Alex led her around the railing and then stepped toward that long, dark hallway she remembered so well. “Where are we going?”
“You’ll see.”
Twenty yards. Ten. Before she knew it, they stood in front of Damien’s office door. The dark metal surface brought back memories of nerves and need and, much later, pain. Cailin blocked them out. Tonight was for them. Now. Not the past.
Alex looked back over his shoulder, gave her a once-over that melted her bones, then took a key card out of his pocket.
She sucked in a breath. “You had that in there the whole time!”
“Of course I did.” He swiped the card and led her inside.
Her impressions of Damien’s office had been hazy—she’d spent all her time focused on Alex and the pleasure he’d given her; nothing else had mattered. Tonight she stepped into another world. On one side, the dimly lit room held a black lacquer desk and shelves that must be Damien’s. The other side was a seating area, but the couch and chairs had been moved back to line the wall. In the middle of the space was a massive bed on a low frame. Candles lit every surface, flickering shadows across the creamy sheets.
Pillows mounded at one end, making her blush. Alex was good with pillows. She knew that. Just the sight of them had her going wet between her thighs.
When she lifted her gaze to Alex’s, he was watching her intently.
“Why?” she asked, trying to hide the tremble of emotion in her voice with a heavy breath.
“Because I love you.” He drew her toward the bed. “And because in those hot, sweaty moments with you here, in this room, our first time, you became mine.” He seated her on the silky sheets and knelt before her. One hand went to his jacket pocket. “And because I can’t think of a better place to start our new life together.” He pulled out a small jeweler’s box.
Tears stung her eyes as she fixed her gaze, not on the box, but on Alex. “Oh God.” That wasn’t Alex’s playful stare, nor his sexy stare. That was the intent look he adopted when he was determined to get his way, come hell or high water. Every line of his face displayed the full expanse of his forceful will, all zeroed in on making certain he got exactly what he wanted.
And what he wanted was her.
The snap of the lid was crisp in the silence between them.
“Look,” he ordered.
She dropped her eyes, her throat closing as she saw what awaited her. A slender silver band of tiny diamonds sparkled in the candlelight. At the front, an antique setting held four square-cut larger stones in a diamond configuration that gleamed like silver fire. It took her a moment to realize the diamonds sparkled more because the box was moving ever so slightly. Alex’s hand, holding the ring for her perusal, was shaking.
“Oh, Alex.” She reached out to cup his hand, steadying him. “I love you.”
“Then marry me.”
The depth of need in his eyes consumed her. There was only one answer she could give: “Yes.”
He smiled that wickedly sexy smile, and she swore relief washed across his face. She’d tease him about it later, maybe. But right now all she could think about was the man in front of her. He took the ring from the box and held it up in the light for her to read the inscription.
“L” for loved. “A” for always.
He’d remembered. Late one night, they’d lain before the fireplace in his new house—their new house—and she’d talked about her “scarlet letters,” all those sins that had made her who she was, that she’d realized weren’t sins after all. Alex had kissed her chest right above her heart and told her letters would never do her justice; only his love could do that. And it had. Being loved unconditionally had freed her from the guilt of the past, freed them both. No more dirty little secrets, no more hidden shame. They were together, and they were loved.
“Thank you.”
A single tear traced her cheek as Alex slid the ring on her finger. “For what?” she asked.
“For saying yes.” He leaned in to kiss her.
She laughed softly. “Well, I kind of had to,” she whispered against his lips.
“Why?”
“Because I have one more secret.”
Alex drew back. “What’s that?”
She shrugged, but her smile was so wide she thought her cheeks would split. “I’m pregnant.”
Alex’s stunned expression had her biting her lip. Moments passed, and he still didn’t speak.
“I guess the specialist was right—the problem wasn’t mine; it must have been Sean’s.”
“But…but we just… We’ve only tried a month!”
Nodding was the only response she could come up with, so she kept doing it, and laughing, and grabbing for Alex as he started to laugh.