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We’re alive.

We’re each other’s.

That’s the only truth that will ever matter to me again.

EPILOGUE

KONSTANTIN

We make it back to Miami by afternoon, exhausted, hurt, sunburned—and happier than either of us has ever been. I take Valentina back to the penthouse, where we shower and fall into bed, too tired to do more than sleep. When she wakes, it’s evening the next day, and I sit up in the bed next to her, taking something out of the drawer beside me.

Valentina’s eyes open a little wider. “What’s that?” she asks groggily, sitting up as the sheet falls around her hips, leaving the top half of her body bare. My cock reacts instantly, and I grin at her, holding the box out.

“I was planning to give it to you anyway, but topless like that… well, there’s no doubt in my mind now.”

She narrows her eyes at me, and I flip open the box. I had it delivered while she slept, ready to give it to her the moment she woke up. The second she sees it, her eyes go wide.

“Konstantin,” she breathes. “You didn’t?—”

Nestled in the box is a round emerald, flanked by salt-and-pepper diamonds in the shape of leaves, on a gold band.Valentina’s mouth drops open, and she leans forward, staring at it.

“I know we’re married already,” I say softly. “And I know we said our own sort of vows on the beach, after we escaped. But I never bought you a ring. If you’ll accept it… if you’ll marry me again, if you’ll be my wife in truth now… I would be the luckiest man in the world. And I’ll spend my life not walking in front of you, but beside you, Valentina. I’ll have your back, if you’ll have mine.”

She looks up at me, her eyes sparkling with tears. For the first time, I see one slide down her cheek—the first time I’ve ever seen her cry, not out of sadness, but out of joy.

I feel something crack open in my chest as I slip the ring out of the box, and she holds her hand out.

“Yes, Konstantin,” she whispers. “Yes. Of course…yes.”

I slide the ring onto her finger, toppling her back onto the bed as I kiss her, devouring her mouth with mine as I throw the blankets back. I’m already hard for her, already needing her again, and I nudge her legs apart, moving down her body as she arches up for me, eager for my mouth.

She’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever tasted. She’s the most dangerous thing I’ve ever known.

And she’s all mine.

—

The next evening,we stand on the beach just below my penthouse, watching the sunset paint the sky in shades of gold and rose. The same ocean stretches before me, endless and constant, but everything else has changed.

Valentina stands across from me, wearing a simple gown of ivory silk, backless with thin straps crisscrossing over hershoulders, barefoot in the sand. I’m wearing a white linen button-down and chinos, both of us casual, standing with no one but the two of us as the sun sets on the horizon.

“You’re breathtaking,” I whisper to her, and she smiles, her cheeks flushing.

“So are you,” she says with a soft laugh, stepping closer to me as my hands wrap around hers. “Are you sure you didn’t want another wedding? With your family, at the church?—”

“We already had that.” I look at her, savoring the sight of her in front of me, something I was so close to losing for good. “They’d have too many questions, anyway.” I’ve never told my father what Valentina was meant to do, or who she was working for. Kane’s disappearance is, for now, still unexplained, his body gone in the fire that consumed the compound. If a story needs to be developed, I’ll come up with one, but right now what matters to me is that my father is none the wiser.

In time, I hope he’ll come around to my ideas. If not, in time, I’ll find a way to make them happen all the same, with my wife at my side, a woman who believes in me. Who is my match, my equal, in every way.

“Are you ready?” I ask her quietly, and she nods.

“I promise,” I begin, my thumb sliding over the back of her hand as I speak, “to never lie to you, Valentina. To always tell you the truth, and to always love you as you are. To protect you when you need it, and to let you protect me when I do. To trust you, and to provide for you, to be your husband in all ways, and to love you until my last breath… and beyond, if I can.” I look at her, my chest tightening. “I promise to love every part of you, every form, every person you become. I promise to be yours, now and always.”

I see her eyes glittering, gleaming with tears in the setting sun. “I promise,” she whispers, “to always be truthful with you, Konstantin. To tell you the truth in all things, no matter whatthey might be. To love you, and to stand beside you, to trust you and let you protect me, as I protect you. To be your wife, to support you, and to love you until my last breath… you, and no one else, forever.”

I let go of one of her hands, reaching up to cup her face in the dying light, my thumb brushing over her lower lip. “I promise to build a future with you, Valentina, where you never have to hide who you are. Where we love each other, regardless of what we’ve done. Will you build that future with me?”

“I will,” she breathes, and as she leans up, I press my lips to hers. I hear the lap of the waves and the cries of the birds as the night darkens around us, wrapping us up, embracing us as I kiss my wife.