Page 150 of Preacher Man

He laughed lightly. “Yeah, we are. We were a thing the moment your eyes met mine and we got on the same page, beautiful. Do you doubt it?”

She answered instantly, her eyes dipping away from his. “No. But this is huge, fucking life changing huge. Marriage isn’t the same as fixing a car for someone.”

She was incredibly cute. And the ring he’d had in his jeans pocket was burning a fucking hole for the last two days. He fished it out and held it up, the couple diamonds catching in the sunlight streaming in from the big window.

“Yep. I got that, baby. It’s a commitment I want to take.” He knew he should say something fucking romantic, talk about love and life and forever. He was a dumbass, and proof he sucked at offering a woman more than a night together. “This will help get the kid. We’ll fix up the room upstairs for him, let the CPS see we have a home here for him.”

“You want me to move in?” Her voice squeaked, she seemed more surprised about that than the ring she was gazing at.

“It’s kinda a package deal. Marriage and living together might be weird as fuck if we live apart.” Lips twitched. “What do you say?”

“It’s for Seb? Like a convenience thing?”

And for us. For me. “Yeah, beautiful. The boy needs some good in his short life, you’re the good he needs. I want to help you.”

“Oh…” She chewed on her lip, looked at him, looked at the ring, her eyes came back up and held his “Maybe after everything was settled we could just get a quickie divorce? I mean then you're not stuck with this for like forever...” Either her declaration or the way her butt shifted slightly to the left on his lap had his brain fucking exploding. He swallowed his immediatefuck no. He wanted Ruby. With every fucked-up part of himself, he wanted her, but she had to want him back, he wouldn’t force it on her, she’d come to that conclusion or she wouldn’t. Either way, he’d help her with the kid. He was already invested in Seb.

“If that’s what you want. So, it’s a yes?”

“Are you sure?” Another ass-wriggle, he clamped his free arm around her waist, or his cock would tunnel out of his pants and do the persuading for him.

“I’m the one holding a diamond, beautiful.”

“It’s gorgeous.” She smiled and touched a fingertip to it, gliding it over the glass and white gold band. Before she could say no he slid it on her finger. Perfect fit. There was no amount of noise in Preacher’s head, only this time it was the good kind, the nervous kind. His feet didn’t even itch to run.

This felt right. Even though he was fucking it up, doing it for another reason, wanting to marry Ruby was just small details in the grand scheme of, he fucking wanted her, needed her, but bigger than that, he did want to help, he realized pretty damn quick that first time seeing the kid he’d do anything he could to see him living with Ruby.

That meant living with him, too.

Shit. He’d be living with a kid.

He’d be dad material. Shane was laughing his ass off wherever he was.

Fuck. Fuck. Holy shit. If anything could make his brain blast apart for real it was the thought of being responsible for another human being, the man who had insisted no kids for him, ever, was turning his life upside to get a kid.

Those tables had not only turned, they’d flipped the hell over.

He found himself smiling. Really smiling, when he'd internally calmed down.

She was the reason. She was his reason. Leaning in he laid his lips on hers gently, felt hers tremble, he stroked the back of her neck, holding her firm and gentle, as he knew she would, she mewled against his mouth.

“I need a yes, Ruby.”

“Firstly. I’m not saying no, Asher,” she announced, a slight crack in her voice, her eyes had turned serious. “But before I give you an answer, you should know something. It’s not actually relevant to this situation, maybe, I don’t know. But in the face of full disclosure if we’re going to do this, I want to you to know, no secrets between us.”

Okay. Maybe he wouldn’t tell her of the men he’d killed before, but he could agree to that. It seemed a very marriage-thing to do. This adult shit was easy.

He smiled “Are you going to confess you’re really a man? Because I know my little darling, and she’s all pouty-female down there.” Ruby laughed, the first one he’d heard all week.

“If only.” Moving off his lap she sat at his side, her legs curled up under her butt. “Do you remember last year, that night at the bar, you held a door open for me, and I bit your head off?”

“I’m not likely to forget. I eye-fucked you all night.”

“I know.” Her smile was gentle. The dark circles under her eyes making her no less stunning to Preacher. He caught her hand, held it in his, brushed his thumb against her knuckle. “I did a little of my own. But what I want to tell you is the reason behind why I was such a bitch to you that night, why I was standoffish after that. Then you’ll know every part of me, dysfunctional family business and all. And then you can ask me again if you still want to marry me. To help me get Sebastian.” She rushed on to add.

Preacher frowned again. Suddenly the air had changed between them, it swirled cold and dark like he was missing a piece of a puzzle he didn’t know he was playing with and Ruby was about to reveal that piece. He didn't know where it came from because he didn't fear much, but he had the queasy sense he wanted to tell her not to say whatever it was, not to have it between them. He bit his tongue and let her go on. But she had to know first.

“Marrying me is all up to you, Ruby. Whatever you have to tell me, the offer is there, say yes now, and then tell me, it’s no reflection on what you have to share, I promise you that.”