Page 174 of Corrupt Me

“Thank you,” I whisper, not knowing exactly what I’m thanking him for. I guess for everything.

His dreamy silver eyes bore into mine. “You made me believe in fate. That our souls must have known each other before the atoms formed our bodies. This invisible cord binding us together is made of love, threaded with passion, and knotted with destiny. Nothing your heart desires will be impossible for me to give you. You’re everything to me.”

“I love you so much, Hunter, and I’ll never stop.”

“I had this very romantic idea in mind. But this moment, when we’re raw, naked, and bare to the other, fits us. We’ve unraveled one another from the start.” He strides inside the cabin and returns quickly. Then he lowers himself to one knee and looks up at me. My hand flies to my mouth, my heart threatening to burst through my chest.

“Will you marry me? I promise to love you every day of our lives, be there whatever happens, to be your biggest supporter, your devoted husband, and your lifelong partner. I’ve never loved before you, and I won’t love after you. Only ever you—my kitten, my love, my angel. Let’s build our life together. Let me give you the family you’ve always dreamed about and deserve. Let me have the only thing I’ve truly wanted: you, because you’re my world. Be more than my woman—become my wife, please.”

It’s never too soon when your heart knows with absolute certitude this is it.

A memory flashes before my eyes. I once asked Hunter why he calls me by so many terms of endearment, and his answer was, “I can’t express it all with just one pet name.”

Tears stream down my cheeks. This proposal is perfect, making me an emotional, overjoyed mess.

I shout a yes and jump into his arms. He falls on his back, and I land on top of him.

“Yes. A definite, unequivocal yes. I could only ever say yes to you.”

With me cradling his thighs, he hands me a mini copper lockbox with a six-digit password. Engraved on each side are the words: “Corrupt Me” on the left and “Marry Me” on the right. I rotate the wheel to input the password. The biggest grin stretches the corners of my mouth as I take in the unique ring box. Every rotation has my heart beating faster as excitement floods my insides.

I have it cracked in under ten seconds.

He bursts into laughter. “I really put my mind to it.”

“You chose the day you began to fall. I will never forget the fifteenth of September either, as it was just as much the beginning of mine. I hope we’ll never stop falling.”

“No, we won’t. We’ll just fall, never reaching the end of us.”

With shaky fingers, I open it to reveal an astounding vivid blue, pear shape diamond set in a platinum eternity diamond band. It also has an inscription:My one and only.Forever yours, H.

I’m too choked with emotion to speak, but a breathless, “I love you with everything in me,” pours out of me.

Hunter takes my hand and lifts it to his mouth. “I love you to no end.” He kisses each fingertip, then my palm and the back of my hand. He’s perfect. All mine—the love of my life.

He slips the ring onto my finger, and it clicks as if the last lock has fallen into place, our souls irrevocably binding—not for life, but for longer than our bodies will live.

He presses our foreheads together, interlinking our fingers. The world slips away, and it’s just the two of us—for a lifetime and beyond.

---