“Which one?” I tease.
“Both,” he says, pressing a kiss against my neck that has me instantly tingly in all the right places.
I smile and lean back against his strong chest, loving how perfect everything is.
After he found me at the Lusty Lady, he whisked me off to his palace and made me his wife the very same day. He said he wasn’t willing to lose me again. He’d worked too hard to find me and wanted to keep me beside him forever, starting right away.
I don’t know what I would've done if he hadn’t figured out how Melissa manipulated both of us. I could've spent the rest of my life without my prince charming.
Now that psycho is locked away in The Dungeon for life. Well, it’s not literally a dungeon. That’s just what St. Albans calls its prison. Apparently, Melissa was up to more shady shit than just trying to get rid of me and snag Derek. He had her investigated and they discovered she’d been stealing from the royal family for years. Now we don’t ever have to worry about her again.
Derek comes around in front of me and reaches for Sapphire, taking her in his arms and murmuring all kinds of sweet things in her ear. He’s a perfect daddy. Almost as much as he’s a perfect husband.
He makes sure I’m happy and satisfied. In every way.
“I have a surprise for you,” he says when he lays Sapphire back in her bassinet.
I clap excitedly. “What is it?”
Derek calls for the nanny and takes my hand. “Come with me.”
He leads me out of the nursery and down the hall to our royal chamber, which is insanely huge. Take the biggest penthouse you can imagine, then multiply it by five. That’s our personal section of the palace.
I lean into his strong arms as we walk, sighing in contentment. I don’t think life could be any more perfect.
Everything I thought we had between us was absolutely true. Completely real. True love. That connection has grown even stronger, and I think we fall more in love every single day.
“Close your eyes,” he commands.
I giggle. “Sounds naughty,” I tease. Please let it be naughty. I can’t get enough of his body. It’s no wonder I got pregnant almost immediately. Rabbits? They have nothing on me and my prince.
“It’s totally naughty,” he says, his hands running down to cup my ass, and I bite my lip in anticipation. “You know what today is?”
I shake my head, closing my eyes when he reaches up and brushes his fingers over my lids. “Tell me.”
“It’s our anniversary.”
I frown, confused. We still have another week and a half before our anniversary. “No…”
I feel him nod against my neck as he nips at the sensitive skin there. “It is. One year ago today, I walked into a strip club, and nothing has been the same since.”
I laugh. “I hope that’s a good thing.”
“The very best thing. So I have something for you to celebrate.” Derek places his hand on the small of my back and guides me forward. I’m not sure where he’s leading me, but it feels like it’s toward one of the empty rooms we haven’t gotten around to decorating yet. Or even figuring out what to use it for.
“Eyes closed,” he reminds me as he comes around in front of me and pulls me by the hands.
I squeeze them tighter, even though all I want to do is find out what his surprise is.
“Stay here.”
He moves away from me, and I can see lights come on behind my eyelids, but I keep them shut. Then music fills the room, loud and pounding out a sexy beat.
“Okay,” Derek says, back by my side, leaning in for a long, slow, seductive kiss that has my body instantly wet and needy. He breaks the kiss after a minute. “Open your eyes.”
I do, and my hand flies to my mouth. I can’t believe what I see. The entire room has been transformed. Dark walls and plush carpet, a huge-ass bed right in the middle of the room, begging to be christened. But that’s not the best part.
No, the best part is the low stage directly in front of the bed, bright spotlights pointed to the center where a shiny pole extends from floor to ceiling.