by Fawkes, Sara
scarf covering her hair smiled shyly at me, as if afraid I wouldn’t recognize her. Ignoring any etiquette
or cross-cultural boundaries I might be breaking, I pulled her into a hug. “Amyrah? Oh my gosh, I
thought I’d never see you again!”
The Arabian girl just laughed, returning my hug. “It is so good to see you too.”
When last I’d heard about Amyrah, she had only just awoken from a week-long coma to find out
her brother had been killed in the explosion that sent her to the hospital. I’d known no way to get in
contact with the girl and express my condolences, and now wasn’t the right time. So I just hugged her
close and whispered, “It’s so good to see you again.”
“So am I going to get a hug, too? I should warn you, I carry a gun for just such occasions.”
I knew immediately to whom that French accent belonged, and let go of Amyrah. “Agent Gautier,”
I said, turning to the Interpol agent who had helped Jeremiah and I catch a madman a few months
back.
The agent quirked an eyebrow at me, and then extended her hand. “You may call me Marie, now
that our investigation is done.”
“How did Jeremiah manage to get you here?”
“He has been setting this up a while and gave me enough time to ask for vacation.” She slanted a
look in Jeremiah’s direction. “He also tried to purchase my ticket here to ensure my arrival, the
acceptance of which is against agency policy.”
“He means well,” I replied in his defense, and Marie smiled.
“That’s why I did not throw the tickets in his face.”
A smiling redhead came up as Marie stepped back. “Happy birthday, hon.”
“It’s good to see you again, Celeste,” I said, accepting a hug from her as well. I hadn’t seen the
former Hamilton Industries COO in months. While we hadn’t really been close, the redhead
understood more than most the dangerous ventures of late. She herself had been kidnapped by a hired
killer and summarily rescued by her husband. The circumstances surrounding that event had sent her
marriage into a tailspin, as I had been the one traded for her life. Celeste hadn’t agreed with her
husband’s decision, but last I’d heard they were trying to work things out.
“Is Ethan here?” I asked, trying to be as delicate as possible. Last I’d heard, they were trying to
repair their marriage. “Somehow I doubt he’d let you come here alone.”
“Guilty as charged.” He appeared beside his wife, reaching out to shake my hand. “Nice little party
you have here.”
Truthfully, there was little in the way of decorations, but against the back wall was a large round
cake with what looked like too many candles. “Are you trying to make me feel old?” I murmured to
Jeremiah as I went to look at it.
“Look on the bright side,” he replied in a low voice, “you’ll always be younger than me.”
I beamed at him. “True.”
Cherise lit them all quickly, and I blew them out with one breath, to cheers all around. Beside the
cake was a small mountain of presents, but I ignored them and began cutting the cake.
“I can do that.”
I gave the knife over to Cherise and stepped away as she began handing out slices. There were
more people in the group but I only had eyes for one. Lacing my fingers through his, I pulled us
sideways out of earshot of our guests, and then wrapped my arms around his neck. “So, was this the
other reason for all those phone calls?”
“Perhaps.” Jeremiah took my hand in his and laid a kiss on one knuckle. “You know that I love
you, right?”
He was staring at me intently, as if trying to gauge my expression. I rubbed my hand down his
arm, tilting my head to one side. “Of course I do.” It was a silly question, but I wasn't about to tell him
that.
“I’m not one for big showy gestures, and I tend to get it wrong when it comes to the romance
department.”
“I’d have to disagree with that assessment,” I added, making a big deal of looking around the room
and all our guests, but he wasn’t finished.
“I can’t imagine ever loving anyone as much as I love you, and there’s nobody on this planet I’d
rather spend my life with.”
As Jeremiah slowly sank down to one knee and reached inside his pocket, I clapped my hands over
my mouth. I couldn’t tell if the guests had grown quiet, or if I’d just tuned them out. All I saw was the
man I loved kneeling before me, opening a small white velvet box.
“Lucy Delacourt,” Jeremiah said, presenting me with the largest diamond ring I'd seen in my life,
“will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
I didn’t realize I was holding my breath until I gasped for air. You could have heard a pin drop in
that room; nobody so much as moved, but I doubt I’d have noticed anyway. Tears sprang to my eyes
as I drew in a shaky breath, too stunned to move.
Beneath me, Jeremiah cleared his throat. “My knee’s a little uncomfortable on this tile, Lucy...”
“Yes. Yes, you silly, wonderful man, yes. ”
He surged up, wrapping me in his arms and lifting me of the ground. I laughed, unable to contain
myself, as all around us cheers erupted from the crowd. Tears streaked down my face as I grabbed
Jeremiah’s head and laid a big, wet kiss on his mouth. I couldn’t stop laughing though, but he didn’t
seem to mind. The biggest smile I’d ever seen was stretched across his face, and as he sat me down he
picked up my left hand.
“My mother took my great-grandmother’s wedding ring when my father proposed, but I wanted to
start a new tradition.” He spoke in a quiet voice, as if none of the people around us were listening in.
