Chapter 12
CHAPTER TWELVE
They woke the next day in a tangle, her back to his chest. His hand lay curled over her heart, as if even in sleep he needed proof she was there. Blinking against the morning light slanting through half-open shutters, she began to roll out of bed.
“Stay,” Elijah muttered, his voice gravelly with sleep. “I’ve got something for you—not that,” he scolded softly. “This…”
Nothing could wake her faster than the sight of an amethyst, polished and gleaming in a platinum setting. “How did you manage that?” she asked, laughing in surprise. Her hand strayed to the gold chain at her neck. “We only exchanged these last night.”
“Malta has some of the most remarkable jewelers, and I have some remarkable friends.”
“You certainly do,” she agreed, admiring the ring’s brilliance and deep purple luster.
“Well? Are you going to put it on?”
“I want you to do it,” she said. “Honestly, Elijah, I don’t know what to say.”
“Just say yes.”
“To wearing your ring?”
“To becoming partners for life,” he said, drawing her back into his arms. “Marry me. Make a half-decent man of me.”
She pulled a teasing face. “Right now, I’d rather have the less-than-decent man, if that’s all right with you. I want the downright filthy guy I love.”
“How can I refuse when you ask so nicely?”
“You can’t,” she said.
* * *
The engines of the Seraphim thrummed beneath them, the vibration a gentle pressure against her naked body as she whispered, “Love you, Elijah. More than you know.” Bringing the ring he’d given her to her lips, she kissed it. “You’ll never get rid of me now.”
Something raw crossed his face. “I can’t believe you kept that amethyst all those years.”
“Always.” She reached for the chain at her neck. “Just as you kept this.”
“Every morning for seven years, I woke and checked the chain,” he said as Sable slipped the gold band on and off her finger.
“I told myself that if the ring was still there, one day, you might walk back through the door. On other days, I told myself to throw it away and that I was better off without you.”
“Were you?”
“I hated that you had that power over me.”
“Not power. Love. But we didn’t realize it then. I’m not sorry I left to save you when Black Meridian was trying to find and kill you. I wish I’d found a way to tell you what I planned to do.”
“If you had, I’d have kept both of us safe.”
“I couldn’t take that chance. Not with your life.” Sorry felt too small a word. She glanced at the ring on her finger, glowing like a promise.
“It may not be the perfect ring—”
“It’s absolutely perfect,” she insisted fiercely. “This stone has more history than any other piece of jewelry could hold.”
He caught hold of her hand and stared into her eyes. “No more ghosts. If you walk away again, you take me with you.”
“I’m not going anywhere. I’m home.”
Swinging her into his arms, he carried her to the shower, where the warm stream of
water was like a benediction, washing away the pain of the past. Pulling her close, he buried his face in her neck. She felt the hammering of his heart against her ribs.
“I missed you so fucking much,” he admitted. “I don’t know how I kept breathing some days. Don’t ever do that again.”
She threaded her fingers through his hair, drawing back enough to meet his gaze. The storm had subsided in his eyes, replaced by something gentle and real.
And then he kissed her.
“Coffee now?” he suggested, wrapping her in a towel.
“If you promise to make this a daily ritual.”
“Coffee or sex?”
“I’m sure we can reach a suitable arrangement.”
“Deal, sweetheart.” Elijah’s slow, sexy smile heated her up from the inside out.
* * *
Mission complete, they left the Seraphim and returned to a safe house in Mdina, the Silent City, named for its deep, almost eerie quiet, especially after dark.
A tiny population and traffic restrictions, coupled with loyal friends who would warn them of danger, made it the perfect sanctuary for two agents craving peace and privacy.
Sable had made the safe house comfortable and functional. Deep baths, relaxing sofas, cutting-edge tech, and every conceivable mod con made it the closest thing to home he’d ever known. “Making love with you is like coming home,” she said, falling back on the pillows as if reading his mind.
“Making love with you is like running ten back-to-back marathons.”
“Only ten?” she protested.
