Evan let her leg drop from his shoulder and he found her mouth with his, absorbing her screams of pleasure as he ravaged her with a kiss of deep possession and urgent demand. She wrapped her arms around his neck and returned his embrace with the same fiery passion, as her fingernails dug into the skin of his back with a grip so strong she knew she was marking him.
He pulled his mouth from hers and bit at her bottom lip. “Fuck, yes!” he exclaimed with a low groan that was almost a howl as she continued clutching at his back, endless pulsations gripping at his cock.
Her climax had milked him of his own release, and the two of them clung to each other in a hot, sweaty mess as they both tried to catch their breath.
“Mine!” Evan growled. “You’ll always be mine, Randi.”
She shuddered at his animalistic tone and covetous, carnal words. Strangely, his claiming felt more like a vow, his commitment to be there for her for the rest of their lives.
He rolled, pulling her with him so she was sprawled on top of him. Randi sighed, knowing it was just one of many of Evan’s moves to protect her and keep her from taking his weight on top of her, even though she’d welcome it.
“Yes,” she said simply in a breathless voice.
“Yes?” Evan asked hopefully.
“Yes, I’ll marry you.” She’d do everything in her power to make Evan happier than he’d ever been in his life. He deserved to love and to be loved more than any man she’d ever met. Randi knew nobody would ever love this complicated man more than she would, and nobody would ever understand him better than she could. He’d probably never lose his veneer of sophistication and arrogance, but it didn’t matter. She knew the kind of heart that was underneath all of that.
“What convinced you?” he asked, sounding elated.
“Not your teasing tactics,” she admonished him.
“Then what was it? I’d like to know for future reference,” he told her jokingly.
She put a gentle palm to his whiskered jaw and told him honestly, “Because there’s never been anyone else for me but you, either.”
The look of relief on his face spoke volumes as he covered her palm with his larger hand and lowered his forehead to rest against hers.
“Thank fuck,” he whispered fiercely, as though she was the most precious thing he’d ever been given in his entire life.
Knowing the pain that Evan had suffered and the burdens he’d carried for so long all alone, Randi held him close to her and promised herself that this man of hers would never be alone with any future troubles ever again.
“I love you, baby,” he said huskily.
Randi sighed happily, wondering if she might just believe in a little bit of Beatrice’s magic after all.
EPILOGUE
A Few Months Later . . .
“What are we doing here?” Randi asked curiously as Evan led her around the back of her parents’ house.
It hadn’t been an easy decision for her to put the home up for sale, but they’d been living together at Evan’s place because the two of them couldn’t bear to be apart. The old home needed a new owner, and another family to find happiness in the house again. Randi hated that it was sitting empty. It looked . . . lonely.
Spring had arrived in Amesport, and Randi knew the house would probably sell during the late spring or summer, so she was fairly surprised when Evan had suggested they take a drive to her old home.
“I wanted to carry on the tradition for one more year,” he answered solemnly as he clasped her hand and led her into the fields past the backyard.
“What tradition?” Now she was really confused.
“This one.” He stopped and waved his hand toward the creek that ran through the property.
Randi stopped moving and covered her mouth with her free hand. “Oh, my God.”
There, beside the small, rapidly flowing stream, were more white calla lilies than Randi could possibly count. They were already blooming, the warm weather in the late spring probably aiding their condition. Evan had obviously had them brought here and transplanted. Just because he thought it would make her happy.
The tall lilies were gorgeous all along the edge of the creek, but the thought of the trouble he had gone to in arranging for the flowers to be imported and planted on a property that was already up for sale was amazing.
“Don’t you like them? I thought they were the same variety you talked about.” Evan sounded calm but concerned.
“They’re exactly the same. How do I thank you for something like this?” She threw herself into his arms and hugged him, so damned grateful that she had this man in her life.
The closeness they’d experienced over the last few months had been almost frightening, and each day she’d fallen just a little more in love with Evan. She was in so deeply now that she knew she’d never escape. Not that she wanted to.
There wasn’t a day that went by that Evan didn’t do something to melt her heart, and the rift between the Sinclair siblings was finally healing. What had once been a broken family was now whole.
“I have a few ideas,” he said in a husky, suggestive voice.
Randi laughed happily, squeezing him tighter. Evan had learned to have some levity in his life in the few months they’d been together. Seeing him smile at her still made her heart lighter. “I’m sure you do,” she answered teasingly.
She turned in his arms to just let the sight of the lilies sink into her soul. Evan wrapped his arms around her waist, and Randi rested the back of her head on his shoulder. “It’s beautiful. Joan would have loved this.”
“Are you sure you want to sell?” Evan asked cautiously. “It’s not like you’ll need the money. You are marrying one of the richest men in the world, you know.”
Randi smiled, knowing when Evan said things like that, he was just stating a fact. “I’m sure. Unless you plan on canceling the wedding.”
They were getting married in a month. Evan had wanted the ceremony to be sooner, but he’d also wanted it to be perfect. He was being a pain in the ass about the arrangements, but Randi didn’t care. She found it fascinating that he was willing to help with the planning, and was more thorough than she and her female friends.
“Over my dead body,” Evan vowed. “It seems like we’ve waited forever.”
It had actually not been more than a few months, but it had seemed like a long time to her, too.
She glanced down at the beautiful platinum-and-diamond ring on her finger, sighing as she wondered how long it would take her to get used to having Evan bringing her a new gift every day.
His gift closest to her heart was his vow to find a plot of land to build a small school for kids with special learning needs. She’d broken down in tears as he’d explained that he didn’t want any child to suffer the same way he had.