Page 59 of Wine & Warlocks

In a move that shocked her speechless, Ronan grabbed her around the waist and stood her in the center of the bed as he knelt on the mattress, in front of her. “Dubheasa O’Malley, you are my sun on the most overcast of days, my stars in the inky night sky, my… Well, look, I’m no poet, but I love you, all the same. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife and making me the happiest man to ever live?”

Laughing, she crashed down on top of him and rained kisses all over his beloved face. “Yes, ya eejit. I’ll marry you.”

“Jaysus! I’ll take back my proposal if you’re going to insist on calling me names.”

She grabbed his ears in her fists and locked him in position as she ravished his mouth. Drawing back, she lifted a brow.

Ronan grinned and cupped the back of her neck, pulling her back down. “I don’t see the harm in you calling me an eejit. I don’t care, especially if you’re always going to be snogging me like that.” As he lifted his head the remaining distance to touch her lips, he met her amused gaze. “I’ll love you forever. I think I always have.”

All humor dropped away, and her heart melted into a puddle of goo. “You’re my forever love, Ronan Fucking O’Connor. Don’t muck it up.”

A brilliant smile transformed his face, and Dubheasa’s breath stalled in her lungs.

“I’ll never muck it up, Dove. Not in this life nor any after.”

* * *

“Are you ready?”

“To have my magic bound? No.” Ronan turned away from the window to see Dubheasa patiently waiting by the door with a look of quiet sympathy on her exquisite visage.

“I’ve only had mine for a few months, but I’m not thrilled to lose it either,” she commiserated.

He lifted his arms and stared at his open palms. “All my life, I’ve been the strongest of the O’Connors, with the exception of my da. I made my cousins fear me, like they did him, because it was the only way I could keep them in check. That changed when Damian removed my abilities to save me. And I fucking hated every bleedin’ minute of it.”

Dubheasa crossed to him and gripped his hands. “It’s only temporary, Ronan. Try to remember that.”

“If the fecking Seer hadn’t—”

She pressed her fingertips to his lips. “There’s no point in what-ifs. We have to do this.”

“Aye.”

They joined hands, and static snapped and popped as their palms met.

“When this is over, Damian will give back what you surrendered, and I’ll be supercharged. It’ll be grand,” she promised.

And Ronan wanted to believe her, but his unease had grown worse that morning, nearly crippling him. “I wish I had your optimism, Dove.”

“I have enough for both of us.”

As they descended the stairs, he couldn’t help feeling as if he were heading to the gallows, and he had a difficult time believing he’d come out of this rescue mission intact.

The other members of their team, with the exception of Draven, were all present. Some appeared as worried as Ronan was, while others had their game face on and seemed hyper focused on what needed to be done.

“Damian is waiting for you in the rose garden between his estate and Baz’s place,” Alastair said without preamble. “I’m to take you both there and bring you back when he’s done.”

Dubheasa spent a few precious minutes hugging her siblings and extracting their solemn vow to have a care. After she returned to Ronan’s side and laced her fingers with his, she nodded to Alastair. “We’re ready, Mr. Thorne.”

Rarely since they’d become better acquainted had Alastair been as solemn as he was at that moment, and Ronan was convinced the older man was privy to Damian’s knowledge of the future.

And he fucking hated it.

“If there’s something I should know, Thorne, come out with it already. This stiff upper lip shite everyone’s got going on has me on edge.”

The surprise on both Alastair’s and Dubheasa’s faces brought with it the realization Ronan had come across a bit too harsh.

“Feck. I’ll apologize now and be done with it.”

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