Charlie groaned from somewhere in the vicinity. At the corner of his eye, he saw a glittering ring with something burning inside that was leaving behind dust. However, he set the question for later as someone stepped in to assess her condition and declared that her bones could still be set in place. She dutifully answered questions and pointed at the source of her breaking bones, which happened to be the burning ring. Then, at the first dose of the pain reliever, Alexa promptly passed out.
“So, the Fae bastard burned to death, huh?”
Alexa nodded and let out a murmur, then took a while to formulate her ruminations. He waited it out, content to have her against him as they shared the bed that they had been provided in House’s new wing. This bed was wider and so much more comfortable—and very far away from the front of the house, allowing her to sleep and rest for as much as he liked.
“Yes. After he grabbed me and tried to drag me back, he managed to pull me in up to my torso until Charlie and Daria intervened.” She tilted her head. “I don’t know what they did to get me out of there and burn the guy successfully. It must be Daria’s secret if Charlie’s mouth is sealed shut like that.”
“Best friend things,” he said knowingly. “And all Fae have secrets.”
“All supernatural creatures have secrets,” she shot back, then sighed. “But Duncan had the biggest secret of them all, didn’t he?”
“Oh, yes. All that manic talk about making you his queen, and he had already been kicked out of his kingdom.” Edmund scoffed. “What a lousy egomaniac.”
“We still need to be careful. His court might change their mind and come looking for him.”
“And they won’t find him here. He’s the last connection to Archie, and Billy covered the tracks.”
At that, her brows lifted. “It seems like you and Billy are getting chummy. Should I get jealous?”
“You should be very jealous, my love. On a serious note…” He trailed off, waiting for her to turn slightly and meet his gaze. “I’m sorry I can’t offer you any kingdom, throne, or queendom, my love.”
“I don’t need any of that,” she protested.
“I know. But you deserve the world and more. Everything. All I can offer you is myself as your muse forever and vice versa.” Nerves tickled his belly, then settled. He unclasped the box he had been hiding in his pocket and presented it to her. “And it would be my greatest honor to have you as my mate.”
She gasped, gawking at the gold band encrusted with diamonds that nearly blinded her. She made an incoherent sound, and the seriousness of her expression made him fear that perhaps she had changed her mind about them. Then Alexa smiled wide and radiated with so much joy that it soothed his senses until he was in awe of it all. When she nodded, he inserted the ring on her finger and kissed it, then her knuckles, before he slumped on the bed.
“Oh, thank goodness. Oh, my love, you scared me for a bit.”
“Do vampires even mate?” she asked curiously.
“We find our lifetime partners,” he said. “We don’t call them mates, but I know you call them that. Nothing would please me more than to be your mate, Alexa Bennett.”
“Dramatic,” she announced, then bit back a chuckle. “You are so dramatic, but yes. We do mate and I accept your proposal…although, I have to tell you that there are some duties involved.”
“Duties?”
She nodded morosely, big gray eyes locking with his. “Mating involves sex. Lots of sex. Whenever I need it.”
His lips quirked. “Hmm. That’s a tall order. What else?”
“Mating involves a lot of hugs and kisses. Just a few a day isn’t enough.”
“I see. Another tall order. Can it also include a few trips to Italy? We are about to rake in a great income.”
“That’s doable. Will there be fewer trips once you sell to the New York galleries?”
“I don’t know. We can still take vacations in Italy for leisure. We can take Archie with us.”
She smiled. “I like that.”
“Fabulous. Is there more?”
Alexa pursed her lips. “There’s a list that includes how many orgasms I should receive in a day, how many times we should delve into sexual activities each week, and the keywords that we should memorize to turn us on…” She gasped, then tried to get away from him when he tickled her some more. “You can’t do that! I’m still recovering.”
In response, he got on top of her and flattened her on the bed, trapping her arms above her head. He fluttered his lashes and watched her grow dazed before he offered her his most winning smile. “You got magical help and your bones are back in place. You have been sleeping less and walking more these past few days. You are ninety percent recovered.”
“Still…”