Page 319 of Vicious Temptation

“They knew I was going to ask. They just didn’t know you’d answer before I got the chance.”

Her smile grows.

I lift her hand to my mouth and kiss her knuckles. “I believe you once told me there was only one circumstance where I was allowed to use your full government name.”

She bites her lip to keep it from trembling. I tug it free with my thumb.

“And I’d get on one knee, but I’m pretty sure I’d have to dislocate something to make that happen back here.”

She chuckles and wipes the tears from her cheeks as I keep hold of her hand and pull out the black diamond I slipped from the glove compartment with the notebook.

“Remi Isabel Cain, will you be my wife?”

“Yes,” she murmurs.

I slide the ring onto her finger, and fuck if it doesn’t look like it was always meant to be there.

Of all the ways I could have asked her, this was the only one that ever felt right. The notebook began as an assignment, but it ends with Remi.

And her answer is yes.

* I’m going to marry her.

Epilogue

Remi

ONE YEAR LATER

Daylight

“I’m not asleep, and I see you.”

Thiago’s groggy voice comes from beside me, catching me trying to sneak a peek out the window. We’ve been in the air for a couple of hours, and it should be dark by now, but then again, that depends on where we’re going.

After a beautiful and intimate reception, my new husband informed me that we’d be boarding a private jet, our destination was a surprise, and my only instructions were to pack light and not ask questions. I trust this man with my whole heart. I’d go anywhere he asked me to. But trusting him and minding my own business are apparently two very different things.

I turn toward him, adjusting my skirt as I uncross and recross my legs for the hundredth time. Ten hours in a wedding dress has a way of making even the most beautiful thing you’ve ever worn start to feel like a personal attack.

“I was just trying to see if we were flying over water or land. And it’s not like I’m going to spot any street signs from up here.”

He opens his eyes and chuckles, reaching for me and pulling me onto his lap. “My wife is very curious, isn’t she?”

I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of hearing him call me that. Even after we said our vows, there’s still something almost unreal about knowing I’m his wife and he’s my husband.

Gripping his loosened shirt collar, I trace the tip of my nose along his cheek. “You rushed me out of my own wedding reception and whisked me away to some mysterious destination. It’s been hours, baby. You know I don’t have this kind of self-restraint.”

Thiago cups my face gently, his expression turning serious. “You trust me, right?”

“With everything,” I whisper, covering his hand with mine.

“I promise you’ll love it. I won’t even have to tell you. The moment we get there, you’ll know.”

I nod and settle into his touch. “Okay. But in the meantime, call me your wife again.”

That grin I love so much spreads across his face before he leans in and kisses me slowly.

“Have I told you how drop-dead gorgeous you looked today, wife?”