Page 27 of Savage Promises (Quinlan Empire #2)

Lennox

T he room spins as I look out at this proposal celebration I put together. But the champagne bubbles in the glasses have all fizzled out. My throat feels tight, and I can’t form a single word.

Did Shane just propose to me ?

My gaze darts to my father and Neve in the corner.

Her shoulders are hunched as my father scolds her, his finger pointed like a dagger.

Her cheeks are wet, her eyes are red, and her lips tremble like I’ve never seen before.

I can’t make out what he’s saying, but I’ve been the focus of his anger and can guess the salty language he’s using.

Neve was sleeping with her coach? Did I catch that part correctly? And what were those photos in Shane’s hands he waved around and wouldn’t show my father? Oh, God. Shane caught them and had dirty pictures as proof.

I can’t say I’m shocked. So much makes sense now. I wasn’t crazy. I wasn’t imagining things. I wasn’t paranoid.

Only, this truth didn’t set anyone free.

It locked me in a cage!

Shane is calm, too calm. That hardened professional mask is back on his face. He leans in, his lips grazing the shell of my ear as he whispers, “You’re up, baby.”

He pulls out a black velvet box from his suit jacket pocket and opens it, revealing a ring.

Only, it’s not the one I picked out for Neve.

It’s something else entirely. It’s a massive oval cut stone that is so clear it doesn’t look real.

A row of equally stunning blue diamonds goes from the band to the top of the stone with the same design to the bottom, creating an open feel. It’s breathtakingly beautiful .

“Lennox,” Shane says, his voice softer than I would expect from a man who must be furious. “I returned the rings for Neve and bought you this one. It costs three times as much, but you’re worth ten times what she is. Twenty. No, a hundred times.”

“I get it,” I stop him from speaking. My heart pounds, my head spinning. “Shane, what’s going on?” I whisper, desperate for answers.

He chuckles softly, low and intimate, as if we’re the only two people in the room. “I’m asking you to marry me. I agreed to marry a Donnelly to keep the empire’s Irish bloodline pure. I’m asking the woman I want to marry me.”

I glance around the room. His brothers stand off to the side and the enforcer team they travel with.

A few of my staff I asked to help serve look stunned, whispers rippling through the crowd like waves.

I see the disbelief and shock in their faces.

Mara hasn’t stopped blinking like she’s having a stroke.

I’m shocked more than anyone. I put this party together, not realizing I would be the one proposed to!

Shane’s eyes stay locked on mine, unyielding and sure. His confidence is dizzying. I take a shaky breath, feeling as though I’m caught in a dream.

The woman I want.

Me. Shane wants to marry me. Do I want to marry him?

“Yes,” I whisper to myself, the word barely audible.

And my self-admission just locked me into a marriage deal.

“Took you long enough, baby.” He slides the perfectly fitted ring onto my finger, every inch claiming me completely. “Took us long enough.”

“Is this really happening?” I glance up at his eyes.

“It really is.” Shane presses a soft kiss on my forehead. His warm lips linger on my skin, and his cologne has me wrapped up in knots. “You’re fucking mine.”

“To uniting the empire,” Griffin boasts, lifting a champagne flute, stopping Shane and me from getting right to the honeymoon.

Holy crap, I’m getting married to Shane Quinlan. Next week.

My father and Neve have joined the group.

He raises his glass, nudging Neve to do the same.

Her eyes take in the VIP area, and all the pretty details I put together to make this night special for her.

I suspect she realizes that she might have enjoyed the fuss and attention, but now it’s all been ripped away from her.

And the spotlight is on me.

“We need to talk,” I whisper to Shane.

He threads his fingers with mine, tightly bound in a way that suggests he’ll never let me go. “Give me five minutes, baby.” He sips champagne and takes congrats from Connor and his cousins.

I look around. “Where’s your mother? Your sister?”

Shane clears his throat. “I told them not to come at the last minute.”

My heart falls into my stomach. “They wouldn’t approve? Of me?”

Shane whispers harshly, “I didn’t want my mother or my sister to witness the disgrace your sister made of me.”

I exhale sharply. “Oh. Right. I’m sorry.”

“No.” He grips my chin. “This is not your fault. We’ll go see my mother tomorrow.”

“Does she know you changed your mind? That you picked me?”

“Aye,” he says, smiling. “She’s thrilled.”

My shoulders fall from their high tense hold. “I’m so glad.”

“Me, too.” He puts his arm around me .

The celebration continues, although the atmosphere is heavy with tension and confusion. The servers start to cut the cake, and I gasp, realizing it still says Neve. Only when I get there, it doesn’t. Someone replaced my sister’s name with my own!

I glance around to pinpoint what insider on my staff is already working for Shane. Mara shoves a piece of cake in my hand with a wink, outing herself.

Congrats , she mouths.

Thanks , I mouth back.

I think.

But with my stomach in knots, I can’t eat.

“Can we please talk now?” I put down the cake and take Shane’s hand.

“Aye.” Shane steers me away, keeping our hands locked.

We walk right past Neve, who sulks in a chair, staring at the fiancé she made clear she did not want.

Shane shifts his hand to my ass as he whisks me away to my office. When I click the door shut, he’s behind me, his hands caging me against the door.

“See, you got what you wanted.” He nuzzles the back of my neck.

Damn, that feels so good. But is this real?

“What did I want?” I ask playfully.

“That night in the villa. You got drunk and crawled into my lap with a wet pussy for me. I’ll never fucking forget that. Now you’re mine.” He exhales, his warm breath fanning my ear. “You can ride me with this amazing body every night. I’m yours, Lennox.”

I swallow, my core tightening. “But how? What happened with Neve?”

“I guess we have to get this out of the way.” He releases me and I turn to step farther into the office.

“But after this conversation, I don’t want to hear her name again.

I’m marrying you . You are going to be my wife.

” He runs a hand through his hair, the first sign of unease all night.

“I suspected Neve was in a relationship with her volleyball coach. I hired a PI to confirm it.”

My throat tightens. “God, Neve!”

Shane’s expression hardens. “She’s been seeing him for months. She didn’t want this marriage any more than I did. But I wouldn’t have...”

“But you did... Kind of. With me. You kissed me. You made me come.”

His eyes take a leisurely stroll over my curves and a rough, sexy growl erupts from his chest. “I guess I got what I deserved. And I deserve you, Lennox. I want you. God, how I want you, every last bit of you.”

His admission makes me swoon. I squeeze my eyes shut and clutch my chest, needing to share the looming concern that overshadows my happiness.

“I’m worried, Shane,” I admit. “My father will punish Neve for her betrayal.”

“Griffin is talking to him right now,” Shane says, his tone matter-of-fact.

“Making it clear that Garrett is to hold up his end of the bargain. I’ll make sure Neve gets into the school she wants.

She can join the Olympics for all I care.

” His voice softens as he steps closer. “You are my priority. In one week, you’ll be my wife. ”

I stare at him, my heart pounding in my chest. This isn’t how I imagined my life, but something in Shane’s eyes pulls me in, steady and unwavering.

“And Lennox... I intend for us to have a very sexually gratifying marriage.”