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Tears dripped from her eyes as the words poured out of him. ‘And I love you, my king. With every one of those breaths. For ever.’
EPILOGUE
Eighteen months later
AZAR WALKED INTOtheir suite, then stopped dead at the sight of his wife…wearing her wedding dress. It took a second for him to clock the fat candles dotted around the room, and another nanosecond to take in the various flower arrangements giving off pleasant fragrances, the bucket of champagne and what looked like a platter of food from her favourite French Japanese restaurant.
Then his gaze was back to her, answering the siren call he never wanted to resist.
‘What’s this?’ he rasped, crossing the room to where she stood, her hands tucked innocently behind her and her head wantonly tossed back, watching his every move.
As always, knowing he was her sole focus caused a thrilling and exhilarating kick to his chest, and the roar in his ears announced loudly that he was alive. And loved by this woman he loved back more than life itself.
Her smooth skin gleamed in the flickering candlelight and his fingers itched to touch. To taste. To worship.
‘I thought we could enact a different ending to our wedding night.’
Regret stabbed him deep, for letting fear get in the way of what should have been the start of this profound, meaningful life he’d found with her.
So of course he nodded enthusiastically, without a single reservation. ‘What do you need from me,mi corazón? Shall I carry you over the threshold?’
She mused on that for a second, then shook her head. ‘I can do without that, thank you. Besides, you’ve done a different version of that already, remember?’ She laughed.
The video footage of him walking out of the palace media room with his queen in his arms had been played several billion times. It had even acquired its own meme, and was the most searched for video clip in the world. Cartana had been awarded the title of ‘most romantic destination of the world’, and once Azar had agreed to open up his private cave to the public it had become the most popular venue for marriage proposals. Eden had once been filmed feeding him chocolate in a hot air balloon, and immediately gained another two million followers for the official palace social media platforms.
‘Do you wish to eat your favourite meal off my body, then have your way with me?’ he asked hopefully.
Her head tilted, her smile widening. ‘While both of those things are highly tempting, I don’t want our bed to smell of sushi.’
‘Tell me why you’re wearing your wedding dress again, then, my love?’
‘Because I just saw the doctor. In a few months I won’t fit into it, so I wanted to do this now.’
The roaring in his ears made his heart shake, but the soaring in his blood told him he’d heard her right.
‘Dios…another baby?’ he rasped. His chest felt tight. Ready to explode with love for this incredible woman.
She held out her arms and he rushed into them. It was the only place he wanted to be.
‘Sí, mi rey.You’re to be the father of twins in a little over seven months.’
Azar hadn’t quite got over how quickly she’d learned his language. And how much it touched his heart…and other places in his body…when she spoke in his tongue.
He fell to knees now, this extra blessing finally flooring him. ‘Twins?’
She nodded, her ecstatic smile taking his breath away.
‘Are you happy?’ she asked.
He swallowed. ‘More than I ever imagined. More than I ever expected. You’re a miracle and I’m so blessed.’
‘Then get up, my love. Let’s repeat our vows, and then you can show me how much you love me.’
He did so—eagerly.
And in the aftermath, so replete he didn’t think he could move, he combed his fingers through her hair. ‘What are you thinking,mi amor? I asked you that the first time, do you remember?’
‘I remember.’
He smiled. ‘You hedged a little, then, didn’t you?’
She nodded. ‘I had to. I was terrified by how you’d made me feel.’
His nostrils flared. ‘Tell me now. What were you thinking?’
‘I was thinking how much I wanted you to be mine. How much I wanted to belong to you. Always.’
‘Tesoro…I was yours then. I just didn’t know it and hadn’t accepted it. But my heart knew. It remained empty, hungering. Desperate to find you again. And it did. So I’m yours. Today. Tomorrow. Always.’
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