Plucking the ring from the tiny box, he held it up to me. “I was given this diamond myself as a gift
from an African client. It was uncut when I received it, so I don’t believe he knew its true value.”
Jeremiah slid the platinum band slowly onto my finger, continuing his story in a soft voice. “I was
like that when you found, as rough as any stone. You made me better, gave me the clarity I hadn’t
known I needed.”
It was impossible to tell whether I was laughing or crying by that point, but nobody seemed to
care. Jeremiah laid a kiss on my hand again, just above the diamond, and I smiled at him through my
tears. I finally became aware of the people standing nearby to wish us happiness, but I didn’t want to
give up my hold on Jeremiah.
“I love you,” I whispered against his shirt, and felt his lips on my hair before I turned to show the
ring to Cherise, who was nearly bouncing with excitement next to me.
* * * *
Three hours later, I still couldn’t stop staring at the ring on my finger.
“You know you’ll go blind staring at that thing,” Jeremiah said from nearby.
“It’s so beautiful,” I said softly for the hundredth time that evening. Lounging back on the leather
couch, I held it up above my head. The lights above shone through the diamond as tiny rainbows wove
through the facets.
“Wait until you see it in the sunlight, then.”
Jeremiah settled himself on the couch just above my head, and I scooted over to lay my head in his
lap. His fingertips stroked my shoulder and we sat there in silence, content to just touch. I put my hand
beneath my head, careful not to scrape myself with the ring, and
squeezed Jeremiah’s leg. “So what
happens now?”
I felt his body twist as he shrugged. “Marriage, I suppose. Kids. A house in the suburbs.”
“We already have one of those, you know,” I murmured, thinking about my parents’ home up
north. After their deaths, I’d lost it to the creditors, until Jeremiah had somehow managed to get it
back for me.
Something about the exhalation above told me he was amused. “So we do.”
Somehow, though, I doubted Jeremiah would be happy with a boring existence. His and our future
was wide open however; there were so many things we could do. The prospect was exciting and
daunting at the same time.
We lapsed into silence again, his fingers still absently stroking my shoulder. “Have you told your
mother?” I asked after a few moments.
“Not a word.”
“How do you think she’s going to take it?”
He snorted. “Probably like a screaming banshee.”
I smiled at the images his words produced. “Think she’ll get over it?”
“She’ll probably forget it the first time we call her grandma.”
The thought of children made my belly do flip-flops, but I kept my feelings to myself. “Somehow
I doubt she’ll take that transition gracefully.” The very idea of watching that meltdown was enough to
make me smile with anticipation.
“Her problem, not ours.”
I thought of my own mother, imagining what she would have thought about grandchildren. My
being an only child hadn’t been by choice. I’d always known they wanted more, but that never stopped
them from loving me to the fullest. A pang went through my heart. I wished they were here to see this.
Jeremiah must have known my thoughts were turning to melancholy because he gathered me up in
his arms. I held onto his shoulders, straddling his hips on the couch so we were face-to-face. He
smiled, stroking my cheek. “Mrs. Lucy Hamilton.”
Everything inside me sang at the words, and I grinned wildly at him. My eyes fell to his full lips,
and I caressed them with my fingers. Jeremiah pulled me close, revealing the hard bulge already
growing again between his legs. “You’re insatiable,” I murmured, leaning down to kiss him.
“Only for you.” He stood up with me still clinging to him. I moved to slide down to the ground,
but he forestalled that by picking me up in his arms. “Allow me, madam.”
He took the stairs two at a time, my extra weight apparently a non-issue. Still, I swatted his arm.
“The doctor said you needed to be careful about that leg! Compound fractures like that can take longer
than a few months to heal.”
“I can deal.”
He pulled me close into a kiss, effectively silencing further protests, as we entered the master
bedroom. My jaw went slack as I took it in. The only light was candles, set all around the spacious
room. On the bed, red rose petals were strewn across the comforter. I turned to stare at him, my eyes
wide. “And said you weren’t romantic? Can I officially call BS now?”
“I’m afraid candles and roses are the end of my romantic ways.” Jeremiah settled me on the bed,
and then began stripping out of his clothes. “I want you now, to feel every inch of you against and
around me.”
I shivered at the dark promise in his voice, and hurriedly shed my own garments. His fingers drew
my underwear slowly down my legs as I removed my bra, and then he stalked up the bed toward me.
The candlelight glittered off the marbled planes of his muscles and gave his beautiful face an almost
feral glow. I loved it when he stalked me, all power and grace, but for tonight I wanted to try
something different.
My hand seemed so small against his thick shoulder, but he gave way as I pressed him back and
over. I followed his movements until I was above him, peering down at him in the low light.
Straddling his thighs, I leaned down to kiss him, tangling my hands in his thick hair. He kissed me
back, large hands gripping my waist as I trailed my lips down his neck, past his chest and down across
washboard abs.
