“I…”
“I love you,” he said again, and now his smile was wonderfully arrogant, so that his confidence was completely contagious.
She smiled back, her heart bursting inside of her.
“Well, Elodie? What do you think?”
Her smile showed how certain she was, how utterly confident in this. “I think you’re a very, very slow learner,” she said thoughtfully, “but that once you catch on, you really catch on.”
He grinned. “Is this a yes?”
She tilted her head, pretending to think about it but her smile told him everything he needed to know.
He groaned as the silence stretched around them. “I warn you, Elodie, I will resort to less than honourable methods soon.”
Heat bloomed in her cheeks. “Is that a promise?”
He sobered, his expression serious. “It is a promise to love you and care for you and make you happy in every single way for the rest of your life.”
Her heart exploded. “Then what are you waiting for?”
He arched a brow.
“Take me to bed, Fiero Montebello.”
“And then make you my wife?” He demanded, his determination so familiar to her that her smile spread from ear to ear.
“Yep.” She lifted up and kissed him now, her pulse throbbing at the perfection of that contact. “Forever and ever.”
“As long as we both shall live.”
Later,much later, when the morning sun was high in the sky and their bodies were finally sated, she pushed up on one elbow, a frown on her face.
“What is it,cara?” He stroked her side distractedly and she wriggled closer, craving closeness even then.
“Did you say a brother and a sisteranda brotheranda sister?”
He nodded, smiling.
“Five children?”
“At least.”
She burst out laughing.
“What? Too much?”
“Erm, it might be ever so slightly excessive.”
He kissed the tip of her nose.
“But also, kind of perfect,” she said on a sigh. “Let’s start with one more and go from there?”
“Deal.” He pushed forward, rolling her onto his back, bringing his body over hers.
Her eyes flared wide. “Now?”
His eyes shone with love and with the promise of the future they were both welcoming with open arms, and he nodded slowly. “There’s no time like the present, right?”