Page 112 of Phantasm

“Impressive,” he says.

“I’m only short to you because you’re so tall.” I sound petty, but Darian just chuckles and rubs his brow.

“Are you throwing the painting or not?”

I debate it for a moment. It would be a shame; it’s a pretty one, probably my favorite in this new house. “I like this one,” I say with a sigh.

Darian’s eyes twinkle beneath the chandelier’s soft glow.

“Why don’t we keep this one,” I muse.

As I go to place it down, it slips from my fingers and crashes to the floor by Darian’s feet, splintering on impact.

“Oh shit…” I press my hands over my mouth, staring wide-eyed at the mess, then at Darian, who slowly lifts his gaze. When he raises a dark brow, laughter bubbles up from my chest.

I can’t help it; the look on his face is too funny.

“Oops.” I roll my lips to prevent them from curling.

“Oops?”

“For once, I didn’t mean it.”

Darian inhales deeply. “Looks like I’ll have no choice but to punish you.”

“Oh, please,” I laugh, “like it’s any trouble.”

Now it’s his turn to laugh, the sound dark and husky. He shakes his head and studies me with a smirk so sinfully delicious that heat settles low in my core. “You’re right,” he says with a simple shrug. “It’s my pleasure to chase you down and spank your little pussy.”

He pretends to look around, but I know what’s coming even before he runs up the stairs, making me squeal with excitement. “Where are you going to hide, Mrs. Delacroix? There’s no library here.”

After I throw open the door to our bedroom, I dart inside, but before I can close it, he shoulders through and kicks it shut behind him.

I stop dead in my tracks, staring at the countless red roses covering every surface. And bat flowers—so many ugly little alien flowers amidst the red petals.

His warm chest lines up with my back, and he shifts my hair aside to place a tender kiss on my shoulder. “Have I ever told you that you’re the light of my life?”

“Darian,” I whisper, my voice trembling.

As I turn around, I gasp at the sight of Darian kneeling with a ring box in his hand. The most beautiful diamond ring I’ve ever seen sparkles up at me, and his eyes hold a vulnerable, boyish look.

“Mrs. Delacroix,” he says, “I never gave you the proposal you deserved. When we first met, you married me because you had no choice. I want to give you that choice.”

He swallows hard, looking up at me with such hope that my heart speeds up. “I love you. I love you with every heartbeat, every breath, and every smile you bring to my lips. There is no other woman like you, and I should’ve known the first time I saw you polishing glasses that you were going to bulldoze your way into my life and make me feel things I never thought possible. You fought for me when I didn’t deserve it and loved me in a dark place where no one had reached me.”

“Oh, Darian,” I whisper as I wipe my wet cheeks, but more tears fall.

“I don’t regret stealing your freedom, not when it brought you to me,” he says. “But I regret not giving you the wedding you deserve, the flowers, the dress, the celebration. You deserve each and every dream of yours to come true, and if you let me, I will give you them all, no matter how big or small. There are no limits to your happiness. I never offered you a choice to pick me when we met, but I’m begging you now. Pick me, Mrs. Delacroix. Choose me. Will you be my forever? My wife? My best friend and my lover?”

Chewing on my lip, I consider his words. “So if I decide to walk away, you’ll let me?”

His throat jumps on a thick swallow. “Yes.”

“You’re giving me a choice, Darian Delacroix?”

A muscle clenches in his cheek as fear creeps into his eyes, but he nods once. “Yes, baby, I want you to be happy. I’ve never let you have your freedom before, and I can’t live with myself if you’re here because you’re caged. So if you want to walk away, I won’t stop you.”

My eyes drop from his sincere gaze to the ring, and tears trail down my cheeks as I sift my fingers through his soft, dark hair. “I don’t feel caged, Darian. If anything, you set me free.”