Page 101 of Wretched Soul
“I hope they approve,” I say, staring at the headstone.
“You think there could be any doubt?” he asks. “Honestly, my parents would have been a pushover compared to your folks.”
My low chuckle sends fresh clouds into the air. “They weren’t that bad, and I think you won them over. Once they got over the shock.”
We’d visited my parents on Christmas Eve. It was the first time I’d been back home, and while I’d warned them that I was bringing Mace, they weren’t expecting us to arrive in a helicopter. My parents live in a rural location, so landing wasn’t a problem. Explaining the Griffin logo and how my boyfriend happened to be part of a vast empire was a little more fraught, but it was a distraction from the awkwardness of my reunion with my parents. And Mace had charmed them, as I knew he would. He can behave when he wants to.
“I did have a good talk with your dad,” Mace says.
Dad had taken Mace on a trip to visit his hardware store, giving me time alone with Mom. “Yeah, I can imagine.”
Mace takes my other hand, pulling me so we’re facing each other. I know to worry when he smirks. “Lily, clearly you can’t.”
My gaze bounces between his sparkling green eyes. “What?”
“I wanted your dad’s permission, and now I’m pretty sure I have my mom’s blessing too,” he says.
Heat rushes to my frozen cheeks. He’s going to do ithere? “Do not get down on one knee!”
Mace isn’t the least bit fazed by my reaction. He glances at the frozen ground. “I wasn’t going to.”
My poor clamoring heart tries to skip a beat, but it’s more of a stumbling crash down to my toes. “I’m going to be sick.”
Mace cups my face in his hands and holds me steady. “Do you think you could swallow back the vomit for a couple of minutes while I ask you to marry me?”
Blinking away tears, I manage a nod.
“Lily,” he says in the tone he usually reserves for one of his lectures. “You stole my heart and my sanity the moment you stormed up to my car and called me an asshole. And now I’m your asshole, for better or for worse. And the general consensus of my family is that it’s for the better.”
He sweeps back my hair from my face, tilting my head as we lean closer. He looks at me with an intensity that shoots straight to my core.
“You’re my light and I’m your shadow,” he says gruffly. “And life would be so damn empty and featureless if we didn’t have each other. You’re mine, Lily. And you are going to marry me.”
I bite down on my trembling lip. I have to swallow hard. “It’s supposed to be a question, Mace.”
He smirks again. “Other than arguing about semantics, do you have any other objections to what I’ve just said?”
“No,” I answer breathlessly.
“Good.”
His lips press into mine, but we keep the kiss slow and as respectable as we can manage given where we’re standing. Our hips, however, have their own agenda and I can feel his arousal despite our thick, woolen coats that create a frustrating barrier.
“We should go somewhere,” I gasp. I’m not sure where, but I don’t think I can last a two-hour drive home.
Mace takes my hand and throws a glance back at the headstone. “Sorry, Mom. Dad. I need to go fuck my fiancée.”
“Mace!” I chide.
“Did I say something you disagree with, Slayer?”
“No, but…” He lifts an eyebrow, and I raise him two. “I’m pretty sure I was supposed to say yes to something,” I mutter.
I save the rest of my breath to keep up with Mace’s long strides as we weave through the rows of headstones and head for our SUV. The cemetery is vast, but completely deserted atthis hour. The sky has turned crimson, and it’s as if the world is smoldering along with my body.
Mace unlocks the car, and it’s only as he’s spinning me around that I notice it’s the rear door he’s opening. I should object, but when he pulls off his gloves and starts unbuttoning his coat, I find myself helping.
My future husband looms over me, consuming me in his shadow. He unbuttons my slacks and pulls them down my thighs, along with my panties. “This is where I get on my knees,” he says.
