Page 92 of Vow to Claim You

I clear my throat and step back from the edge of it. Not here. Not in front of two hundred people. Instead, I bend and lift her clean off the floor, into my arms.

A small gasp escapes her. “Aric⁠—”

“Your shoe is broken.”

“And this is necessary?”

“Yes.”

Her arms slide around my neck because there’s nowhere else for them to go, and I carry my wife off the dance floor. The crowd parts—amused, curious, a few openly delighted. Camila looks like she’s witnessing the single best moment of her life. I ignore all of them and take Ayanna toward the far end of the terrace, where the stone arches open onto the sea and the music thins to something distant.

I set her down against the balustrade, and she exhales slowly.

“I’m beginning to think you enjoy a dramatic exit,” she retorts.

“I enjoy keeping you off a broken ankle.”

Her mouth twitches, and she raises her chin, almost daring me, a hint of amusement glinting in those dark irises. “You still haven’t answered my question.”

“Which one?”

“What made you lose control yesterday?”

I rest one hand against the railing behind her, closing the space until there’s almost none left.

“I told you,” I murmur, “it wasn’t Chiara.”

“Yes. You said that.” Her eyes search mine, her chest rising and falling heavily. “You never said what it was.”

“It doesn’t matter what it was.” Our breathing falls into the same rhythm. “Because today, sitting beside you through that whole ceremony⁠—”

My free hand settles at her waist while my grip on the railing tightens. Her breathing turns ragged.

“—the only thing I could think about⁠—”

Her brows pull together, her gaze caught between my eyes and my mouth.

“—was you.”

An involuntary gasp escapes her.

“Not Chiara. Not the wedding. Not a single thing in my past.” My voice drops to almost nothing. “Just you, Ayanna.”

Her lips part. For a moment she says nothing. Then she whispers, “That’s a dangerous thing to say.”

“Why?”

“Because you’ve spent weeks pretending you don’t want me.”

“You’re wrong.”

“Am I?”

“Yes.” My thumb drags across her waist, and a shiver runs visibly through her. I feel it beneath my hand, feel what it costs her to stand still beneath my touch. “I’ve spent weeks trying not to want you.”

Her breath stops completely. “What did you say?”

Everything I’ve kept chained since she walked down that aisle hating the sight of me, I unleash now.