"Dance with me." I take his hand and pull him toward the dance floor. "The song is about to change, and I want to dance with you."
He lets me lead him out onto the floor, and the music shifts to something slow and romantic. Couples pair off around us, swaying to the music, and Rafe wraps his arms around my waist. I rest my head against his chest and close my eyes, letting the rhythm carry us.
"You're drunk," he says quietly.
"So? I'm in your arms, so I'm safe."
"What you told Detective Hargrove might be dangerous." He places a kiss to the crown of my head.
"I told him I'm the dangerous one." I smile salaciously and lift my chin up and rest it on his breastbone.
He chuckles, and I feel the vibration of it against my neck. "You're definitely dangerous, just not in the way he thinks."
We sway together for a moment, and then Rafe pulls back slightly. He reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls out a small velvet box tied with a white ribbon.
"I have something for you," he says.
I look at the box, and my heart starts to pound. "What is it?"
"Open it and find out."
I take the box from his hands and untie the ribbon, my fingers fumbling slightly. I expect earrings, maybe a necklace to match the silver snowflake bracelet he gave me before. But when I open the box, I see a ring.
An engagement ring.
The diamond catches the light from the disco ball overhead, and I stare at it with my breath caught in my throat. It's beautiful. Simple and elegant, with a single stone set in a platinum band.
"Rafe," I whisper.
He takes the box from my hands and pulls the ring out, then drops to one knee right there in the middle of the dance floor. The couples around us stop dancing, and I hear someone gasp.
"Riley Maddox," he says in such a steady voice it almost makes me whimper, "I'm going to marry you. You're the only person I've ever met who sees me for who I really am and chooses to stay anyway. You're the only person who's ever made me believe I deserve something good. And I'm not letting you go."
Tears are streaming down my face now, and I can barely see him through the blur. "Rafe?—"
"Marrying me will permanently change your life. You'll have the protection of my entire family. I know I'm not offering you a normal life. But I'm offering you everything I have. Everything I am. And I need to know if that's enough."
I stare down at him, this man who kidnapped me and threatened me and turned my life upside down, and I'm too in love to pullout now. I've been too in love since the moment I stood in that driveway with car keys in my hand and chose to go back inside.
"Yes," I say boldly. "Yes, I'll marry you."
He slides the ring onto my finger, and it fits perfectly. Then he stands and pulls me into his arms, kissing me in front of everyone. The crowd around us erupts in applause and cheers, and I hear my sister whistling somewhere in the background.
When we finally break apart, I'm breathless and dizzy and happier than I've ever been in my life.
"There's one condition," I say, looking up at him.
"What's that?"
"You keep doing the Christmas toy drive every year. I don't care if it's cover for your weapons shipments. I don't care if it's dangerous or complicated or risky. Those kids deserve to have the Christmas you never had. And if we're doing this, if I'm really going to be your wife, then that's non-negotiable." I stand there with a grin, already imagining expanding that act of kindness into something that will revolutionize his entire world.
He stares at me for a long moment, and I see something shift in his expression. Surprise, maybe. Or gratitude.
"Deal," he says quietly. "Every year… I promise."
"Then I'm yours. Ride or die."
"Ride or die," he repeats, and he kisses me through my massive smile.
