Page 258 of Intense
“The annulment?” I whisper.
Tears sting as I step closer. Both our signatures are scrawled across the page, mocking me, promising an end I can’t survive.
“You signed them?” I can’t hide my hurt.
“Not for the reason you think, love. Turn around.”
I spin around to face him, my throat burning, only to find him on one knee.
“You’re a brave man.” I shake my head, choked between a sob and a laugh. “I was about to punch you in the balls. I never want to see those papers again.”
“Me neither, love. Me neither.”
He chuckles, opening a velvet box in one hand, covering his crotch with the other. My gasp echoes through the room.
A massive diamond, twined with a black-diamond snake wrapped around the band. Deadly. Beautiful. Ours.
“Finn—”
“Stephanie Quinn.” His voice is steady. “You might have proposed first. Said you love me first. But, I want to do this properly and get down on one knee with a ring you deserve. Willyou do me the absolute honor of marrying me a second time? Only this time, we both remember saying our vows?”
My head nods frantically before the words even leave me. And when he rises, I launch myself into his arms with a squeal, clinging tight.
“Is that a yes?” he asks, his voice husky against my ear.
“A million times over—yes, yes, yes. Always yes, Dr. Quinn.”
Our lips crash together, his smile pressed into mine as he drops me down on the petal-covered bed.
“Stephanie.” He brushes the back of his hand against my cheek.
“Finn.” I copy his tone.
“Our future, it might be a little messy to start with. We’re entering a war with The Preacher, I can feel it in my bones. And I need you to know, that I will fucking die to keep you safe. I’ll protect you until I take my last damn breath. They got to you once, and that was a grave mistake from them.”
I slide my hands up his chest and grab his throat.
“I want you safe too, Finn. I’ll be by your side however you need me, okay? We are a team now. And those assholes need to pay for what they’ve done.”
A slow grin spreads across his lips, his grey eyes lighting up.
“Fuck. I love you, baby. I love you so much.”
I grab the annulment papers, holding them up between us.
“I love you, Finn. More than you could ever imagine,” I whisper.
He glances down at the paper and bites his lip.
“What are we doing with these? I don’t want to end our first marriage. I think this next one is just more of a vow renewal. That first wedding—it made us,” I ask.
His brow arches, a smirk curling like sin.
“We fuck over it and then rip it up?”
A grin spreads across my lips.
“Yes.”
