Page 61 of Kinks of a Billionaire
“Do you mean it?” I whispered, so many feelings suffocating me. He nodded while I struggled with my roller coaster of emotions. “Please be sure.” My voice trembled. “I can’t be a footnote in your life, Royce. I want it all.”
His nose brushed against mine, his eyes darkening into a burning coal.
“Willow, I mean every word. I love you and I want to do it all with you. With you and only you.”
My heart ricocheted in my chest as the butterflies in my stomach fluttered wildly. “Oh, Royce, I love you too.”
His hand tightened around my waist. “You do?”
“I never got over you.” Everything about this man was perfect. “It took you sweeping in like Prince Charming for me to understand. To realize it was you all along who held my heart and why I couldn’t find happiness elsewhere.”
Things would have been simpler if I had, but life had a way of working itself out.
A door opened somewhere in the distance, and the thundering of the waterfall drifted through the air, mixing with the melodies of Chopin. It was the reminder we needed—we had a party to get to.
I took a step, my shoe slipping off, but before I could fix it, Royce was down on his knees, sliding the shoe back on my foot.
“Cinderella was always my favorite fairy tale,” I half-teased.
A burst of laughter from the ballroom shattered through the air, and he straightened to his full height.
“Mine too,” he whispered against my ear. “I always wanted my own Cinderella and now I got you.”
The whisper was full of velvet promises, making my nipples tighten into hard, aching points. Blood roared in my ears and drowned out everything else except my heartbeats. We started walking again, my hand back in the crook of Royce’s elbow while an electric current ran through my veins.
“This isn’t the most romantic place to have admitted my love for you,” he remarked wryly, glaring in the direction of the party.
I let out a strangled laugh, unable to suppress the happiness glowing in my chest. “It was perfect.” I let my eyes soften as I spoke that word again.
His heated gaze lingered on me. This was real.Hewas real, and he was all mine. No matter what.
“How did I get so fucking lucky?” There was a roughness to his voice, and I got the sense we were feeling the same emotions.
“I could ask you the same question,” I said with a smile. His mouth skimmed over my cheeks, only to return to the corner of my lips.
“You know, I don’t regret our kiss ten years ago. It’s still the only kiss that’s ever mattered to me.” My eyes widened at his proclamation before a flush rose over my cheeks. “I only regret not making you mine sooner.”
I swallowed past the knot of emotion in my throat as a sudden feeling of apprehension washed over me. I placed a hand over my stomach and said, “What about my baby, Royce? Won’t it bother you that I?—”
Before I could say anything else, he nipped my bottom lip.Hard.
“Ourbaby,” he corrected me. “We’ll raise the baby together.”
“What about Stuart?”
His hand came to cover mine, rubbing affectionately. His soft smile spread through me like honey. “I’ll make sure our baby boy or girl is safe.”
His answer made me giddy, and his willingness to do this for me—with me—sent a current of want through me. Family came in all shapes and sizes, and ours would be no different.
It was pointless to think about Stuart and what Royce did to him—the mere thought had me wincing—but the fact of the matter was that my husband was overprotective, hot-tempered, and vengeful. I’d always loved and accepted those things about him.
“Now, show me to this kinky party, I want to see what it’s all about,” I teased him softly. “And then you can take me back to our boat and show me everything you like.”
Chapter 29
Willow
When we finally made it down the stairs, a butler waited for us with two glasses of champagne. We opted not to take it—I was pregnant and Royce wasn’t a champagne kind of guy.
