“Nope.”
“Oh.” What was he saying then?
“I’m saying that I’m going to marry you. Soon as I fucking can.”
“West Malone, you cannot just tell me that I’m going to marry you.”
“Already did. You gonna say no?” he asked.
“I can’t say no since you didn’t ask!”
“Exactly.” He grinned and she burst into laughter.
He was hopeless.
Epilogue
“Chest to the bed, I want that bare ass in the air.”
Anticipation bit through her. It had been a very long three weeks since Spencer had been arrested. And this was the first time she and West had had any time alone together. At least in a place where West’s brothers couldn’t see or hear them.
West had promised her punishment. First for disobeying him that night when Snake had found them, second for trying to exchange herself for him, and, third, for stepping out from the shadows when Spencer had been arrested when she’d promised to stick close to him.
The spanking she had coming to her was going to be a doozy, and West had wanted them alone when he delivered it. First chance he’d gotten, he’d brought her back to the cabin.
Spencer had broken the conditions of his bail, so not only had he forfeited his bond, but he’d had his bail revoked and had been sent to county jail. He’d been there about a week when he’d been had a heart attack and died. It had been a shock. She’d always expected to have the threat of him hanging over her.
And now he was gone. It had hit her far harder than she’d expected. Despite the abuse she’d suffered at his hands, she could still remember the good times they’d had. Sometimes she felt guilty about the fact that he’d died on his own, in prison.
But gradually the storm that Spencer’s passing had created in her had started to pass. West had held steady through all of it. Holding her when she needed it, listening to her when she’d ranted. She’d talked to him about the good old days, those were the memories she wanted to keep.
She glanced down at her hand as she got into position. The diamond on her finger glinted back at her. West had surprised her by going shopping and buying it himself. And he’d gone big. It was definitely a ring that made a statement.
Mine. Back off.
She didn’t mind, though. She loved being his.
He ran his hand down her bare ass. Over these past few weeks, her shoulder had healed, and her arm was out of the sling. It would never be fully right, but she could live with that.
West cupped her ass and squeezed it. “You with me, baby?”
“Yes,” she sighed. She wiggled her ass. “I’m ready.”
“This ain’t gonna be easy on you. You put yourself in danger. That’s something I’m never going to go lightly on you about.”
She shivered. She knew he’d brought a strap with him. He’d shown it to her as he’d packed it, building her anticipation. She was nervous but also turned on as hell.
“I know. I’m sorry.”
“I know you are. But I’m going to make sure you learn this lesson. Next time, there won’t be such a long space between you earning a punishment and getting it.”
West smacked his hand down on her ass. “If we’d had our own space, I would have spanked you that same night.”
He wouldn’t have. She’d been a mess the night Spencer was arrested.
Smack, smack.
Her ass started to burn. It grew deeper as he kept spanking her.