime and destiny.

“Marry me,” I whispered against the string. “Marry me and spend your life with me.”

Snatching her hand from mine, she threw herself at me. Decorating my face with kisses, she giggled.

A sound so young and innocent.

A sound I would spend every day of my mortal existence earning again and again.

“Yes, yes,yes!”

Yanking her off her feet, I pressed her carefully onto her back. The carpet cushioned her as I lay on top of her.

Sliding my fingers through her hair, I held her prone.

Our eyes searched each other’s.

She looked at my mouth and arched her hips.

I rocked against her, revealing how hard I was. How much the darkness inside me snarled and nipped, utterly mad with possessiveness. “You know this means you’re mine now. In every caveman barbarian way.”

She grinned. “If you’re trying to scare me off, it’s not working.” Moaning, she bit her bottom lip. “I keep telling you. I want to be consumed by you. I want—”

“Me to hurt you.”

She stilled, lust shattering over her gorgeous face. “Only when I ask and only ever in private.”

I sighed and nuzzled my nose with hers. “Ily…”

“Listen to me, Hen.” Her voice turned harsh with seriousness. “I love you—”

“I love you too. That’s why—”

“Hush. Let me finish.” She narrowed her eyes. “I love you. Unconditionally. That means I loveallof you. All the scars you try to hide. All the needs you pretend you no longer feel. I loveyou, Henri. Every tiny piece. Every perfect and imperfect piece. And I need you to trust me when I say I see you. Iknowyou. You don’t have to hide. No part of you willeverturn me off. I trust you to protect meandpunish me, and I wouldn’t be honest if I agreed to be yours, all while you’re preventing yourself from being the very man I fell madly in love with.”

“That man has so many faults.”

“That man was alone and lost, but now he’s not.” She ran her thumb over my cheekbone. “You don’t have to be afraid anymore. You can’t hurt me—not in the way you fear, because you love me.”

“I love you more than anything in this world.”

“I know. And that’s why I want you to be free. Be with me, Henri. Love me in your own way. I want it. I need it. Just as much as you.”

I shivered as her promises soaked into the carpet around us.

For a while, I couldn’t say anything.

She gave me time.

She watched me cycle through fear and indecision and hope and shame and need.

Collapsing over her, I kissed my way down her neck, licking gently at the scar left from Victor’s knife. “Thank you. For loving me that much.”

She smiled. “Always. Forever. No matter what.”

“Are you sure?”

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