He leaned away and a line appeared between his brows. “Did I do something wrong?”
She shook her head, barely able to speak past the lump in her throat. “I’m scared of hurting you. You’re too stubborn to tell me if I am.” The world tilted and the floor disappeared beneath her feet before she could blink. She struggled against his hold as he carried her to the bedroom. “See? You’re going to hurt yourself.”
“Stay still. You’re hurting me now.”
She immediately went limp. He flashed an incredulous look her way. “I can’t believe you fell for that.” With a growl, she attempted to slide out of his grip but he dropped her on the bed and covered her body with his before she could get away. “Seriously, Mandy, give a man a break.”
Hearing the pain in his voice, she quit struggling. “I almost lost you.” Saying the words aloud broke something free and she had to gasp to pull oxygen into her lungs. Knox brushed her hair away from her face and held her gaze until the darkness left the corners of her vision.
“I need you calm because I have some things I need to say.” Simply hearing him say he needed her caused her body to relax. “The first time I made love to you I had three broken ribs.”
She’d never broken any bones but she was given to understand it hurt.
“Why didn’t you say anything?” Huh. She sounded reasonable. Maybe she should take up acting.
“When you’re touching me, I don’t feel anything else.” He was sweet but she was still aggravated. It fled when he continued. “I love you. More than that, I am incomplete without you. This house is paid for, along with everything else I own. There’s also close to four hundred and fifty thousand dollars in my checking account.”
Her brain blacked out even though she was clearly still conscious. “Okay,” she said, unable to think of a thing to fill the void. His monetary worth meant nothing to her. “Would you like me to sign a pre-nup?”
He looked incredulous for a moment. “Are you fucking kidding me? No. My point is the exact opposite. I need to know you’re taken care of. I mean, those bastards at the hospital tried to make you leave my room because of a piece of paper. What if I had died?” A muscle in his jaw twitched and she could practically hear him counting to ten in his head before he could continue. “The thing is, I want to do the big wedding thing. I know it’s odd for a guy, but it’s like I want show the world you’re mine. Here’s the problem. With all the planning and time that goes into a full wedding, I also want to marry you now.”
She couldn’t love him more. “I only want to be with you. Whatever you decide is fine with me.”
“I want both,” he admitted. “I want to get married now and do the big wedding later. I know you don’t care about the money, and really I don’t either, but it is years of fifty-two weekends a year of my blood. Every drop of my blood belongs to you.”
She could see how important her answer was to him by the set lines of his face. He wouldn’t relax until she agreed. “Are you sure?”
A smile lingered on his lips but refused to break free. “Are you saying yes?”
Six months earlier, she would have never pictured this moment. With a short nod, she sealed her fate. “Will you at least take a nap first?”
His mouth turned up in one corner and a wicked glint touched his eyes. Shifting positions, he made sure she couldn’t miss the erection pressed between them. “Naps are for pussies.”
The End
Keep an eye out for book 3, Unequaled
Author Bio
Charity Parkerson is an award winning and multi-published author with several companies. Born with no filter from her brain to her mouth, she decided to take this odd quirk and insert it in her characters.
*2015 Readers' Favorite Award Winner
*Winner of 2, 2014 Readers' Favorite Awards
*2015 Passionate Plume Award Finalist
*2013 Readers' Favorite Award Winner
*2013 Reviewers' Choice Award Winner
*2012 ARRA Finalist for Favorite Paranormal Romance
*Five-time winner of The Mistress of the Darkpath
Connect with her online:
--Website: charityparkerson.com
--Facebook: facebook.com/authorCharityParkerson
facebook.com/TheMenofSin
--Twitter: twitter.com/CharityParkerso
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