Page 171 of Pandora's Pleasure

“You taste amazing,” he said gruffly, moving up my body and lifting my arms so that he’d pinned me against the bed. “Pandora Godman…it’s got quite a ring to it.”

“Tell me you’ll love me forever, Damien.”

He squeezed his eyes shut for a beat. “I have a confession.”

“Am I going to like it?”

“I married you the day I met you. You were distracted with the hem of your dress, and that glass of champagne you spilt on me, and the canapés you couldn’t seem to get enough of—”

“Hey!”

“Then I brought in the marching band and we had a ceremony right there at your debutante ball, ten seconds after we met. You don’t remember?”

“I thought you hated me back then.”

“I knew then that if I gave my heart to you, I’d never get it back. It scared me.”

“What changed?”

“You stole my heart anyway, Pandora. Like a burst of light that chased away my shadows. You broke down my defenses and proved love always wins.”

He let my wrists go.

Leaning up, I pressed my mouth to his and kissed him leisurely, feeling his lips soften against mine. I cupped his face with affection. “Let’s promise to always be there for each other. No matter what life throws at us.”

“Think of what you and I can achieve together as equals, as husband and wife. Best friends. Lovers. Soul mates. Give me the chance to prove it to you. To stand between you and the world and stop it from ever hurting you again—or at least try. I want to marry you.”

“You’ve already asked me, remember?” I whispered.

“That was the old Pandora. I’m talking to Pandora 2. 0. The woman who altered the course of history.”

“It’s still a yes.” I brushed my fingertips through his hair. “Let’s make this world a better place.”

“You already have,” he whispered, as his lips crushed mine.

And sometimes, I mused, being a little late is still fashionably early.

Especially when making history.