A yawn crawls up my throat and I lie back down in the crook of Jonah’s uninjured shoulder.
“Good morning.” His sexy, sleepy voice does delicious things to my body. Even laid-up and hospitalized, he’s irresistible.
“Good night, you mean.” I walk my fingers to his abdomen, pulling his hospital gown up to slide my hand against his rippled muscles.
He reaches for my face but drops his hand with a groan. “Shit, that hurts.”
I tilt my face to his and smile. “Looks like you’re going to have to keep that hand to yourself.”
“Not a f**king chance. Come here.” His demand is firm and sexy.
I brush my lips against his chin. “Thank you, Jonah. Thank you for finding me.”
“And thank you for saving me.”
My cheeks heat and I bury deeper into his chest.
“How’re you holding up? You know, with everything?” His hand traces soothing patterns on my back.
“Um . . . I’m good. I feel like I should feel something, ya know? Guilt or . . . remorse. I just don’t.” I huff out a breath. “The cops said this morning that no charges are being filed. Justifiable homicide and all that.”
“You want to talk about what happened with Vince?” His muscles tense against my body.
“Not much to tell. He tried to—”
A deep growl rumbles in Jonah’s chest.
Yeah, probably best to skip to the end. “You told me to break his arm. So I did.” I hear the words, and even I think they sound crazy. But it’s the truth.
“I told you?”
I circle his belly button with my finger. “Yeah. In my head. You told me to fight. You said arm bar.” I shrug. “You weren’t even there yet, and you were protecting me.”
“I’ll always protect you.” He hugs me to him. “Not that you need it. My girl’s tough as nails. I’m proud of you.”
Inwardly, I smile. I’m proud of myself.
“Fuck, I wish I’d killed that son of a bitch.”
“Nah. He deserves to live the rest of his life behind bars. Death is too easy.”
He laughs in a quick burst then groans. “Ugh, remind me not to do that again.”
Starting at his neck, I trail soft kisses to his jaw. “Poor baby.” I push up to meet his eyes. “I love you.”
His hand slides up my back into my hair. “I love you too. So much.”
He takes my lips in a brutal kiss that I feel in my toes. I moan into his mouth as our tongues glide against each other. Desire floods my veins as I explore his mouth. His strong lips dominate mine, molding them to his will. I roll his nipple between my thumb and forefinger. He groans and his h*ps flex off the bed.
Pushing up, I press my br**sts into his chest, tilting my head and delving deeper into the kiss.
He breaks away with a hiss. “Fuck.”
The whispered curse sends me back and sitting up. “Shoot, did I hurt you?” I touch him and jerk my hand away, afraid of hurting him again.
“No, but if we don’t take this home, I’m afraid I’ll be forced to give the good doctor and his unsuspecting nurses a visual aid in sex education.” He shifts and adjusts the blankets to camouflage his arousal. It doesn’t work.
A giggle bubbles up from my chest, and my hand covers my mouth. Something rough on my finger rubs against my lips. What the heck?
My mood sobers as I examine my hand, palm down, fingers splayed. It’s on my ring finger. A gold band composed of tiny diamonds with one large round diamond in the center. The setting is old-fashioned, understated, and absolutely perfect. I stare in awe.
The cool air burns my eyes. I’m unable to blink. I force my eyes to Jonah who’s smiling his thousand-watt smile: all teeth, two dimples, and shining eyes.
“Jonah?” I whisper, my eyes asking the question my words can’t form.
“The ring was my mom’s. My dad gave it to her when they got engaged, and she wore it every day, until this morning. She brought it by when you were sleeping.” He pulls my hand to his chest and nimbly spins the ring on my finger.
“Raven, I fell in love with you the second I saw you. I thought I had my life mapped out, thought I had it together. Then you came along and flipped my world on its head. You make me want things I never knew I needed. This ring is more than a symbol of my love. It represents family. Our family. The one we’ll build together. You said you didn’t want to talk about our future until you knew we had a future to talk about. Well, now we do. So? Will you marry me?”
Our family. Our future. Now that we have one.
He stares at me, his eyebrows raised. I taste the salty tears as my lips curl at the edges. A slow smile creeps across his face.
I study the perfect ring then lock eyes with him. “Okay.”
His face splits into a smile. “Okay.” He kisses me deep and hard, possessive.
My insides turn to liquid. I explore every curve of his rippled stomach, and his muscles flex beneath my touch. My nails dig into his skin and drag down lower, until they’re under the blankets that lie across his hips. He flexes into my touch, showing me what he wants. Me.
“Oh, one more thing.” He breaks the kiss enough to speak, but his words are said against my lips.
An embarrassing whimper escapes at the loss of his mouth. “Yeah?” I lean into him.
He rubs his thumb across my aching lower lip. “Happy birthday, baby.”
The words are barely out before I’m on him again. Desperation takes over my rational mind and I pull at his gown. Too many clothes.
