She’d asked for freedom, and he’d given it as much as he could.
Yanking on the shirt, and zipping up her skirt, she pulled the door open to find three of her new friends grinning.
“You guys are terrible,” she muttered, unable to fight her own smile. “I’m almost ready, and then we can head out.”
Eva blinked innocently. “Look, I know you’re freshly mated, but making us wait isn’t cool when we’re celebrating.”
“What are we celebrating?” Rae pursed her lips, yanking her hair into a high ponytail. “And wait, didn’t you lock us all out the kitchen the other day because you were busy with Kace?”
Alice laughed, perched on the end of her bed beside Eva while Sam had draped his entire body over the armchair, legs kicked over the side.
“Don’t get us started on Kace and Eva!” Sam chuckled.
Eva crossed her legs. “Hey, we’re not talking about me!”
“Actually, I’m pretty confident I saw Kace with fang marks only a few minutes ago…” Alice added.
Rae laughed as they teased each other in the way only friends could, attaching the gun holster to her thigh. She may have been only going to a karaoke bar, but she never left unarmed. It had only been a few days since Titus had agreed she was well enough to be back on her feet, and had already taken her to a gun range to practice her shooting.
She was good, but he was better.
She’d made it her goal to beat him, just once. She had hundreds of years to practice, but she was content at the moment to just tease him, knowing that the punishment he delivered was delicious.
“Okay, I think I’m ready.” Rae slipped her gun beneath her skirt, the fabric hiding it perfectly. She missed her dagger, but she was yet to find a suitable replacement. She’d borrowed a few from Titus, and even one from Jax, but it wasn’t the same.
Sam jumped to hit feet. “Come on my lovely ladies, the bad cocktails and even worse singing are just moments away.”
“Speak for yourself.” Rae reached for the door, pausing when she noticed the candles, along with black petals carefully laid out in the hall. Someone had turned the lights off, the candles and fading sun the only light.
“Oh, you should probably follow that,” Alice said, appearing by her side. “Looks important.”
Rae thought she was hallucinating. “What’s going on?”
“Well,” Sam drawled. “The off-pitch singing is going to have to wait.”
“What…” She was pushed into the hall, her own bedroom door shut behind her. Rae could hear them laughing behind the wood, but she was too confused to do anything but follow the candles.
They guided her down the stairs, past the kitchen and towards the dining hall. She could tell which petals Titus had placed, each one perfectly spaced from another, compared to someone else who’d just left them where they fell. The candles too were evenly placed, protected by glass as they flickered gently against the impending night.
Rae didn’t stop following them until she found Titus standing beside the large windows, the sky behind various shades of pink. He’d moved the table and chairs, the petals and candles directing her straight to him.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
“I have something to ask you,” he said, and she could sense his nerves despite his face reflecting calm. His Adam’s apple bobbed, his gaze not leaving hers even as the double doors closed behind her, leaving them both alone.
“Ask me?” She walked slowly towards him, eyes bouncing off the petals, to the candles, to the window showing the sun setting, then back to Titus. He was the most gorgeous man, dressed entirely in his signature black, with kohl smudged beneath his eyes, and fresh rings through his nose and lip. “Should I be scared?” she teased.
His smile was strained. “Truce.”
Rae reached him, butterflies assaulting her stomach. “Truce,” she agreed, still confused.
Titus nodded, and then very slowly dropped to one knee.
“Jesus Christ!” Rae laughed. “What do you think you’re doing?”
He produced a black velvet box. “Raegan Fox,” he began. “Will you marry me?” The lid flipped open to reveal a solid silver ring. It was perfectly sculpted, the left half a skull, and the right looking suspiciously like Titus’s beast, merged beautifully together with eyes of obsidian.
“That’s…” Rae laughed, the sound wet. “But we’re already mated?” She could feel him in her heart, a comforting warmth she never wanted to let go.
