"You actually believed I could do that?"
"No," I shake my head, "I didn't want to... But I knew I'd behaved like a complete ass—"
"—a wanker," she interrupts me. "You behaved like a complete tosser."
"That too," I agree. "I deserve all the names you called me."
"Is that an apology?" She frowns. "Because it's a pretty shitty one."
I can't stop the chuckle that bubbles up. This woman... She is going to make my life really bloody interesting as hell. I sink down onto one knee, place her hand between both of mine.
"I'm sorry, Karina. Sorry I took you for granted. Sorry I manipulated your life so you could be near me. Sorry I colluded with your family behind your back. Sorry that I...didn’t come right out and tell you that I love you, that I want to be with you, that you are the only woman I want to spend my life with, the only one I want to wake up next to every morning, the only one I want to hold in my arms, and say I do to. You are the only one, Sparks, who means more to me than anything in the world, even myself. If I'd lost you, I wouldn't have been able to live anymore, I—"
She places her finger on my lips. "Don’t," she swallows, "don’t say that. If anything had happened to you, I wouldn't have been able to live with myself."
"Live with me instead. Be my wife. Marry me, Sparks."
Her face splits apart in a wide smile, "Yes."
Claps break out; there's cheering. I glance around to see Isla and the rest of the women crowding at the doorway. The men, cluster behind them.
A younger girl I don’t recognize joins the women. "Oh, your babies are going to be soo beautiful."
Next to me, Edward stiffens. I shoot him a sideways glance to find him staring at her. Interesting.
Summer wraps her arm around the girl and pulls her close. "Never change, Ava," she grins, "your romantic heart is what sets you apart from the rest."
Niko guides me and Karina, to the side as the rest of the group file into the room. Saint wraps his arm around Victoria, Sinner pulls Summer to his side, Weston hugs Amelie, and Damian bends down to kiss Julia's cheek. Ava takes a seat in front. Edward stays by the door, his gaze still on her.
Niko turns to me, "You passed my earlier test, doesn’t mean you're off the hook. You’d better take care of her, or I'll blow your brains out." He jerks his chin at me, then retreats to the side.
I take both of Karina's hands in mine as I peruse her features, "What do you say, Sparks? You ready to get started on that baby making plan?"
58
Karina
"I thought you'd never ask," I whisper.
He rises to his feet and I tilt my head back, all the way back, as he towers over me. Shit, has he always been this big, this tall, this huge? Enough for his shoulders to block out the sight of everything else.
His rakes his gaze over my face and a flash of heat trails down my spine. He leans in close enough for the tips of his shoes to brush my stilettos, then bends his head until his face is right above mine. "There's still a chance for you to leave," he mutters. "Still a chance for you to save yourself from me."
"And if I don't?" I whisper. "What if I don’t want that? What if I want everything you can give me?"
"What if you can't take it?" His gaze narrows. "What if I hurt you?"
"Promise me you will?" I allow my lips to curl into a smile and his nostrils flare.
His shoulders flex, and he tucks my hand into his. "I should have known you'll always have an answer." His mouth twists. "What am I going to do with you, Sparks?"
"The same thing that I am going to do with you?" I smile at him. "Love me, hold me, touch me, caress me, fight with me, make up with me, take care of me, never let me go."
"Never." He brings my palm to his lips and kisses my knuckles. "You're stuck with me, Sparks."
"Hey, you guys, shouldn't you get a move on?" Edward jerks his chin toward the room in front of us. "The registrar's waiting."
"I'd rather you marry us." Arpad holds my hand as we approach him. "It's tradition, after all."