A voice clears from the end of the bed, popping the love-driven sex bubble we’d created. I curl into Jonah’s body, hoping to disappear from whoever caught me making out with my injured boyfriend. Fiancé.
“Well, well, well. Looks like someone’s feeling better,” Blake says from the foot of the bed, motioning to the pile of thin hospital blankets at Jonah’s crotch.
I say a quick prayer of thanks that it’s Blake and not Katherine. “Hey, Blake.”
“What’s up?” Jonah acts unaffected as he twirls a strand of my hair.
“Just came back from the police station. Dominick’s operation is under intense investigation. Thought you two would like to know Vince and Candy are going to be looking at the inside of a jail cell for the foreseeable future.”
Jonah and I take a collective breath.
Blake grimaces. “Vinnie should be the most popular guy in his cell block. They couldn’t save his dick so they gave him a p**sy. Boys in prison should love that.”
“Blake!” I attempt to sound offended, my hysterical laughter ruining any chance I have of being taken seriously. Besides, that’s the least he deserves for what he did to Eve, me, and probably loads of other women who weren’t lucky enough to get away.
“I see you got a decent piece of ice there on your finger, baby girl.”
I hold up my hand and admire the ring again. “Yeah.” Jonah kisses my head at my breathy reply.
“Right on. I’ll leave you two lovebirds alone.” He holds up his hand. “Word of caution, the doc is on his way in to check on your shoulder. You might want to keep Mr. Moby on the down-low.” He looks at the bed then back at us. “Looks like it’s too late for down-low, so . . . under wraps.”
“Dude, you mind keeping your eyes off my dick?”
He flashes his cocky smile. And even in the arms of the man of my dreams, his smile makes me giggle like a teenage girl. He winks then turns on his heel and heads through the draped dividers.
“Catch you two later. Got a hot little nurse who’s waiting to give my dick an oral exam.”
I laugh hard, trying to keep my body from shaking at its intensity. “He’s so funny.”
“Yes, so you’ve said.” Jonah’s deadpan tone makes me grin.
“Ooh, are you jealous?” I touch the end of his nose with my fingertip.
“Hmph. No.”
I slide my lower lip out in an exaggerated pout. “Oh. That’s too bad. I was going to prove my feelings for you . . . physically.” I kiss the sensitive skin below his ear.
“Is that right?” I can hear the smile in his voice.
“Mm-hm. I like you jealous.”
“Get used to it, baby.” He groans when I pull his earlobe between my teeth. “You know you’re mine now? To have and to hold ’til death do us part.”
“I do.”
Epilogue
Two months, five days, and twenty-two hours later . . .
Jonah
“Forty-two million dollars?” Owen’s palm slams on the bar, his jaw slack, eyes wide.
I pop the bottle cap and place the fresh beer in front of him. “Projected. It’ll take awhile to liquidate all of Dominick’s properties.” We knew Dominick was loaded with dirty money, but finding out about his multiple luxury high-rise condos and commercial properties was a surprise.
Rex leans in, his pierced eyebrow raised high. “No shit? What’re you guys going to do with all that money?”
“Y’all should buy one of them private islands. Like Oprah.” Caleb motions one of the caterers over and pops a bacon-wrapped shrimp in his mouth.
“Forty-two million dollars.” Owen repeats himself, sounding no less shocked. “Fuck the island. Kick some cash to your boys, man.”
“Dominick Morretti dies and you guys get all his money? Fuck . . .” Rex shakes his head. “I wish my dad was a dead-piece-of-shit pimp.” He throws back the dregs of his beer.
“Raven was his next of kin. It’s her money. She’s got plans for it.”
Caleb stands from his barstool. “Between her money and your money, y’all could buy up half of Vegas.”
“Nah. My title-fight winnings look like pennies in comparison.” I flex against the stifling confinement of my jacket. I can’t wait to get this tux off. Raven is excellent with formal-wear removal. My blood heats and has me searching her out.
She’s on the dance floor that the party planners put in my backyard. Blake spins her around, her white wedding gown swirling at her feet. The strapless top pushes her br**sts up in an enticing way. I absently tug at the collar of my tuxedo. It’s loose, reminding me that I took off my tie and unbuttoned the top button while ravishing my wife in the limo on the way home. I can’t wait to peel that dress off her.
“So what’s she going to do with all that money?” Owen pulls me from my fantasy.
I take a swig of beer. “She bought her mom a house. And she started Raven’s Nest.”
“Yeah, I know that, but what about the other thirty-something million?”
“She plans to funnel it all into the foundation as it comes in.”
I look for Milena in the crowd. Since that night at the cabin, she’s been the kind of mom Raven’s always wanted: attentive, loving, hands on. The other day, I walked in to find them flopped on the couch watching Overhaulin’. Their eyes were riveted to the screen while Milena twirled a strand of her daughter’s hair.
Between Milena, my mom, and Eve, Raven has been able to get Raven’s Nest open and running. The foundation provides rehabilitation, job training, housing, and counseling for prostitutes getting out of the business. The place is already packed with the girls from Dominick’s stable.