Total pages in book: 42
Estimated words: 38855 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 194(@200wpm)___ 155(@250wpm)___ 130(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 38855 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 194(@200wpm)___ 155(@250wpm)___ 130(@300wpm)
“Your step-fucker was showing your picture to anyone that would look. Showed it to Fleming who had just left Duffy’s after I dropped you off.” I exhale and finish. “Long story short, your step-dad gave him the same sob story he gave to the cops, only Fleming bought it, and pointed him toward the bar.”
I can’t say I was too pleased. But I’d be an asshole for taking that out on Fleming, when at the end of the day he was trying to do a decent thing. Misguided? Sure. But that’s not a crime in my book.
I draw in a sharp breath as she inspects and dabs some ointment on my arm.
“Big baby,” she mutters.
Laughing, I grab her wrist and pull her around in front of me. “That’s enough, it’s not even deep.”
“Do you want it to get infected?”
“Depends. Are you going to be my naughty nurse if it does?”
She draws her mouth into a line but loses the fight to keep the grin off her lips. “Seriously, it’s not deep but it is nasty. If you don’t let me clean it properly you could get sick.”
“You’ve cleaned it. Now other parts of me need attention.”
I pull her forward and sit her on my lap, letting her grind herself against my ever-present hard on. But it’s clear from the look on her face that she’s thinking over what happened.
“They can’t touch you now,” I tell her. “They’re going to be behind bars for a very long time. Attempted kidnapping? Assault? Extortion? Add in conspiracy to commit fraud with the whole inheritance thing and I don’t think the judge is going to be too lenient.”
She nods. “I know. It’s not that. I know you’ll always protect me. It’s just, how could my stepfather hate me that much? To lure me out there and then hurt me like that.” Astrid sighs. “I just hate that the world made him that way.”
“You’re too kind for your own good. He had choices and he made them, baby. He has to live with the consequences. As for us, we get to live with our own choices, and there’s one at least that I’m looking forward to living with.”
I reach behind me and fumble for a moment behind the cushion until my fingers find the little white box I hid there when we got back to the house, not sure what my plan was, but it’s clear now.
I don’t want to wait.
“Astrid, I don’t know what I did to deserve you. A monster like me doesn’t have any right to expect someone like you in their life. But here you are.” I chuckle, shaking my head. “I had so many plans for this moment, I was going to take you to dinner, make a big deal, dress up in a suit...well I’d have to buy one first....”
She laughs. “What moment? What’s going on?”
I bring the box out and hand it to her, and as her eyes go wide, and she starts to open it, I continue, “You deserve more than an ugly mountain fuck like me. You deserve some prince in a fancy castle, or a movie star or something. But I can’t wait, Astrid, not after what just happened. I’ve waited my whole life and, well...” She draws the ring out of the box, her mouth gaping as she stares at it. “I need us to be married. So, we’re getting married. That’s the end of it.”
It’s perfect, not as perfect as she is but from the tears and sparkle in her eyes, it’s hit the mark. The center stone, not a diamond but a ruby the size of a dime, surrounded by two rings of small diamonds, all set in this swirling filigree, vintage white gold band. It’s not slick and modern. It’s not what most would buy, but she’s not like most.
She takes a deep breath as I take the ring from her, take her hand and slip it onto her finger. “Is that your idea of a proposal, Mathias, because I’ve got to say it’s—”
I take her mouth with my lips, kissing her hard and enjoying the little protest as she loses track of her sentence. She breathes with me, and I rock her back against my cock, moaning at the feel of her body against mine.
When I’ve taken my fill, I let her go, and for a moment she just sits there, teeth cutting into her bottom lip as her chest rises and falls with each breath.
“You were saying something about my proposal?”
She nods. “Perfect. It’s just perfect.”
13
Astrid
ONE WEEK LATER
“You may kiss the br—”
The priest doesn’t manage to get the last words out before Mathias takes me in a long, hard kiss. It’s like there’s nobody else around as we sink into each other. I hear the hoots and whoops from our guests but in this moment, all I can think about is my husband.