Page 30 of Forbidden Vow

“Oh my,” Ms. Kara said, before offering a, “sorry. I’m not here.”

Actually, Raven was happy someone was here to witness the moment. He produced a red velvet box shaped like a treasure chest with gold hinges.

“Open it,” he said, his eyes fixed on her face.

She was trembling so badly. This really was happening; the love of a lifetime, wanted her. Wanted their son. Wanted forever. “I don’t think I can.”

He swallowed and then cleared his throat. “I want you to wear this, even if you decide on something else.”

Maybe she should have opened the box. Now she was nervous and anxious.

“What is it?” Ms. Kara rasped. “Where are my glasses, Raven?”

“On your face, Ms. Kara,” she said in a singsong voice. She was kind of busy with forever.

Darius opened the box, and Raven about fainted. As he slipped the biggest oval-shaped sapphire blue ring onto her finger, he had to hold her hand steady. “Darius,” her voice was wispy in awe, “It’s beautiful.”

“Like you.”

“I love it.”

“It belonged to my mother.” He inhaled deep, and she knew this was as emotional for him as it was for her. The band looked like thin ropes of woven platinum with tiny white diamonds dispersed throughout the setting.

“Oh my heaven, you believe I’m worthy of a family heirloom that belonged to your mother?” A woman whom he’d lost too young, and shared her pain.

Darius came to his feet, taking her hands in his. “You’re worth far more than I will ever possess and more than I can ever give you. You’ve given me what no other woman has. You cared for my father. You carried my son. Alone, you’ve raised him. And…” He paused.

“And what?”

“Damn, Raven—” he choked up. “Just say I do. I swear if you fucking make me cry before I get this proposal out, I’m going to spank your ass.”

“Oh come on, tough guy. This is my first and last proposal.”

“You damn straight.” He scrubbed at his face with one hand and sucked in a big breath. “And I thank the stars and everything above that you loved me enough to forgive the past.”

Raven rarely shed tears. Well, having a child changed that, but she couldn’t contain her joy. The droplets formed, falling from her lids. She tried to blink them away but they rolled down her cheeks.

“Oh, Darius. That’s the most-” She stopped when he growled. “I do. Yes, I’ll marry you.”

Darius kissed her. His mouth lashing down, a slow fervor building to a crest of a different type of promise. A vow to make up for the last five years they’d been apart.

He broke their kiss. “So, how about we consummate this engagement?” he smirked.

That grin disappeared when Raven led him into a vacant room far away from inquiring minds.

* * *

“I havesome nasty shit I want to do with you, so you may want to weigh in with your Do Not Insert Here list.” Darius followed Raven, ignoring curious stares and the open admiration of female staff and patients alike.

She considered the question for a moment as the thought of commanding this powerful man filled her mind with possibilities.

She glanced over her shoulder, looking up until their eyes met. “I don’t have any.”

“Damn, woman. I love you.” Darius’s eyes flashed red hot, earnest, and crawled over her as she opened the door a crack.

Looking both ways, Raven led him to an empty patient room. “Love you, too.”

A clean, ready-made bed sat before them. A thin, rectangular window gave the air of dangerous voyeurism, but while the door couldn’t be locked, she closed the blackout curtains and turned off the light. There weren’t any patients scheduled to come in, so a dark room would be all the cover they could afford.