Page 56 of From London, With Love
“Good lord,” he rasped, clapping a hand to his chest and looking down in surprise. “What happened? Why do I feel… like someone’s cut me from… chin to navel?”
Perhaps because someone almost had. She hadn’t been able to watch as Obsidian used a razor-sharp scalpel to slice into the sac of air that was crushing Gideon’s lungs.
“Why?” she whispered. “Why did you do that?”
“Do what?”
“Push me aside so you—”
She couldn’t say it.
Gideon collapsed back against the pillow as he gave a breathless laugh. “Because I would rather take a thousand bullets than see you catch… even one. I would die for you, Alexa. I would be your shield when you have none. Always. Forever. No matter what may come.”
Not “my queen,” but “Alexa.” Because she would always be a woman first in his eyes, and not a monarch.
The tears caught her by surprise.
Queens didn’t have the luxury of crying. But though she caught the sob between her teeth, she could feel a tear sliding down her cheek.
No other man had ever been as true to her.
And the realization speared through her: she would love him. Always. Forever. And if she couldn’t have him, then she would take no one else as husband.
Curse Malloryn. He would simply have to deal with her decision.
The queen’s tears cleared as she leaned over Sir Gideon’s bed and pressed her lips to his. “I will marry no other man than you,” she whispered.
“Alexa!”
“No,” she said firmly. “I love you. And with you by my side, we will be unstoppable. There is nothing I cannot handle with you in my life. And that is what a queen needs. A husband who is both stalwart and true. A husband who will not fear to tell her when she is wrong. A husband who will love her to the end of his days. A husband who is her very dearest friend.”
Gideon tried to sit up. “Is this a marriage proposal? Or my queen’s orders?”
“Both.” Then she swallowed. “Unless you do not wish to marry me.”
Gideon’s thumb stroked the back of her hand. “I did not dare dream of such a thing. Nothing has changed, Alexa. I am still… unworthy.”
“You were never unworthy,” she said fiercely. “And we have changed this entire damned country. Why can we not change this one thing?”
He shook his head. “Malloryn is going to have an apoplectic fit.”
Her heart skipped a beat. “Is that a yes?”
Again, he squeezed her hand. Then swallowed. “Yes. Yes. A thousand times yes. Though I fear I am being selfish.”
“Never.” A cry of relief escaped her, and she fell forward, resting her forehead on his shoulder. “I need you by my side. And Malloryn is simply going to have to deal with the fact that he does not control everything.”
Gideon captured her hand. “Please tell me I can be there when you announce it.”
Alexa kissed his cheek. “I promise.”
Chapter 15
It was Byrnes and Kincaid who brought the crucial piece of information to him. Malloryn looked up from his desk, noticing the grins on both their faces. “Yes?”
“Who are your best agents?” Byrnes asked.
“Your favorite agents?” Kincaid added.
