As we danced, Brock made an effort to get us close to the stage. And when he did, I saw Glo Glowing look down at us with a smile on her face as she sang. I smiled back at her, she winked and fluttered her fingers at me, and then she lifted her head to the crowd and launched into the heart of the song.
“I know it’s too soon,” Brock said in my ear. “And I know that this might scare you away from me. But I can’t hold it in any longer. I’m in love with you, Madison.”
With a start, I looked up at him and saw his eyes become bright with meaning. He was in love with me. It was right there on his face, shining in his eyes.
“I think that I fell in love with you the first day we met,” he said. “I know that sounds crazy, but it’s still how I feel, so what’s the point in denying it any longer? I’m not ashamed of it. I’m thrilled by it. And grateful for it. How I felt that day when I walked into Blackwell’s office and first set eyes on you has grown into something I never saw coming. But here we are, Madison. At last. I’m in love with you. And you need to know that.”
When he said that, it was so emotional and unexpected, I knew that I needed to get off the dance floor before anyone could see me cry. And so I broke away from him. I returned to the alcove and put my face in my hands in utter disbelief that Brock did feel what I felt. He was in love with me. He’d just said it. I was at once overcome with relief and overjoyed by the knowledge that he felt what I felt—a connection so profound, it could only be love.
And then I felt a hand on my shoulder.
“Madison,” he said. “I didn’t mean to upset you. I’m sorry. I should have known that this was too soon. I should have kept my feelings to myself. I should have allowed you time to one day feel what I feel, but I couldn’t wait any longer. Tell me that you won’t walk away from this now. All I need is a chance to prove to you that this is right. That I am in love with you. Because I am. More than you know. I just need a chance.”
Get it together, girl! Let him off the hook! Lock this down now!
I turned to face him, and when I did, it was with moist eyes.
“You don’t need to prove anything to me,” I said when I looked at him. “Because don’t you see, Brock? I’m also in love with you.”
When I said that, his lips parted as if in disbelief. “You are?” he said.
“I am. I’ve been wrestling with my feelings toward you since our time at the Plaza. Like you, I wasn’t sure how any of this could have happened so quickly. And yet it has.” I placed the palm of my hand against the side of his cheek. “Somehow, in the record-breaking time of one solid week, you are officially the first man I’ve ever fallen in love with. And hopefully the last.”
When I said that, he said, “Come with me.”
He took me by the hand, led me into the middle of the packed room, and my head whirled and spun as he did so. I caught a glimpse of Alex and Jennifer coming toward us, but then I saw them stop short when Brock took me in his arms and kissed me so deeply and publicly, I felt as if my mind and my limbs were no longer mine.
But my heart was.
My heart was my anchor and it held me steadily against him. It pounded. It roared. And it made itself known to me with a fierceness that I couldn’t deny.
We were in love—and I knew it.
When we broke away from each other, Brock Wenn, the most handsome and romantic man I’d ever met, ran the back of his hand along my jawline, down my neck, and finally over the tip of my right breast before he stopped and pulled me closer to him.
“This is just the beginning for us,” he said to me. “And from what I’m feeling right now, our beginning has no ending, Madison. One day, I’m going to marry you. You’ll see. We’ll have children, we’ll raise them together, we’ll have grandchildren and great-grandchildren, we’ll have everything we want in life, and we’ll grow old together. So I need you to trust that right now, because I know that all of that is going to happen for us. I’m in love with you,” he said. “I’ll forever be in love with you. Now kiss me again in front of all these people as if it were our first time. Because for me, everything from this point forward is for the first time—especially when I take you tonight and make love to you in ways that you’ll never forget.”
# # #
BOO
KS BY CHRISTINA ROSS:
ANNIHILATE ME, VOL. 1
ANNIHILATE ME, VOL. 2
ANNIHILATE ME, VOL. 3
ANNIHILATE ME, VOL. 4
ANNIHILATE ME, HOLIDAY EDITION
ANNIHILATE ME: OMNIBUS
ANNIHILATE ME 2, VOL. 1
ANNIHILATE ME 2, VOL. 2
ANNIHILATE ME 2, VOL. 3
ANNIHILATE ME 2: OMNIBUS
ANNIHLATE ME 2: HOLIDAY
Also by Christina Ross:
UNLEASH ME, VOL. 1
UNLEASH ME, VOL. 2
UNLEASH ME, VOL. 3
UNLEASH ME: BOXED SET
Stand-alone novels
CHANCE
IGNITE ME (Part of the Annihilate Me Series)
What’s next from Christina Ross? Annihilate Me 2: Holiday!
The cover reveal is below.
Expect it in December 2015!
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XO,
Christina
Ignite Me (The Annihilate Me Series) Page 24