Sinful Love (Sinful Nights #4)(87)

“I know.” She ran her finger across his hand.

“And then you…you finished it,” he added, wonder in his voice.

She winced, her face squeezing as if in pain.

“Are you okay?”

She nodded. “Yes. Just processing it all still. But I’m more than okay.”

“Wow.” He shook his head, trying to make sense of everything. “You killed the man who tried to rip my family apart.”

She nodded, tears slipping from her eyes. “You’re the first man I loved, and the last man I’ll ever love. I wasn’t going to let anyone take you away from me.”

Even though it hurt, even though he wasn’t supposed to move, he lifted his arms, reached for her face, and held it in his palms. “I’d die to save you,” he whispered softly, reverently.

With fierce eyes and a strong voice, she answered, “I wouldn’t let you. Because I’d kill to protect you, and to protect us. I’ve got plans. I’m planning on loving you for a long, long time.”

As she pressed her soft lips to his once more, he felt her love deep in his bones, all the way to his soul.

Love had once been an all-or-nothing thing to him, but with her, love was more than all. Deep and intense, it echoed across time, reverberating to the past, soaring to the future, and, vibrant and bright, love lived in the here and now.





CHAPTER FIFTY


Michael leaned against the bar, drinking a scotch and surveying the scene. The waterfalls at Mandalay Bay hummed, splashing down gently along the rocks, while a man at the black baby grand piano played Billie Holiday. The man was Sophie’s ex-husband, who was still one of her closest friends, and Michael thought it was pretty damn cool that the guy was at her wedding.

What was also fantastic was that the piano player was just a piano player, not a camouflaged front man for crime.

Well, at least Michael was as sure as he could be that Holden was one of the good guys. Everyone here was, even Sanders, who was grabbing an appetizer from a waiter. He handed it to Becky, and she nibbled on it with a smile as he brushed a kiss to her cheek.

Michael turned to Colin, who nursed a Diet Coke next to him at the bar. “Think you’ll be next down the aisle?”

His brother shrugged, but he had a sheepish look in his brown eyes. Michael stared at him. “That seems like a yes.”

Colin laughed and set down his drink. “Maybe,” he said evasively.

“C’mon,” Michael teased. “I got myself shot. The least you could do is get married.”

Colin frowned. “Wait. What does you getting shot have to do with me getting married?”

It was Michael’s turn to laugh. “Nothing whatsoever. I just like milking this for all it’s worth,” he said, tapping his chest where the bullet had gotten acquainted with his body one fine day a month ago.

“Bastard,” Colin muttered with a smile, as they scanned the crowd once more. Over in the corner, John snagged what looked like tuna sashimi on a fancy potato chip from a waiter’s tray. He pretended to feed it to Mindy and then stuffed it in his own mouth as she laughed. Nearby, Ryan and Sophie chatted with a group of his hockey buddies from the league he played in. Sophie looked stunning, and Michael had no clue what kind of dress it was or anything like that, but she seemed like a 50s movie star, all Marilyn Monroe and radiant, while Ryan looked like the happiest guy on earth.

Nearby, Annalise snapped a photo of them. She’d taken the official wedding photos, and was also shooting candids throughout the day, from Sophie getting ready, to her arriving at the hotel, to the reception.

Michael nudged Colin with his elbow. “Seriously, though. Are you thinking about asking Elle? Or are you happy with how things are?”

“I’m happy with how things are, but I wouldn’t mind marrying her, either.”

“Is that so?”

Colin’s eyes widened when he realized Elle had just appeared by his side. Michael cracked up. He hadn’t seen her coming, either.

Colin pulled her into an embrace. “I meant it in a good way.”

She swatted his chest. “You better have meant it in a good way.”

“Fine,” Colin said. “Wanna marry me?”

Elle laughed, tossing her head back, her long hair spilling down her back. “Nice way to ask a girl.”

“Well, would you say yes if I asked you?”

She narrowed her eyes. “You’ll have to ask and find out.”

Colin pressed a kiss to Elle’s neck, then turned to Michael. “Thanks for getting me in trouble,” he said.

“That hardly looks like trouble to me.”

“Want me to go ask Annalise if she’ll marry you?”

Michael gestured in the direction of the woman who’d saved his life, in more ways than one. “Be my guest.”

He had no worries in that area. Maybe they’d get married. Maybe they wouldn’t. But he didn’t need a ring or a piece of paper to know she was his forever. He had the confidence in his heart, and the faith that he’d always find a way to take care of her, and give her everything she’d want and anything she’d need. “But hey, maybe our little bro will be next.”

Michael cast his gaze to Marcus, who cleaned up well. The kid wore a gray suit and a tie and had brought along a date—a dancer named Cassidy, who worked for Shannon’s Shay Productions. Marcus was heading back to Florida to go to school there, so this date might be a one-time thing, but judging from the way he looked at her, held her hand, and listened when she talked, maybe it would be more.