Page 181 of A Second Dawn

“But I won’t… not until we leave the Mafia life behind.”

Is that a yes and a no in the same sentence?

She takes a deep breath in. “Tiero, I want to spend the rest of my life with you. But today is proof I might not survive a week in your world. I want out of it. I’m determined that our child will not be the next Don. We can—”

“So that’s your terms? I leave la familia, and we get married?”

She nods, apprehension in her movements.

Asking this of me is hard for her. In her core, Ella loves to please, to love unconditionally… and she does. She loves our child so much that she will go against her nature.

I’ve never had any doubts she was the perfect woman for me. If I had, they would have been erased by this ultimatum she’s given me.

She’s putting the little person we’ve created first, and that means more to me than she’ll ever know.

On top of this, she’s strong and resilient. And most importantly, she’s all mine. She hasn’t said the word yet, but by negotiating she’s agreed.

“Done! Our son will be born to married parents.”

“Then you’ve got about seven months,” she says firmly.

“Okay.”

Her face lights up like a lighthouse guiding my ship home through the turbulent sea of my emotions.

She peppers my face with kisses, murmuring, “Then ourdaughterwill be born to married parents.”

I pull slightly away from her to stare into her eyes.

All I see is love.

And it’s all for me.

My heart explodes in a symphony of fireworks and stars, even before she utters the word that will complete me.

“Now that we’ve agreed on this, I ask you again, Ella Rose O’Neil. Will you marry me?”

Her eyes spark, and she leans in, brushing her lips against mine, breathing, “Yes, yes, yes.”

It’s the best word I’ve ever heard.

My heart races like a runaway train, each beat punctuating the realization that she said yes.

“I love you, Tiero. Always and forever.”

I’m euphoric.

The uncertainty that gripped me is now an exhilarating surge of joy, threatening to lift me off the ground.

It’s as if the sun has chosen this very moment to burst through the clouds, casting a radiant glow on the world around us.

My arms wind around her naked body, pressing her to me, and deepening our kiss.

She said yes. Fuck me, she really said yes.

This isthemoment of my life… it’s what I’ve been living for and never knew until Ella entered my life.

Our mouths mold together, our tongues dancing. I let the overwhelming emotions coursing through my body flow into this intimate connection with her, showing her through the touch of our lips just how much she means to me.

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