Page 160 of Wicked Empire (Knight's Ridge Empire 3)

“I’ve got something for you,” he confesses.

“Oh?”

Reaching into his pants pocket, he pulls out a box.

“Uh… you do know it’s not Christmas, right?”

He laughs at me. “Yeah, Princess. I’m aware. Just wanted to show you how thankful I am for you.”

I swoon so fucking hard it almost hurts.

“Open it.”

A wide smile spreads across my face as I rip the silver paper from the small gift and find a black jewelry box inside.

My heart damn near stops in my chest, and my wide eyes meet his.

“Uh… n-no, it’s not what you’re thinking. But I’m glad I know where you stand on that,” he jokes.

We haven’t talked about the future. We spent so long fighting to ensure we even have one that we’ve just been living in the moment.

“I do… I mean, I want that… o-one day… I—”

“Stella, it’s okay. I was joking. We’re too young for all that shit.” I breathe a sigh of relief. It’s not that I don’t want to marry him. I just… I want a chance to settle into life with him. I want to just be us without constantly looking over our shoulders. “I will ask one day, though. Because this,” he says, wrapping his hand around the back of my neck. “It’s a done deal.”

“Oh yeah?” I ask with a smirk.

“Yep. I wrote my name on you, so you’re mine now.”

“Oh my God,” I laugh.

“What? It’s true.”

Shaking my head, I focus back on my gift and flip the lid.

Sucking in a breath, I stare down at the necklace before me.

“Seb,” I breathe. “It’s…” I can’t help but laugh. “Perfect.”

“I thought so,” he states proudly.

Lifting one hand, I run my fingertip over one of the delicate chains and down to the first charm. A platinum heart with a black diamond in the center.

“Only you would get me a black heart,” I joke.

“Because I know you better than anyone else.”

I nod, silently agreeing with him as I move down the longer chain to the second charm.

It’s a dagger. Well, no, not just a dagger—a pink diamond-encrusted dagger mimicking my own.”

“I love it.”

“Can I?” he asks, taking the box from me and pulling the necklace out.

Lifting my hair from my shoulders, I allow him to place it around my neck.

The heart falls right on my breastbone while the dagger hangs teasingly in my cleavage.