Jeremiah sucked in a breath as I wrapped my hand around his hard length. I gave it a few pumps,
enjoying the hitch in his breath that told me he enjoyed it, and then set my mouth on the bulbous tip.
Flicking the edges with my tongue, I sucked him in slowly, keeping one fist around the base. He was
long but I moved at my own pace, enjoying the tiny thrusts of his hips toward my mouth. It was his
turn to tangle his hands in my hair, guttural sounds wordlessly urging me to go faster.
I bobbed my head over him, alternately pressing my tongue against the base and flicking the tip,
and then I removed my hand mid-stroke and took him deep. The tickle at the back of my throat made
me gag, but my gesture was rewarded by a long groan.
“Fuck, your mouth,” Jeremiah rasped, breathing too hard to speak. I repeated the move and got a
similar response, which made me smile around him. Moving sideways on the bed until I was almost
backwards, I tried again in the new position. Coming from it backwards, he went deep down my
throat, and his hips came off the bed.
Hands grabbed my hips, pulling me sideways and back. A thrilled raced through me as I carefully
straddled his head, my heart racing in anticipation. There was no preamble to his oral assault. He
parted my folds and licked, and I cried out around his member.
Once he set to work on my pleasure, it became increasingly difficult to focus on the task at hand—
or mouth, as it were. In very short order I was a quivering mess, moans of my own echoing off the
wood floors. He used his tongue and fingers as a delicious torture, distracting me from what I’d been
doing. Something told me he was ready to take over, but I wasn’t quite finished yet.
Carefully, I turned back around so I was facing him again. I once more straddled his hips and
lowered my body so my breasts pressed against his chest. His hands kneaded the flesh of my buttocks
as I positioned myself above him.
“I’m too close to coming,” he murmured as I laid my lips to his neck while rubbing the thick tip of
his cock between my folds. “I should put a condom on before...”
He trailed off as I kissed him, lowering my lips and pulling him inside me. “I want to feel you
come inside me,” I whispered, and his body gave a small jerk. “Skin on skin, nothing between us.”
Jeremiah looked as if he’d been given an unexpected gift. “You’re sure?”
In answer, I pulled my hips up, and then settled down around him. Grabbing the headboard, I
curled my hips up and around, moving above and on him in a sensual dance. The firelight glittered in
his eyes as he groaned, fingers digging into my hips and urging me onward. His hands moved up my
body, closing over my breasts and thumbing my nipples. It was my turn to cry out, pressing down hard
with my hips to take him deep.
With a growl, Jeremiah threw me sideways down onto the bed, rolling over on top of me. Hands
pushed my arms into the mattress as he thrust into me, all finesse gone. I cried out, wrapping my legs
around his lean hips, urging him on, and tilting my hips to meet each thrust. He was an animal, taking
me hard, and I reveled in every minute of it.
My own pleasure rose to the surface quickly, an endless wave that continued with each thrust.
Jeremiah however came with a choke
d roar, his fingers digging into my shoulders as he shuddered
above me. I felt him pulsing inside me and drew him down to lie on me as the last of his strength gave
way. Little tremors shook his body, remnants of the hard orgasm, and I just smiled.
“I love you so fucking much,” he murmured, hugging me close.
I gave a tired laugh. “Such a romantic statement. You should put that into a Valentines Day card.”
“I don’t give a damn what others think, just you. I love you, I love you...”
I just held him, his bulk crushing me onto the mattress, and closed my eyes. This was the happiest
day I could remember so far in my life, and I was perfectly content right where I was at that moment.
Stroking his hair, I looked again at the ring on my finger, the diamond shining gold in the firelight. “I
love you too,” I murmured, my heart singing as he hugged me close.
Epilogue
“Ah, my friend, it’s good to see you again.”
“Gabriel, you remember my fiancée Lucy?”
The Dom just smiled. “I had to read about it in the newspapers. You, my dear, are being hailed as a
real-life Cinderella.”
I blushed but said nothing, looking around the interior of the mansion. Little had changed since the
last time we’d visited, but something felt different. Perhaps it was the fact that, this time, I knew what
to expect. Maybe it was that I was now engaged to the love of my life.
Or perhaps it was the outfit I wore, chosen by Jeremiah, which gave me confidence.
“My home is yours for tonight,” Gabriel stated, ushering us inside.
One of Gabriel’s submissives approached me. “Can this one take your coat?” she asked, eyes cast
down toward the floor.
“I’d like to do my own unveiling,” Jeremiah said, laying his hand against the small of my back. I
smiled up at him as we entered the large room in the center of the mansion. Lusty cries came from the
wall to one side, but Jeremiah steered me over beside the bar. Turning me to face him, he slowly
unbuttoned the long trench coat, and then slid it off my shoulders.
Bereft of the cover, the cool air hit my nipples first, tightening them into hard buds. I didn’t move
otherwise however, keeping my gaze level with Jeremiah’s. One side of his mouth tipped up as he ran
his eyes down my body, his gaze like a sensual caress. “You look tasty enough to eat.”