He waited until her breathing steadied, then slipped out of bed. A deep calm washed over him as he freshened up and dressed. Craving balmy air, he jogged down the stairs and stepped outside onto the narrow, cobbled street.
The night was warm, the area still. Everyone was asleep.
After the violence of the mission, these rare moments of tranquility were almost unbearably precious.
He pictured Sable deep in sleep, breathing softly.
That in itself was a miracle, because she never relaxed.
But tonight everything had reached the right conclusion for both of them, making the ending also a beginning.
Staring up at their open window, he smiled. The mission might be over, but for the first time in seven years, the future wasn’t an empty horizon. They were together again, with a world of possibilities ahead.
* * *
She woke in a panic. Where was he?
Leaping out of bed, she stood at the arched window, staring down at the empty street. The Silent City lived up to its name. No sound to be heard, just the low hush of night sliding like a phantom between the ancient walls.
It was beautiful, peaceful, terrifying. Silence was when her doubts screamed the loudest. Elijah had what he wanted, the vicious little voice inside her head insisted. Now he could sail away. You were just another loose end to tie off—
Then the heavy door opened.
His T-shirt clung to hard-muscled abs as he met her worried gaze. “I thought you’d weighed anchor without me,” she admitted.
“I know what you thought. But I’m here to stay.”
“You had plenty of time to learn to live without me.”
“Enough to know I don’t want to be without you.”
Crossing the room, he stopped just short of touching her, close enough to feel his heat. “I’m done with half measures. Let’s get married and create a dynasty.”
She laughed at the crazy look of love on his face. “Can we start with a family?”
“I’ll go with that.” His lips slanted in the most attractive way. “Oh, and I’ve got something else for you. I couldn’t resist…”
Her eyes widened as he flipped open the lid of a small velvet box.
“What the fuck is that?” she gasped.
“Apparently, it’s a diamond engagement ring.”
“So big it would light up the sky in a raid.”
“So, I got you this too…” Reaching into his top pocket, he pulled out a simple platinum band.
“Gold and platinum. Two rings? You really are serious about this marriage thing.”
“Never more so. Equal partners.”
“Do I have to get down on one knee?”
“No. Your job is to stay by my side through gunfights and rescue missions, then cook when we get back.”
“Equal partners? You learn to cook, or you go hungry.”
Grabbing her, he kissed her sensitive neck until she begged for mercy.
The ring slid into place in a promise of forever. The end of one chapter, but the start of something new.
Crowding her back, hands planted either side of her head, Elijah promised, “I’m gonna spend the rest of my life making up for being cold and unfeeling, on the understanding that you sheathe your claws—at least while we’re off-duty.”
“No raking, gripping, or clinging allowed?”
“I wouldn’t go that far.” Rasping his stubble against her neck, he added in a tense whisper, “Don’t leave me again. Never fucking again. Understood?”
“No fucking?” She feigned surprise. “Why, you promised me pleasure beyond imagining.”
“You know what I mean,” he growled against her mouth.
“I guess,” she said as he lifted her.
They hit the mattress laughing hard enough to rattle the frame. Clothes weren’t shed; they were ripped off. Parting her thighs with one powerful leg, Elijah drove into her in a single thrust, and she groaned his name like a prayer. “I’m yours,” she gasped. “Always yours—”
Release tore through her without warning, vicious and bright, dragging his name from her throat in a broken scream. Elijah followed seconds later, burying himself to the hilt as he claimed relief with a raw, guttural sound.
Afterward, he held her close, rolling them until she was sprawled across his chest. Still joined, still pulsing, waves of pleasure went on and on, while their hearts beat in unison as if trying to occupy the same space.
Outside the window, Mdina slept beneath starlight older than time, while Elijah traced the new rings on her finger. She felt his smile. “What?”
“Tomorrow, we sail again. I'm going to make the best of that voyage, by replaying tonight, one port at a time.”
“That sounds perfect to me.” She laughed softly against his skin. “Take me anywhere. Just never let me go.”
His arms tightened around her until her eyes grew heavy. “Forever,” he breathed as sleep claimed her.