Page 26 of Ruined By King

"Yeah." I smile against his mouth. "Ask me properly and find out."

He flips me onto my back so fast I gasp, his body pressing me into the mattress, his eyes dark and intense.

"Marry me, Demi."

It's not a question. It's a demand. And I love him for it.

"Yes."

He kisses me like I just gave him everything he ever wanted. Maybe I did.

When he finally pulls back, we're both breathing hard.

"I don't have a ring yet," he says.

"I don't care."

"I'll get you one. The biggest fucking diamond⁠—"

"I don't care about the diamond." I cup his face in my hands. "I just want you."

His expression softens into something raw and open. "You've got me. You've had me since the first time I saw you."

I pull him down for another kiss, and everything else fades away.

Outside this room, there's a war brewing. My father, the Road Kings, all the complications of the life I've chosen.

But right now, I'm not thinking about any of that.

I'm thinking about the man holding me. The man who claimed me, protected me, loved me when he had every reason not to.

The man I chose. The man I'm going to marry.

"King?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm glad I walked into this clubhouse."

His arms tighten around me. "So am I, baby. So am I."

EPILOGUE

Three months later, we're back at Ironwood.

Same rally. Same string lights and too-loud music and bikes gleaming under the desert sky. But everything else is different.

This time, I rode in on the back of King's bike. This time, I'm wearing his ring — not the biggest fucking diamond, despite his threats, but something better. Simple. Perfect. He picked it himself.

This time, everyone knows exactly who I belong to.

We're standing near the food trucks when I spot them. Road Kings, clustered near the beer tent, my father among them. He sees me at the same moment I see him.

For a long second, neither of us moves.

King's hand tightens on my hip, but he doesn't say anything. Doesn't need to. His presence says enough.

My father's jaw tightens. Then, slowly, he gives me the smallest nod. Not forgiveness. Not acceptance. But not war, either.