Page 204 of The Vigilante's Lover

“Is that your plan right now?” I ask.

“Maybe.”

With lightning reflexes, he whips the shirt over my head and nuzzles into my neck. “You make me crazy running around without a bra.” He leans down and captures a tightened nipple with his teeth.

I fall back into the undulating grass. His dark head roves over my body, nipping with little kisses. One thing is for certain, no matter how long we’re together, this part never gets old.

The sun is just a glimmer of red by the time we slip back into our clothes.

I roll onto my back, and something presses into my spine, small and hard. I sit up. It’s a small box wrapped in parchment.

“Was this your delivery?” I ask, holding it up.

The last vestiges of sunset burnish his skin in red gold. “It’s for you.”

My heart speeds up a little. It’s awfully small. Ring-box size. Maybe it’s some other piece of jewelry.

I tear away the brown paper, revealing a black velvet box.

I take a deep breath.

Jax covers my hand with his before I open it. “Just know that I’m behind you, whatever you decide to do. Vigilante or not. Service or home. Stateside or here.” He turns the box on my palm and lifts the lid.

It’s a ring.

The diamond is square and so big it seems to fill the space. I look up from it, at his pleased, happy face.

“I’ll go wherever you go,” he says, “as long as you’ll say you’ll marry me.”

My gaze slides back down to the ring. I want this. I know I do. I love him. I know that too. But the restlessness still vibrates within me. How do I know Jax means it? How does he know himself?

His Blackphone buzzes in his pocket. He ignores it, but it keepsgoing, breaking the spell.

“Check it,” I say.

He nods and pulls it out. “It’s Sam,” he says. He hits the button for speakerphone.

“Hello, Sam,” I say. “How are things in D.C.?”

“Crazy shitpots,” he says. “You had enough mountains and lakes yet? I got the perfect job for a new Phase Two.”

I look back down at the ring. I know we’re going to get to that place eventually. I know I want it. But I also want to know for sure that we’ve figured out the rest of it. Our careers. Our lives.

“Sam, we’re getting on a plane,” I say. “See you stateside sometime tomorrow.”

“Excellent,” he says. “Only bring that deadbeat boyfriend of yours if you can’t figure out anywhere to stash his body.”

Jax lifts his eyebrows. “She knows exactly where to stash me.”

“Aw, man! Now I have to scrub my ears with soap,” Sam laughs. “Over and out, kids.” The call disconnects.

Jax takes the box from me. “Is this a no, then?” His voice has an edge to it, like he’s masking his feelings.

“I want to marry you,” I assure him. But I close the box in his hand. “Can you ask me again after my first real Vigilante mission?”

He holds my gaze in his, then leans in to settle a soft, warm kiss on my mouth. “Of course I can. I’ll wait all my life.”

The sun disappears behind the mountains as we stand up and head back to the chateau. I take a look around at the shadows forming on the hillside as we approach full dark. I won’t be here to see if my watermelon seeds manage to sprout.

But I’m doing the right thing.

I take Jax’s hand and pull him along with me. He dragged me into this world of Vigilantes, danger, risk, and intrigue. He tied me up and stripped me down and thrust me right into the middle of it all.

So I’m going to drag him right back.