“I don’t like turning off any options,” Dante said.
“Of course you don’t,” Cassius said. “But times change. We can’t always…”
His voice trailed off from my ears as I turned and sawher.
Delilah Reyes.
I’d flown her down that afternoon but told her to take her time in a hotel room I’d gotten for her inRuby.I wanted the first time I saw her to be when she looked at her absolute hottest, and damn if that goal hadn’t paid off just now.
“Can I help you?” I said with a smile. “Because I’d sure like to.”
“Charming,” Delilah said with a smirk, “and yes, you can.”
She came up to me with a kiss, and I put my arm around her and beckoned to the group.
“If you don’t mind,” I said, “I’m going to show Delilah around the exhibit. Give the journalist a sneak peek.”
“By all means,” Cassius said with a knowing smile. Dante and Lucas looked like they were about to vomit; let them, I thought. In time, they’d come to recognize what they were missing out on.
Or maybe they never would, and that would be their prerogative. Hey, that was me not too long ago.
I led Delilah out, my arm over her shoulder, as she looked up at me with curious eyes.
“Can I speak to you on the record about tonight’s charity?” she said.
“Of course,” I said.
“Your family is rapidly becoming a major part not just of the Vegas universe, but of Nevada as a whole,” she said, trying not to laugh too hard. “It felt appropriate to interview you here, when much of Nevada comes to you.”
“Only you come to me,” I growled, drawing a smile and a blush from Delilah. Oh, if she thought that just because our last lovemaking session had been more passionate than fiery that she would be safe, she had no fucking idea. “Something youshould know, Delilah. My family does indeed run this town. We control it. We play the larger game. And with me?”
I had intended to drag this on further.
But we were alone, in front of a beautiful diamond exhibit. There were three diamonds in total—one black, one white, and one kind of an odd combination of the two, not quite gray but as if a diamond had naturally integrated both colors.
“Long ago, I would have said I would control you, Delilah,” I began, pausing her where she was. “But now, I see that you have taught me to control myself. You have taught me to be a better man, to understand the time and place for every part of myself. I was foolish and stubborn for quite some time, and I needed you to kick me in the teeth with your boundaries. But because of that, I now don’t want to control you, Delilah. I want to be with you. I want to be with you not just in the bedroom or the penthouse, but in our lives. I want to be your partner in crime and in truth. I want you to be mine. And so, Delilah Reyes, I come to the question of the night.”
Taking great care to steady myself, I reached into my pocket, grabbed the box I had put there for a good week, and kneeled on one knee. Delilah’s eyes widened with surprise, but joyful surprise. Tears welled.
“Delilah Reyes, will you marry me?”
“Yes. Yes! Absolutely yes!”
There was no hesitation in that, no desire to control the moment. Just pure conviction, joy, and certainty.
Finally, I knew Delilah was mine forever. I was hers forever. And no one had to be paranoid any longer.
I rose from my knee, swept her up in my arms, and planted the most intimate kiss of my life on her. Behind us, I heard applause. We both turned and laughed at the sight of Cassius and Sarah standing there, clapping. Cassius wore a proud smirk; Sarah had tears of joy in her eyes.
“Well done, brother,” Cassius said.
“Oh my God, come here, Delilah,” Sarah said.
It was a wonderful moment, and we each hugged the person in front of us.
But I was not yet ready to share us with the world.
“Give us a few minutes, will you?” I said to Cassius. He nodded, grabbed Sarah, and led her back to the room they had just come from, where Lucas and Dante still sat. I took Delilah’s hand, now equipped with my engagement ring, and asked one simple question.
