He stared at her hand, at the unmarked forearm the move revealed. Then he blew out a breath that didn’t do much to settle his suddenly revving system. “Fine. Whatever.”
But when they all uplinked in the great room, the magic leaped through him with a wild surge that had Strike raising a brow in his direction. Instead of saying anything about it, Sven asked, “What does Dez want us in Denver for?”
“Beats the hell out of me.” Strike’s lips twitched. “But considering that he nearly killed me on the firing range at five this morning and walked away still looking gray around the edges, I think we can guarantee that whatever it is, it’s big.”
Denver
When Dez texted her to meet him back in the atrium, Reese had to tear herself away from the window perch she had found up near the roof, looking out over the neighborhood. She could see a handful of other construction projects, some new signs, different storefronts, a scattering of foot traffic, and only one surreptitious handoff of cash for illegals. The ’hood had come up in the world. Then again, so had she.
On my way, she texted back, and headed down-level. Given where they were and what had happened the last time they had been there, she had a feeling Dez might’ve tried to arrange some sort of smooth-things-over meeting with Fallon. She wasn’t sure if she hoped that was it or not—things felt over for her on that front, and she didn’t think it would do them any good to pretend they were going to be friends, or even that he would forgive her. Unless he was seeing someone. That would make her smile. Especially if it was someone who didn’t mind that he showed love by quietly fussing, overprotecting.
She had finally figured out that she liked love that was expressed at top volume, usually mixed in with words like “pigheaded royal” and “stubborn ass of a king,” and that spilled over into the newly redecorated royal suite—or rather, into the bedroom of the royal suite, where one whole wall was taken up by a painted mural of a Montana skyline. It was another of Dez’s “surprises,” and one that had already seen some major makeup sex. And nonmakeup sex. And lovemaking.
She was grinning when she came out of the stairwell and swung around the corner to the atrium. Then she stopped dead, her grin fading when she saw the crowd that was waiting for her.
The full complement of magi and winikin hadn’t been in the same place since the battle atop Coatepec Mountain; for them all to be here now said there was something major going on. There were a couple of new faces, too—one was a vibrant young woman with a white skunk stripe. That would be Cara Liu, she knew. But the other guy—lean and red-cheeked, wearing a heavy coat and a scarf wrapped up past his mouth, with round glasses perched on his nose, was a stranger.
It wasn’t a reunion with Fallon, then, which was a relief. But what the hell was it? Some sort of dedication ceremony? Yeah, that was it. Maybe. Nerves stirred. Then the group shifted, parted, and she saw Dez at the far end. He was looking at her expectantly, those wary shadows still in place.
She moved toward him almost without volition, her body drawn into his orbit by a gravitational pull of rightness that said: there you are. Destined mates or love at first sight—how much of a difference was there, really?
Joining him up at the front of the room, aware that they were the center of attention—though as the king’s consort, she had gotten pretty used to that—she whispered, “What are we doing, naming this place or something?”
His lips curved up. “Or something.” He dipped into an inner pocket of his bomber, pulled out a jeweler’s box . . . and went down on one knee.
And Reese. Stopped. Breathing.
Time telescoped and a decade disappeared in an instant. They were standing almost exactly where they had been the last time, when everything had been so very wrong. But now, as he opened the box, everything was right. The ring was made of white gold, a serpent that curled around a central stone. But instead of a cobra guarding a black stone, this was a sleekly elegant serpent god that curved around a sparkling multicolored array of white diamond, red ruby, yellow chalcedony, and gleaming onyx arranged in a circle around an emerald that glowed, green and perfect, at the center.
Her eyes filmed, spilled over. And she didn’t swipe the tears away, didn’t mind being a girl. Because if she couldn’t be a girl when the man of her teenaged dreams and woman’s fantasies proposed to her, when could she?
“Oh, Dez . . .” she breathed. She wanted to tell him that it was beautiful, that it was perfect, the moment was perfect. But she couldn’t get any of that out. She could only stare at the ring as the past and present merged, finally finding their balance, becoming the whole of her life, and the anticipation of their future. They would wait until after the end-date, she knew. Just as the magi were resolved not to bring children into the world prior to the war, they were holding off on human-style marriages, some because they believed more strongly in the mated marks, others so they would have something to look forward to. She wanted to be one of those looking forward.
He cleared his throat. “I promised myself I wouldn’t fuck up proposing this time.”
“The lack of bodies is a good start,” she observed, then winced and bit her tongue when the guy standing beside Dez choked, his eyes going round behind his glasses.
But Dez’s eyes gleamed, as if that had given him the answer he needed. Suddenly, she realized the shadows she had seen in him came from wariness. Nerves. Did he really think she would turn him down? “Fuck the speech,” he said hoarsely. “I love you, Reese Montana. Marry me. Please marry me. By all that’s holy, I don’t want to do this without you at my side, wearing my ring.”
“Yes.” She caught his face between her hands and stepped into the lee of his legs to lean down and kiss him, feeling the stir of heat and magic they made together. “Of course I’ll marry you,” she said against his lips. “I love you. Oh, how I love you.”
He rose up into the kiss, then stood, still kissing her, until they were wrapped together, the heat spinning around them. Then he broke the kiss and stepped away from her to take the serpent ring from the box, which he tucked back into his jacket. He didn’t put the ring on her finger, though. Instead, he palmed it and took her hands in his, the ring forming a bump between their hands. Then he nodded to the stranger. “Go ahead.”
The guy smiled faintly, took a piece of paper out of his pocket and unfolded it.
Reese stared at him, blood suddenly rushing so loud in her ears that she couldn’t hear the guy when he started reading, could only see his lips moving. “Wait,” she interrupted. “What?”
“You said you would marry me.” Dez nodded to the others. “I’ve got witnesses.”
She didn’t look at them, couldn’t. Her heart raced, making her muscles tremble with the need to move, though there was nothing to flee from, nothing to fight. Her voice shook. “I thought . . .Don’t you want to wait until, you know. After?”
“That’s the one thing I don’t want to do. I waited too damn long before. I’m not making the same mistake again.” He tightened his fingers on hers. “I want to marry you right now,” he looked around, grinning, “and most definitely right here. I love you, and I don’t want to wait another minute.” A pause, a hint of wariness. “What do you say?”
They were standing in a half-rebuilt warehouse in near-frigid temperatures, both wearing jeans and leather, each with a knife in a pocket and a gun hidden somewhere within easy reach. There were no Barbie dresses and tuxes, no flowers, papier-mache, or drippy music. And that made it exactly right. A smile split her face. “I say yes.”
The shadows fled, leaving only love behind. “Thank the gods for that.”
He tugged her into his arms and kissed her, long and deep, with an intensity that sent sweet heat roaring through her, turning the chill air suddenly tropical. She clutched him, clung to him, sank into him. They had made love in the shower that morning, twining slick and slippery together, but she wanted him again, here, now and—
“Ahem,” Strike said drily from behind Dez. “You skipped a couple of steps. Including the ‘I dos’ and the cake.”
She broke away. “There’s cake?”
Dez groaned, then laughed along with the others. “Guess I know where I stand.” But he was still chuckling
