Violet was still confused. “Protect yourself from what?”
“From falling in love with you.” He closed his eyes. “But it didn’t work. I fell in love with you anyway. I fell so hard that it scared me.”
Violet was stunned by his words. Wrapping her arms around his lean waist, she rested her cheek against his chest. “I love you too.”
She absorbed his shudder into her body, tightening her arms around him, trying to take his pain away. “I’m still mad at you.”
“I know. But is there any way you might eventually forgive me?”
She squeezed her eyes closed. “Yes.”
The stillness in him made her nervous and she looked up at him. “You can forgive me?” he repeated, looking into her eyes.
“Yes. I love you,” she burst out. “I need you so much, Creek! And I love you. So yes, I forgive you, if you can forgive me for not talking to you. For slapping you when I was hurt. It was horrible and I don’t…” she couldn’t say another word because he was kissing her and she was kissing him right back.
When he lifted his head up, there was a different look in his eyes, one that made her stomach quiver with excitement and expectation. “You have to marry me, then,” he told her with absolute finality.
Violet laughed, thinking he was joking. “Right,” she said and leaned her head against him again, loving the strength in him.
“I’m not kidding, Violet. We’re getting married. As soon as I can make it happen.”
She smiled and felt his hands move against her back. “Anything you say, Creek.”
He laughed, relief surging through him. “We’ll fly down to Vegas tonight.”
She snuggled up against him. “Right, as if we could get a flight to Vegas on such short notice.” She didn’t care. She loved this man, and she would go just about anywhere with him.
Creek stared over her head and chuckled. “Violet, you really don’t know much about me, do you?”
“Tyla explained that you live on a mountain and you’re rich. But I don’t care. I won’t hold that against you.”
Creek was so stunned by her words, he didn’t really know what to say. “Promise?” he asked, thinking he couldn’t wait to get her onto his plane and fly her away somewhere warm and private. Somewhere he could strip all of her clothes off of her delectable body and she wouldn’t need to wear anything for days and days.
“How about a honeymoon in Saint Thomas?” he suggested.
Violet laughed. “How about a honeymoon in my apartment with lots of brownies?” she offered and looked up at him, that suggestive light in her eyes that sent lust surging through him.
“Brownies…” he groaned. “That actually sounds a whole lot better.” And a moment later, he was lifting her into his arms, carrying her through the back. “Kevin, you’re in charge!” he announced. “A huge bonus is in your future if you make sure no one bothers us for a few days.” And he disappeared with his fiancée out the back door.
Creek thought about taking her up her wooden staircase, but instead, he deposited her in his SUV.
“Where are we going?” Violet asked, thinking that her bed was pretty darn close.
Creek looked over at her, loving the way her blush revealed all of her thoughts. “Hold that thought,” he said and started the engine. “It’s time that I took you to my place.” It was time that she understood who he really was.
A half hour later, Violet slowly turned around, taking in the enormous house with the huge windows looking out to the mountains and ocean. “It’s beautiful,” she whispered.
He took her hand and led her to the back where his bedroom was located. There were more windows back here but the woods formed a rich, green hideaway. “And this is where I’m going to make love to you every night for the rest of your life,” he told her as he stripped off her clothes.
Violet smiled up into his dark eyes, so in love with him, she could barely contain it all inside of her. “Promise?” she whispered, ignoring the way her cheeks turned pink again.
Epilogue
“You’re wearing too many clothes, Ms. Jones,” Creek said as he walked down the sandy path towards his new wife.
He might have thought she was sleeping except for the smile.
With deft hands, he untied the delicate strings on each side of her hips and easily swept away the red bikini bottoms. She’d already discarded the top, although she was lying on her stomach, so the view was slightly less than ideal.
“You’re trying to pretend to be asleep, Ms. Jones,” he teased as he squirted sunscreen on his hands, which he then smoothed over her back and bottom. “But I know better.”