I play into it, giving him exactly what he’s fishing for, “Oh, no…whatever will we do to pass the time?”
He laughs, kissing my shoulder, and nudges me toward the tree to pick out another present. “I’ll pause Christmas to spank you if you keep up with the sass.”
“Promise?” I giggle, and he glowers at me, but his lip twitches like he wants to smile so badly. I sigh contentedly, letting my fingers slide over one of the pink reindeer ornaments hanging from the tree. Turning back to look up at him, I see that his focus is already on me when I say, “Merry Christmas, Cillian.”
EPILOGUE
CILLIAN
Ellie’s playing her piano again. This is her routine now. She plays while she waits for me to catch up in the mornings. She always starts the day by wiggling out of my grasp in our bed, calling me a sleepyhead and telling me that I’m going to make us both late. I would if she’d let me, and she knows that. I’d quite literally love to spend all day, and night too, in bed with my girl. Touching her, kissing her,being inside of her. I like to admire her, and I like that she doesn’t blush and look away from me like she used to. She’s shy, but she likes how obsessed I am with her. I can tell by the way her mouth quirks up in that little smirk she saves only for me.
It’s our first morning back on campus, and I’m supposed to be thinking about our strategy this semester or whatever the fuck hockey coaches do. My mind should be on line changes, drills, and whether Lockwood is going to piss me off before eight a.m. No spoiler alert here, he fucking will. But all I can focus on right now is my girl and what the future holds for us.
Ellie sits at the baby grand piano in our living room, and she’s such a fucking sight. Sunlight catches on her hair as her fingers glide across the keys. She’s lost in the song, eyes half-closed, mouth soft, looking like she belongs in a painting.
I stand there with my hands in my pockets, pretending I’m the calm, composed man she thinks I am. The truth is, I’ve never been this nervous in my entire life. None of the things I’ve been through compare to this moment. Everything rides on the next few minutes, and because of that my heart is skittering in my chest. Because today isn’t just the first day of the new semester, today’s the day I ask Ellie Montrose to take my last name.
The little black box feels like it’s going to burn a hole in my pocket. I pull it out quietly, flip the lid open, and stare at the diamond I had custom-made for her. She’s never once hinted at wanting to get married or dropped hints about what kind of ring she might like. She truly seems content with everything I’ve offered her so far, and it makes me wonder what her answer will be. I love her so much, and I know she loves me too, but I’m not sure if I’m pushing her with this, moving too fast for her age. She’ll be twenty soon, which means I’ll be forty, and I try to take that into consideration every single day. There’s something inside of me though that is so feral, so untamed when it comes to her, that I can’t live with myself if I don’t ask her. I need to claim her in every way possible, and putting this round-cut stone that sparkles so brightly on her ring finger is just another way to show her that she belongs to me, I’ll protect her, and no one will ever hurt her again. I move the stone slightly, watching it shimmer before my eyes are drawn back to my girl. It looks like starlight. It looks like her.
She has no idea how hard I worked to get this right. No idea how long I’ve wanted to claim her in every way a man can claim a woman.
No idea how much I love her.
But that’s going to change today.
I tuck the box behind my back and walk toward her slowly. She looks up mid-song, smiling that soft, sweet smile that ruins me every damn time.
Her hair is pulled up in a high ponytail, braided perfectly down the slope of her slender back. She looks so bright, happy. Mine.
I rest my free hand on her shoulder as the final note fades.
“You’re incredible,” I praise her, voice low. “I could listen to you play every day.”
She giggles, turning her body to look up at me and give me her full attention. I love the little things she does just like that. She makes me feel like a fucking king just by treating me like I’m the only man she sees. “Youdolisten to me play every day.”
“I know,” I murmur, bending down to kiss her forehead and then the tip of her nose and then her lips. The breathless sigh she gives me in return is enough to make me want to toss her over my shoulder and drag her back to bed. I hold on to what little restraint I have because if I don’t get the words out, I’m going to botch this whole plan I’ve gone over and over in my head since the ring arrived. So I tell her gently, “But I want to secure my spot in line as the first person who gets to hear your new music.”
She looks confused for a second.
So I do the thing I never thought I’d do for anyone.
I drop down on one knee in front of my girl and try to keep my shit together. I want to grab her, kiss her, tell her that she’s going to be my wife, but I need to do this the right way for her. I need to ask her, not tell her, and save the ravenous kisses for after she answers me. But if she says no, I’m not opposed to locking her in our bedroom and convincing her with my tongue why she should say yes.
Ellie’s breath catches, and her eyes lock on mine. I flip open the box, but she’s still just staring at my face. Her lips parted in shock, her gaze so soft and innocent that it makes my chest ache.
“Eleanor Montrose, will you do me the honor of being my wife and becoming Ellie Kavanagh?” My fucking voice cracks, just a little, but we both hear it, and it makes her smile. I wasn’tsure how she would feel about trading her father’s last name for mine considering how things were left between them, and the fact that we don’t know if he’s dead or alive at this point. The little excited gasp she let out tells me everything I need to know. My girl wants to be my wife in every sense of the word, and that’s such a fucking relief. “I couldn’t live without you, Ellie girl. And sometimes, when you’re lying next to me at night and I feel your heart beating against my chest… I don’t know how I survived all those years without you.”
Tears well in her eyes. They cling to her lashes, and she looks so fucking pretty I can’t stand it. She wasn’t expecting this, and I know that, but I can tell that these are happy tears.
One falls.
I catch it with a kiss.
She whimpers at the feel of my lips brushing across her skin. “Of course I’ll marry you, Cillian. I couldn’t imagine a life without being your wife.”
Ellie throws her arms around my neck, and I stand with her effortlessly, her legs wrapping around my waist, holding onto me like she never wants to let go. I rub the back of her hair, breathing her in as my fingers slide down the long braid. I can’t help the urge rushing through me that is going to spoil the sweet moment. Fuck it. I wrap her braid around my hand and pull back hard enough to make her cry out, but not hard enough to hurt her. Before she can protest, my mouth is on her neck. She tastes so fucking sweet, and I can’t get enough of her. I let my tongue slide across her pulse point and hold it there just for a second. I feel the beat of her heart, and something about it makes my cock twitch in my jeans.
Ellie’s head is tilted back, eyes closed in pleasure when I come up for air. “Do I make you feel good, wife?” I swear that the title rolls off my tongue like I was destined to call her that.
