“Marry me, Elena. I’m never letting you go, but I want you to choose me every damn day. For the rest of our lives.”
I nodded so fast my vision blurred, more happy tears stinging before I could blink them back. “Yes. Absolutely, yes.”
His mouth crashed into mine at the same moment he lifted me off the floor, my legs wrapping around his waist on instinct. I was laughing, crying, and kissing him all at once, repeating my answer against his lips, needing him to feel how sure I was
When he finally set me down, his hands shook just a little as he slid the ring onto my finger. I stared at the dark stone that somehow felt more me than anything I’d ever worn, and my throat tightened.
As if he could read the shift in my expression, Reeve’s brows drew together. “Baby, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” I choked out. “It’s perfect. I just…I can’t wear this while I’m working. It’s too pretty. I don’t want ink getting into the setting.”
“Already handled.” He reached into his pocket again and pulled out two matte black silicone bands. “Backup rings for us to use at work.”
I loved that he’d known I would worry about keeping my ring safe. “Remember what you said about needing more?”
“Yeah, baby.” He nodded with a chuckle. “That was about two minutes ago.”
“We should tattoo our ring fingers too,” I whispered, lifting my hand.
His answering growl was pure possession. “Fuck yes we should.”
That was two new tattoos for Reeve to put on me, but I had a feeling I’d want a whole lot more in the future.
EPILOGUE
ONYX
The studio was quiet, dim except for the warm glow of the track lights above my booth. The door was locked, the closed sign flipped, and the rest of the crew had cleared out hours ago. This session wasn’t for just anyone.
Elena sat on my bench, one leg propped, and her skin smooth and pale under the light. Her gaze held mine, but I didn’t miss the way her fingers curled around the edge of the seat. It wasn’t fear though, more like reverence and anticipation.
I settled on the stool in front of her and adjusted the machine in my hand. “You ready?”
Her lips curved into a soft smile. “Completely.”
I brushed my knuckles over her calf, just above where the old mark had once sat. We’d decided to have it lasered first—burned that brand off her skin like it had never existed. Leaving no trace of the past under the symbol of our future.
I would have been fine if she’d wanted to leave it at that. But that wasn’t us. We didn’t hide from the past, we replaced it with something real. Something we chose together.
“I still think you should’ve let me design the whole thing,” she teased, trying to keep her voice light, even though hereyes were already glossing with emotion. In truth, she’d asked me to design it, but I’d talked her into letting me design the rings tattooed on our fingers instead, and she agreed to do the symbols on our calves.
“You did design it, baby.” I clicked the machine to life, the buzz a low hum between us. Looking up at her beautiful face, I winked. “I just cleaned up the lines.”
Elena’s nose wrinkled adorably. “You adjusted like, three whole pixels.”
“Yeah.” I grinned salaciously. “And I adjusted the fuck outta those pixels.”
She snorted a laugh, but pink stained her cheeks as she relaxed just enough for me to start.
The first line sank into her skin, crisp and sure. Her breath hitched, but she didn’t flinch. My girl was tough, always had been. Contrary to our teasing, the symbol we were inking was one we built together—a fusion of two separate sketches. Her loops and flow. My structure and weight. It was a closed-circle pattern with interlocking segments, sharp at the edges but soft at the center. Balanced. Bound. And eternal.
She watched me work, her hand sliding into my hair and resting there, grounding me. Her thumb brushed over my temple while I shaded in the final section.
When I finished, I pulled back and wiped the skin clean. It was already stunning. Her skin pulled the ink in like it had always belonged there.
My voice came out rougher than I expected. “That’s yours now. No one else’s.”
Her fingers cupped my jaw and pulled me up. I set the machine aside and leaned into her, letting her kiss me like we didn’t have time to waste. And when she pulled back, her smile was electric.
